When I Was Cruel Revisited

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 5:34 am

Well Costello really did it that time...

Elvis Costello, the bespectacled genius of rock, the... high priest of vitriolic wit, master of personal socio-psychopathology, the... debonair balladeer of song... the genre-hopper extraordinaire..... the little hands of concrete and on and on. It had long been obvious by 2002 that his pursuit for private artistic victories that the masses are not privy to and in fact they can get stuffed, comes well before any undignified lunges for their approval. It was an ambivalent yet restless Costello, therefore, that celebrated '45' (was 3 years older then) and wrote a couple of other pretty forgettable singles for the album - Tear Off YOH and Spooky Girlfriend. Mainly, I was glad that he experimented a lot... behind his character masks and sonic tricks, behind some artistic tricking-himselfishness, behind all there is to find in WIWC (through which comes across a certain 'I don't give a fuck' flavour...). It's not instantly accessible, and it wasn't meant to be. It doesn't flow the easiest, and I don't care. It's full of head trips and detours -- the sequence of Dust 2..., Alibi, Dissolve, and ...Dust, for example-- rather than simpler songs. There are complex and well-realized songs, in the BY and ATUB vein, Little Blue Window is a belter, and great descriptiveness - Episode of Blonde, When I Was Cruel No2. The closer Radio Silence makes contrasting comment on radio to that of the experience within the opener '45'. Then there are songs of seduction, relationships, guilt... And it is intense, so it's not a frequent listen but it's a fine one.

Pidgin · Post by **Pidgin** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:48 am

Ahhh....yes. Well said Bamboo! Ahem....(Does Bamboo always talk like that?) WOW
An extraordinary review..fun to read and dead on! It leaves me reaching for a cig. (only I don't smoke)

MegJS · Post by **MegJS** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 12:56 am

I like your review...though I don't agree that it's not a frequent listen. The CD has been in my hi-fi for 8 months already. On constant play.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 3:10 am

MegJS wrote:Oh God...When I Was Cruel is one of my fave albums ever. It was the first Costello album I heard and it made me a crazy fan of his! I even posted my "review" on a Russian britpop site, so I'll translate it and post it here soon...

Please do, MegJS. And welcome.

Pidgin wrote:Ahhh....yes. Well said Bamboo! Ahem....(Does Bamboo always talk like that?) WOW
An extraordinary review..fun to read and dead on!

I don't often talk like that in front of strangers but I was being presumptuous, Pidge.

And that was kind of you to say.

MegJS · Post by **MegJS** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:34 am

Here it is. Not quite a review, looks more like just an impression.

It all started when Radiohead were my almost everything and having digged out another interview with Yorke(or it was some kind of form, don’t quite remember now) I learned that he had been a fan of Elvis Costello once. I didn’t know anything about Costello so I wanted to listen to him. It was the end of 2003 and only When I Was Cruel and North were on sail then. Thank God I heard WIWC first(now I realize that to me it was the best way to Costello).

After I listened to it first there was a feeling “well...he’s definitely got something, but...” and I didn’t rush to put the CD on again. Later I just came across it by accident and put it on, for no particular reason, and I liked all the songs beginning from Alibi. When I put it on once more I already got to like all the songs and with every play the album was getting better and better. Of course it’s almost always like that, when you don’t “get into” the album from the very first, but in WIWC’s case there’s the sharpest contrast between the initial and the following impression.

The album has not only splendid songs, it has the mood I have never found anywhere else. It has some magic...dolls, plush(orange), candies, oriental spices, sweet-bitter taste, humour, occasionally almost unperceptible awkwardness, more plush – such associations occur. To meJ Besides, I like the cover very much, it really does justice to the mood.

The magic apart, there remains an original sound, and voice in particular, firstrate catchy melodies(My Little Blue Window is one of the strongest ones, alongside with the best works of Lennon – McCartney), interesting lyrics and the variety of the stuff. The album has 16 songs but in terms of quality it sounds like a good “the best of” – not a single throwaway and all songs special. “A diamond placer” comes to mind...so I don’t think that a description of each song is going to be of much use.

