|
At a time when the traditional values of craftmanship, intelligence and care are not especially common in pop, it's almost inevitable that anyone possessing them with a certain degree of artistic credibility will be elevated to a critical status way out of proportion to their worth.
Costello can turn in some beautiful work at times but too often he's merely clever, cloyingly tasteful in a manner that reeks of piety. This song is finely tuned but tedious. To quote Bill Nelson on Difford and Tilbrook: "The last thing on earth we need right now is more craftsmen, what music needs is visionaries."
| 
