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Elvis Costello's newest album, Taking Liberties, is not his best. In fact, it's pretty mediocre. However, mediocrity for Costello is better than a lot of other performer's best.
Taking Liberties is a compilation of Costello's rarer songs and cuts from limited editions and import albums. Thus, any fervant Costello fan will most likely already have heard most of Taking Liberties. Like his last album, Get Happy, this is another "super album" with ten songs on each side. Only three songs on Taking Liberties have not been previously released.
On Taking Liberties, Costello shows many musical styles he's never displayed on his other albums. In "Stranger in the House" and "Radio Sweetheart" he does bad imitations of country music. He also does a version of Rogers and Hart's "My Funny Valentine." Most of it, however, is basic Elvis Costello. The best cuts on the album include "Chelsea," "Tiny Steps" and the previously unreleased "Black and White World."
In all, Taking Liberties isn't bad. However, it should be reserved for real Elvis Costello fans. Anyone interested in Costello, and you should be, you would be well-advised to get one of his previous albums, such as Armed Forces.
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