Mercury Records Press Release

New album When I Was Cruel

Elvis Costello: 'When I Was Cruel'

Elvis Costello releases a new album, 'When I Was Cruel', April 22nd on Mercury Records featuring 15 brand new songs. It is the first Elvis Costello record in seven years.

In that time Elvis has collaborated with Burt Bacharach on 'Painted From Memory' and Anne Sofie von Otter on 'For The Stars' amongst many other varied and intriguing projects.

'When I Was Cruel' was recorded and mixed at Windmill Lane Recording Studios, Dublin.
The album was produced by The Imposter: Elvis Costello, Ciaran Cahill, Leo Pearson and Kieran Lynch. It features Elvis Costello on guitars and vocals, Steve Nieve on keyboards, bassist Davey Faragher and drummer Pete Thomas. A horn section, arranged by Costello and featuring Ku-umba, Frank Lacy and Roy Nathanson, was added at a session in New York City.

All the songs are Costello compositions, except for 'Oh Well', a lyrical collaboration with Q-Tip.

Costello says that the songs were written "with a Silvertone electric guitar, a 15 -watt amplifier and a kid's beatbox with big orange buttons". He added, "After singing so many ballads in the last few years, it was time for a rowdy rhythm record - we used a highly skilled team of musicians and engineers to ensure that we did not accidentally make a record that had been previously released."

In fact, there is a lot more distorted tremelo guitar then on any other Costello album. It's truly the return of 'the little hand s of concrete', as illustrated by 'Dust2…' and 'Daddy Can I Turn This?' While 'Tart' and 'My Little Blue Window' combine mood, vocal melody and the most memorable choruses, rude and vivid horns are a feature of '15 Petals' and 'Dust'.

UK single Tear Off your Own Head (It's The Doll Revolution)

The new rhythmic twist of 'Spooky Girlfriend' tells the tale o f a deluded svengali who turns out to be just another show business weasel. The flip side of that tale is documented on the rock and roll track 'Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)'.

The hypnotic and mysterious 'When I Was Cruel No.2', the demented and distressed, 'Episode of Blonde' and 'Radio Silence' are among the lyrical highlights, while '45' has been described by the writer as "autobiographical arithmetic".
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'Alibi' was the stand-out number in Costello's recent appearances on the European dates of the 'Concert For A Landmine-Free World' series which also featured Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and John Prine. This almost seven- minute epic was captured in a single live take.

2002 promises to be another landmark year for Elvis Costello. 'When I Was Cruel' will be supported by tours of America and Europe. Elvis is also the Artist-In-Residence at U.C.L.A. until summer 2002. The first concert of this season was with the Charles Mingus Orchestra for which Costello wrote six new lyrics for Mingus compositions and recorded one of them, 'Invisible Lady', for an upcoming C.M.O. release.

Costello's first full orchestral score, 'Il Sogno', for an adaptation of the 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by Mauro Bigonzetti and the Italian dance company 'Aterballetto', will be performed at U.C.L.A. and recorded in London by the L.S.O. conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas for a future Deutsche Gramaphon Release.

Elvis also recently recorded a C.M.T. concert special with Lucinda Williams that is currently being broadcast on the U.S. country musical cable channel. He will also be a guest star in a forthcoming episode of The Simpsons and is working with the acclaimed playwright and film director Neil Labute on a motion picture project.

'When I Was Cruel' is a fascinating, complex and highly entertaining collection of songs that easily ranks alongside the best of Elvis Costello.

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'When I Was Cruel 2', first premiered at the Q Awards last November, recalls the hypnotic mood and electronic twang of Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks score.

'Alibi', and 'Dust' easily rival previous lyrical bests while 'Tart' and 'Blue Window' are nothing short of memorable.

2002 promises to be another landmark year for Elvis Costello. 'When I Was Cruel' will be supported by tours of America and Europe. Elvis is also Artist In Residence at UCLA, features in a forthcoming episode of the Simpsons (he's a counsellor at a rock camp), and is working with the acclaimed playwright and film director Neil Labute on a forthcoming project.

'When I Was Cruel' is a fascinating, complex and highly entertaining collection of songs that easily ranks alongside the best of Elvis Costello.