See Magazine, June 22, 1995

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Elvis Costello

Punch The Clock/Goodbye Cruel World

(Rykodisc)

Gary McGowan

Thank God for reissue labels. The latest beneficiary of this phenomenon is Elvis Costello. Through all the ‘70s and ‘80s, his material was reissued in Canada and the U.S. on Columbia Records (that’s the pre-Japanese-purchase name of Sony Music for you Financial Post readers). Elvis made the move to Warner Music a few years ago, and his older albums were largely cut from Sony’s catalogue. Following their loving restoration work on David Bowie’s old RCA titles. Rykodisc has decided to tackle the star of this year’s Edmonton Folk Music Festival. They’ve repacked his original Columbia releases into “two-in-one” packages, added some live or previously unreleased material to each disc and enlisted Mr. Costello himself to write some liner notes commenting on each release. The results are akin to a tour through your in-laws’ family album. You’re somewhat familiar with the people, places and faces, but you never realized all the untold tales that lay just below the surface of all those Polaroids until the photographer himself started telling the stories.

Both Punch The Clock and Goodbye Cruel World date from the 1980s, a time when Elvis Costello’s first brush with fame had subsided and he was in the process of solidifying his reputation as one of the master songwriters in contemporary music. Tracks like Clock’s “Everyday I Write The Book” and World’s “Only Flame In Town” (a duet with Daryl Hall) were big records in Britain. Having those songs available on CD along with Costello’s commentary on the Falkland Islands War (“Shipbuilding,” a song that features a shimmering trumpet solo from Chet Baker) or the original version of “The Comedians” (reworked and recorded by Roy Orbison in one of his last recording sessions) isn’t an audio reclamation project that compares with the arrival of the Beatles catalogue on CD. But for fans (existing and future) it’s a nice treat, one of those small and personal pleasures that makes life that much more special.

Completists will certainly appreciate the additional material that’s been added to each disc. World contains Burt Bacharach’s “Baby It’s You.” Elvis duets with Nick Lowe on the cut, which remains the only recorded work the two of them did together despite the pivotal role Lowe played in the production of Costello’s first albums in the ‘70s. The track also stands up well in comparison to the Beatles’ version recently available for the first time on Live at the BBC. No wonder Elvis and Paul McCartney are buds.

It is nice to have Elvis Costello’s work back in its entirety. Congratulations to Rykodisc for the work and the commitments to keeping full artist catalogues alive. After all, music fans, cannot live on a diet of greatest hits albums alone.


Tags: Punch The ClockGoodbye Cruel WorldRykodiscColumbia RecordsDavid BowieEdmonton Folk FestivalEveryday I Write The BookThe Only Flame In TownDaryl HallShipbuildingChet BakerThe ComediansRoy OrbisonThe BeatlesBurt BacharachBaby It's YouNick LowePaul McCartney

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See Magazine, Issue 85, June 22 - 28, 1995


Gary McGowan reviews the Rykodisc extended play editions of Punch The Clock and Goodbye Cruel World.

Images

1995-06-22 See Magazine page 24 and 25 clipping 01.jpg
Clipping

1995-06-22 See Magazine page 24.jpg
Page scan

1995-06-22 See Magazine page 25.jpg
Page scan

1995-06-22 See Magazine cover.jpg
Cover


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