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The first evidence of something different about Elvis Costello is on the cover of the new album—large wire-rimmed glasses have replaced the trademark black frames. It's not the only innovation, though. Listen to Punch The Clock.
The usual terrific work from the Attractions is accompanied on this outing by Afrodiziak, a feminine duo providing soul-tinged background vocals, and the TKO Horns, a four-man organization whose tight charts lend a structured big band jazz feel to the material, and some tasteful string arrangements. Costello's last album, Imperial Bedroom, tentatively dropped his angry defensive a bit, offering an honest glimpse of the insecure fellow behind the facade. Punch The Clock takes him several steps further; besides accessible pop music, the album features some of his most optimistic work yet.
Family and romantic relationships in their various forms are still the focus. But Punch The Clock comes close to being a "concept" album, with its title as the unifying theme in two different senses: the good and bad time-clock-regularity and regimental strictness of love, as well as the "punch" inherent in actual fighting. It's evident in song titles like "T.K.O. (Boxing Day)" and "Love Went Mad" and in references throughout the rest of the material as well. "The Greatest Thing" provides the title among its tongue twisting lyrics: "Punch the clock, keep boxing clever / you'll be young enough forever."
The 13 cuts on the disc are mostly prime Costello. He's in good voice-and-guitar; Attractions drummer Pete Thomas and bassist Bruce Thomas build solid frameworks, and Steve Nieve's instinctive keyboard work is impressive, particularly during the excellent "The Invisible Man" — "It's a wonderful world within these cinema walls," he says. "But if stars are only painted on the ceiling above / then who can you turn to and who do you love?" — and there's good horn work, too.
One of the current singles is "Pills and Soap," a somber and hypnotic poke at Margaret Thatcher's England. But the other one is "Everyday I Write the Book," a joyous warning to a new flame: "I'm giving you a longing look." Costello's lyrical prowess is evident in his subtle turn of phrase and analogy. The neat, expert rocker "Let Them All Talk" says "Oh yeah, we're killing time... our day will come when you have squandered all your youth." Family reunions are roasted in "The World and His Wife," and Costello is still the master of the rhymed couplet: "The little girl you dangled on your knee without mishap / stirs something in your memory / and something in your lap."
Punch The Clock's intricately blended wordplay and melody make it another worthwhile and thoroughly rewarding calling card from Elvis Costello and the Attractions.
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