release date: Jul. 2, 1982
format: digital (1994 remaster Extended Play) / digital (2012 remaster)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,32]
producer: Geoff Emerick
label: Rykodisc / MFSL - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Beyond Belief" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Tears Before Bedtime" - 3. "Shabby Doll" - 4. "The Long Honeymoon" - 5. "Man Out of Time" - 6. "Almost Blue" (5 / 5) - 7. "...And in Every Home" - 9. "Human Hands" - 10. "Kid About It" - 12. "Boy With a Problem" - 14. "You Little Fool" - 15. "Town Cryer"
7th studio album by Elvis Costello and his fifth consecutive album with The Attractions originally released on F-Beat sees Costello back with his own material as the natural successor to Trust (1981), but it also introduces a new producer as Costello wanted something else, than what he knew Nick Lowe could garantee.
The song "Almost Blue" soon became a stable by Chet Baker [Baker's version - and live in Tokyo], however, the album basically failed to produce single hits as Costello and Emerick had been concentrating on creating a special sound for the entire album, and apparently, Costello didn't come up with full-finished compositions as much as an idea to follow before re-arranging and re-working the song with Emerick.
The '94 Extended Play remaster contains 9 bonus tracks of which five are demos or early / alternate versions and the remaining four are cover songs. Despite not containing top-10 single hits, I think of it as packed with great songs, and I really enjoy the sound of one of his most coherent albums.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, Mojo, Uncut 5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Blender 4 / 5 stars ]
1982 Favourite releases: 1. Laurie Anderson Big Science - 2. Dead Kennedys Plastic Surgery Disasters - 3. Elvis Costello & The Attractions Imperial Bedroom