Of course if I try to do without the raptures and subjectivism, When I Was Cruel might be just a very strong rock-pop record. Still, it’s some greater thing...a very underrated album. The record one has to listen to SEVERAL TIMES! If after the third play it repelles you(sounds unbelievable for an EC fan forum, mind it was originally written for a common site) – put it off till better times(reappraisal of values for example), but if you have a feeling of “he’s got something...” keep on listening and you’ll get one more masterpiece.

Now I’m buying and downloading all Costello’s stuff I see and I can say for sure that Costello is my favourite Elvis!

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:31 am

Bamboo:

I think you made some very fine points about WIWC. Your comments on individual songs and the links among them, and the loose tethering of the entire project are great.

I love Dust 2, Episode of Blonde, and When I was Cruel #2 - brilliant and worth the addition of the album to the collection.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 1:00 am

EC was quite prepared for it to be flawed. It seems he especially didn't want too much stuffing around in the studio, avoiding bogging down, especially if he already had a few new songs (as is his custom) that would be tour-resilient. WIWC would sound pretty fresh, if incomplete or disjointed at all. But 45, Spooky Girlfriend and Alibi do seem overrehearsed or something to me. Alibi seems to wear it well though because of it's about tired excuses. Side note as far as the singles, what was their point, really... I don't think he cares. He can easily put one out with the immediate appeal of Brilliant Mistake, It's Time, or many others any time he wants...

But could the Imposters potentially have been just hired hands at that point? Davey wasn't broken in gently but, rather, subjected to a trial by fire... probably the smartest move though under the circumstances. Still, EC was disgusted with radio indifference and with the record company upheavals. He was returning to "rowdy rock n' roll" from doing a bunch of different stuff, but for how much longer... He might have seen the chance to for a relatively high profile and lucrative tour as one he should sieze while he could in his advancing years... His recent thoughts about the impending demise of record stores may have been on his mind then, then. Hmmm... could this also explain the promptness of the subsequent albums and trots around the globe... maybe not.

Other factors weighing on his mind at the time would have been his crumbling marriage, his leaving Dublin, the disaster of the flooding of the studio, etc. The stress... EC packed on considerable weight. I surmise that the reason he cut his hair so short was to not look like a fat version of his former appearance, but just totally different. In the past he might tried drinking himself through it all perhaps but he'd given that up.

It's even possible that, combined with these pressures to get WIWC out, he, far more than he would admit, really had the shits with the dominant "has he former angry young man given up rock n' roll?", "has he mellowed out and turned into a soft-cock?", dominant angles of the pre-WIWC publicity. But in any case he was driven to get himself in gear and deliver a memorable album and tour and effectively maintain the interest of many wondering what would be next.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 9:58 pm

Like it is.

signed, Fred Foyle

Fishfinger king · Post by **Fishfinger king** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 8:22 pm

Meg has such a wonderful turn of phrase "the best way to Costello". Sounds like an idiosyncratic Spanish dance. I prefer to Costello in a humorous fashion, which does't happen enough in my humble opinion. When he sings "Marshmallow" in My Mood Swings, it's great because it's so silly. He should allow more silliness......Milligna (the common tiping error)

MegJS · Post by **MegJS** » Mon May 02, 2005 1:22 pm

Fishfinger King
ha! it really was just the best way to Costello:)

and I also think that Costello should practice more silliness in his songs... when he does it he sounds special... really great

millen · Post by **millen** » Mon May 02, 2005 1:35 pm

WIWC was the first music I ever heard by Costello. I must have been living under a rock, but there you have it. I normally only listen to punkrock and sincerly hate the radio nowadays, maybe that's why I only came across him this recently.

Anyway, for some reason, I was out of my usual corner in the recordstore, saw his then new album, and bought it with thinking or listening to it. I was hooked the moment it began to spin in my CD-player. The next week I went back and bought Cruel Smile, and have been buying his albums ever since.

