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When I Was Cruel is the album Elvis Costello needed to make — not desperately in order to salvage his career, but preferably, to please his old-school rock fans.
After all, the guy with the same first name as the rock 'n' roll King, the Buddy Holly eyeglasses and a sound like the Beatles gone punk has kept plenty busy in recent years.
But he's dabbled so much with classical strings and pop standards that his reputation as a true rocker has been tarnished.
In the last decade he has collaborated with the Brodsky Quartet chamber group, opera singer Anne Sofie von Otter and pop song architect Burt Bacharach.
This spring Costello, who comes to the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Pa., on Saturday, even joined Michael Tilson Thomas and the London Symphony Orchestra to record his first full score, Il Sogno, for an adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
His last proper rock record, 1996's All This Useless Beauty, featured songs he had previously written for other artists.
This year also is seeing a second overhaul of Costello's back catalog for re-release, essential classics such as 1978's This Year's Model being fattened with an extra disc of rarities and detailed liner notes.
When I Was Cruel is a noisy, clattering and contemporary-sounding romp for much of its 15 tracks.
When it isn't being outright noisy, the album crafts interestingly moody textures. Throughout, Costello's knack for writing sharp lyrics is in full effect.
"But if I've done something wrong / There's no ifs and buts/ 'Cause I love you just as much / As I hate your guts," he spits in "Alibi," one of the album's finest songs. It apparently was recorded in a single, first take.
Costello's veteran ear for detail results in the multilayered mathematics of first track "45," which lasts precisely three minutes and 33 seconds. It betrays his playfulness; he quotes ABBA's "Dancing Queen."
An oscillating bass line segues between all-out rocker "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution)" and the noirish seven-minute title track. Explosive horns define "15 Petals."
Old pals help Costello regain his spark: His band here is anchored by two longtime Attractions members, keyboardist Steve Nieve and drummer Pete Thomas.
On one hand, calling When I Was Cruel Costello's finest record since 1986's Blood & Chocolate is faint praise considering the short shrift he recently has given to the pumped-up rock that made him famous. On the other hand, absence only makes the heart grow fonder — or more pleasantly bitter, when it comes to Costello the rock songwriter.
His aim is scattershot, but Costello doesn't sound ready to give up his guitar for a baton just yet.
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