Stereo Review, July 1994: Difference between revisions

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Elvis Costello has been laying the groundwork for his latest record, "''Brutal Youth''," for a long time. From the dense, often labored song-craft of albums like the late-Eight "''Spike''" and (especially 1991's "''Mighty like a Rose''" through noble failures like last year's "''The Juliet Letters''," Costello was guilty only of trying too hard to maintain his status as the pre-eminent songwriter of his time. Now, with "''Brutal Youth''," he refines and clarifies his art by focusing sharply on what he does best--boring through the thicket of human interactions with lacerating wit and a musical attack to match. Fittingly, the effort reunites him with the musicians who participated in his greatest successes: his old band, the Attractions (Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas, Bruce Thomas), and his erstwhile producer, Nick Lowe, who here shares bass duties.


{{Article needed}}
In fact, "''Brutal Youth''," which was co-produced by Costello and Mitchell Froom, winds up sounding like the Great Lost Elvis Costello and the Attractions Album, a worldly neo-punk broadside that could easily be filed between "''This Year's Model''" and "''Armed Forces''." Like those classics, it's a big chunk of a record to digest; its fifteen songs are as dense and unrelenting as anything Costello's ever recorded, more like novellas than the average songwriter's short stories. But only one clocks in at over 5 minutes (the moody, keyboard-drenched [[Sulky Girl]]), and the band runs as clean and hot as a well-tuned engine on such numbers as [[20% Amnesia]], a blast of rebel rock that features Costello in full-throttle scream throughout.


The album's musical standout is [[Clown Strike]], a breezy soul strut that could easily merit a spot on a beach-music jukebox. Lyrically, Costello taps into a motherlode in [[London's Brilliant Parade]], a detailed catalog of urban obsessions defining his love/hate relationship with the city whose spirit he interprets with as sure a hand as Lou Reed dissects New York. It's a theme explored in depth on "''Brutal Youth''," as Costello, returning to the scene of the crime, sifts through the evidence of a profligate age and draws up a canny indictment in which even he does not stand unaccused.
From start to finish, "''Brutal Youth''" reveals an artist fully in control. Amazingly, time hasn't mellowed Costello and the Attractions--it's made them that much more muscular and knowing. Costello even looks more like himself on the cover than he has in years--clean-shaven, horn-rimmed, back in fighting trim, face fixed in a delightfully jaundiced smirk. This Elvis, I'm pleased to note, has not left the building.
ELVIS COSTELLO ''Brutal Youth''
Pony S.; Kinder Murder; 13 Steps Lead Down; This Is Hell; Clown Strike; You Tripped at Every Step; Still Too Soon to Know; 20% Amnesia; Sulky Girl; London's Brilliant Parade; My Science Fiction Twin; Rocking Horse Road; Just About Glad; All the Rage; Favorite Hour WARNER BROS. 45535 (57 min)
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Revision as of 14:53, 23 May 2017

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Stereo Review

Magazines
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Brutal Youth

Elvis Costello

Parke Puterbaugh

Elvis Costello has been laying the groundwork for his latest record, "Brutal Youth," for a long time. From the dense, often labored song-craft of albums like the late-Eight "Spike" and (especially 1991's "Mighty like a Rose" through noble failures like last year's "The Juliet Letters," Costello was guilty only of trying too hard to maintain his status as the pre-eminent songwriter of his time. Now, with "Brutal Youth," he refines and clarifies his art by focusing sharply on what he does best--boring through the thicket of human interactions with lacerating wit and a musical attack to match. Fittingly, the effort reunites him with the musicians who participated in his greatest successes: his old band, the Attractions (Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas, Bruce Thomas), and his erstwhile producer, Nick Lowe, who here shares bass duties.

In fact, "Brutal Youth," which was co-produced by Costello and Mitchell Froom, winds up sounding like the Great Lost Elvis Costello and the Attractions Album, a worldly neo-punk broadside that could easily be filed between "This Year's Model" and "Armed Forces." Like those classics, it's a big chunk of a record to digest; its fifteen songs are as dense and unrelenting as anything Costello's ever recorded, more like novellas than the average songwriter's short stories. But only one clocks in at over 5 minutes (the moody, keyboard-drenched Sulky Girl), and the band runs as clean and hot as a well-tuned engine on such numbers as 20% Amnesia, a blast of rebel rock that features Costello in full-throttle scream throughout.

The album's musical standout is Clown Strike, a breezy soul strut that could easily merit a spot on a beach-music jukebox. Lyrically, Costello taps into a motherlode in London's Brilliant Parade, a detailed catalog of urban obsessions defining his love/hate relationship with the city whose spirit he interprets with as sure a hand as Lou Reed dissects New York. It's a theme explored in depth on "Brutal Youth," as Costello, returning to the scene of the crime, sifts through the evidence of a profligate age and draws up a canny indictment in which even he does not stand unaccused.

From start to finish, "Brutal Youth" reveals an artist fully in control. Amazingly, time hasn't mellowed Costello and the Attractions--it's made them that much more muscular and knowing. Costello even looks more like himself on the cover than he has in years--clean-shaven, horn-rimmed, back in fighting trim, face fixed in a delightfully jaundiced smirk. This Elvis, I'm pleased to note, has not left the building.

ELVIS COSTELLO Brutal Youth

Pony S.; Kinder Murder; 13 Steps Lead Down; This Is Hell; Clown Strike; You Tripped at Every Step; Still Too Soon to Know; 20% Amnesia; Sulky Girl; London's Brilliant Parade; My Science Fiction Twin; Rocking Horse Road; Just About Glad; All the Rage; Favorite Hour WARNER BROS. 45535 (57 min)

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Stereo Review, July 1994


Parke Puterbaugh reviews Brutal Youth.

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File:1994-07-00 Stereo Review clipping 01.jpg
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File:1994-07-00 Stereo Review clipping 02.jpg
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1994-07-00 Stereo Review cover.jpg
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