I love this album and every other one I've heard so far. I unfortunately haven't heard them all at this point. Since I don't want to download them, and CDs are quite expensive over here, it's taking its time.

Masterpiece? · Post by **Masterpiece?** » Fri May 06, 2005 4:01 am

At first listen I thought the sound was too in-your-face, but I liked most of the songs from Day One. I appreciated the variety of sounds and tempos. Surprisingly, the song that mesmerized me the most (and still does today) is WIWC#2. That loop is simply hypnotic for me...

I've since grown to like it more and more, it's definitely one of my top 5 EC albums at this point. I seem to be listening to Dust 2 a lot lately...

Gillibeanz · Post by **Gillibeanz** » Fri May 06, 2005 4:04 am

MASTERPIECE: I love your avatar - that is so funny!!

Masterpiece? · Post by **Masterpiece?** » Fri May 06, 2005 4:18 am

Thankee

It's from a CD cover I designed for a listserv tribute CD several years ago...

SweetPear · Post by **SweetPear** » Fri May 06, 2005 9:17 pm

I haven't listened to it in ages but have put it back in my stack of discs that I tote around in the car with me.
When it first came out, though, I listened to it non-stop. It was literally in my player for months.
(Not exactly a Bamboo review.......

)

staggerlee · Post by **staggerlee** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 1:10 am

I hated WIWC when I first heard it. Tried and tried and failed to like it. Put it away for about 6 months, and was completely blown away by it. One of his best, I think, and reveals more facets of itself over time.

Neil. · Post by **Neil.** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 5:46 am

'Tart' is one of his best melodies and vocals, and 'Oh Well' is absolutely gorgeous - great production - love the way the sound matches at the point he mentions an astronaut in that great line

I had a dream once, or so I thought
I'd be a pilot or an astronaut
I had a dream like that until I found
Even an astronaut ends up in the ground

You don't get many pop songs about failed ambition and crushed aspirations. Those touches of acoustic guitar are great too.

Doll Revolution is also a highlight for me - the falsetto is cool, and the psychadelic sound. 45 sounded a lot better as a joyous celebration live, rather than the claustrophobic rocker it turned out to be on the album!

Chrille · Post by **Chrille** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 7:05 am

I listened to it again yesterday and it was great, only songs I don't like are Oh Well and Radio Silence. I realise now the problem I have with this album is that it doesn't hold up well for repeated listenings, but if I listen to it only now and then it works great.

Neil. · Post by **Neil.** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 11:59 am

Chrille, if you put 'Oh Well' on at full blast on your headphones you'll hear an exquisite production and a beautiful, top-class Elvis vocal! Give it a chance, mate!

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 1:48 pm

It holds "Episode of Blonde" which is good enough for me to rate it highly. Such a witty song. Also "When I Was Cruel No. 2" is a song like few other Costello compositions that makes this album special. Seemingly without a theme, it never offers a good grip or foothold to establish a 'center', but it still works when considered as the sum of its parts.

staggerlee · Post by **staggerlee** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 8:15 pm

Mr. Average wrote:"When I Was Cruel No. 2" is a song like few other Costello compositions that makes this album special. Seemingly without a theme, it never offers a good grip or foothold to establish a 'center', but it still works when considered as the sum of its parts.

Hmmm... kinda like a microcosm of the album as a whole, eh, M. Avg.?

Extreme Honey · Post by **Extreme Honey** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 7:20 pm

I think this record has a whopping number of singles despite the presence of non-single tracks. For exaple" Alibi, Tear off you own Head, When I was cruel no.2. As with every other EC album, it's got it's own feel to it. Imagine if "Dissolve" was placed on Get Happy!! or Spike!?! That's the beauty of this album, it's got it's own category, just like every album since Trust! I loved this album right off the bat and I still do, and I think this is his best Universal Groups record yet (out of 4)! I would give it anywhere between a 7-8 out of 10

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 3:55 am

MegJS wrote:and I also think that Costello should practice more silliness in his songs... when he does it he sounds special... really great

That's what makes My Science Fiction Twin such a great song in my Costello's repetoir.