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Taking Liberties
Elvis Costello
Bill Ashton
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The latest album by one of Britain's most prolific rock songwriters is not newly recorded material, but rather a collection of 20 songs that haven't appeared on Costello's first four U.S. LPs. Most of the songs here were on singles or albums as far back as three years ago in Britain, while two came from the soundtrack of the film Americathon and three more were previously unreleased.
One of the LP's highlights is the B-side "Girls Talk," which contains some of Costello's finest wordplay (Dave Edmunds and Linda Ronstadt have already recorded it). "Big Tears," "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and "Tiny Steps" are great rock songs frequently performed in Costello concerts. The country flavored "Stranger in the House," which Costello did last year as a duet with George Jones, is presented here in its original form — it appeared on a free single that briefly came with the British version of This Year's Model. (The freebie 45 now trades hands for $10-$20.)
The frantic Costello pace slows down for a touching rendition of Rodgers and Hart's "My Funny Valentine," as well as an alternate version of "Clowntime Is Over" (a song from the Get Happy!! LP) and "Just a Memory." While other Costello albums seem to have unifying themes, Taking Liberties acknowledges its diverse sources, and celebrates them (the inner sleeve dryly states the songs' histories). If one can get over the somewhat jarring changes of tone from one song to the next, Taking Liberties is worth taking a chance on.
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