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When I Was Cruel
Elvis Costello
Steven Humphrey
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And here's the truth about Elvis Costello: He's a great lyricist, but that and $1.25 will get him a ride on the bus if you can't understand a goddam word he says. When I Was Cruel is Costello's first solo effort in seven years, and those years of lying fallow have done nothing to help his diction. On the upside, he seems to be putting a lot more energy into his arrangements, which are exhibiting a welcome diversity. Rather than relying on the plodding ballad or reggae beats of the past, he's taking more of a Tom Waits' Rain Dogs approach — mixing post-punk alongside tremolo guitars, and tossing in the occasional Portishead-style James Bondian electronic epic. Interesting? You betcha. But it's all for naught when every vocal track is "Mwwa-aaaaaaai-buhhbeshi-fittinda-seeeeeee" — or the same style as in 1977. "Ding-ding!" Oops, that's a reminder for all of us that it's time to move on.
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