As far as this reviewer is concerned, Elvis Costello provided 1982's best pop album (not to mention best live gig). So how does he follow up a masterpiece, particularly one that didn't sell too well?
Whereas Imperial Bedroom was a logical progression from Trust, Punch The Clock appears a conscious sidestep, an assessment of certain past approaches and their future potential, both creative and commercial. Consequently, more than on either of its two predecessors, Clock's tracks tend to fall into two broad types. Six of the 13 numbers — value for money as usual — are upbeat dance songs incorporating punchy assistance from the TKO Horns. Costello's love for classic Stax/Motown is once again on display (recalling, of course, his Get Happy). This time though, the mix isn't as perversely dense and all tracks have a bright, bouncy production. A populist move perhaps? These songs are invariably catchy, although "TKO (Boxing Day)" come rather close to simple formula — usually the last criticism one would level at Costello.
The remainder of the tracks fit more easily into his recent songwriting modes. Largely reflective ballads, they all offer further evidence of the man's towering talent. Beautiful winding melodies that haunt the mind for days are set in shimmering arrangements — the Attractions are a marvellous band — all of which serve to offset Costello's sharply crafted language.
His much-discussed anger remains evident in many of these lyrics but there's a certain distance and control evident these days. If we no longer get so many spluttering bouts of vindictive rage there's definitely a bleak bitterness (eg "Pills And Soap") and a mocking sarcasm (eg "The World And His Wife"). "Shipbuilding," originally written for English singer Robert Wyatt, is the major exception here. Surely one of a great wordsmith's greatest lyrics, it encompasses an emotional complexity that brilliantly captures the dilemmas of quiet tragedy. Costello's tender, yearning vocal receives perfect complement from Chet Baker's trumpet solo.
It is tracks such as this (and several others here) that remind one yet again that Elvis Costello is a musician at the top of his profession, if not the charts. When one considers Costello's work it can finally only be against his own extraordinarily high standards. So to say that, overall, Punch The Clock may not be as great an album as Imperial Bedroom simply means that instead of being authoritatively the year's best, it will merely be one of the best five.
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