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Punch the Clock: RemasteredElvis Costello
Product Details
Total reviews (4)
The original 13 songs only really falter at Love Went Mad, and even that song has better lyrics than your average pop song of today. I have the Columbia release so I haven't heard the bonus tracks yet, but the album as I have heard it easily ranks in my top ten of all time, lyrically and musically. Songs like The Invisible Man and The World and His Wife demand to be sung along to, and Every Day I Write the Book and The Greatest Thing support the theory that EC and the Attractions were/are great instrumentalists. If you don't learn bass to Paul McCartney, learn it to Bruce Thomas!
Rating: 5 out of 5
I always think of this album as being a bit like David Bowie's 'Let's Dance' - there are some good (in places excellent) songs on it, but about half of it is filler, with the TKO Horns really intruding on some tracks. 'Shipbuilding' and 'Let Them All Talk' are some of Costello's best, 'TKO (Boxing Day)' 'Everyday I Write the Book' are pretty decent numbers, 'Pills and Soap' is an ominous near-masterpiece, while 'the World and His Wife' provides a nice chirpy, up-tempo and somewhat fitting closer for the album. The rest of the songs are fairly tedious ('the Greatest Thing' and 'the Element Within Her' are easily two of the worst song's EC has ever written!)
It's worth buying for the highlights of the album, not to mention the in-depth second disc. God only knows why 'Heathen Town' and 'Baby Pictures' never made the final album, and the demoes make for fascinating listening too (some of them, ie 'Let Them All Talk', 'the King Of Thieves' and 'Love Went Mad' are actually pretty good songs in their own right!). Finally, while sounding nowhere near as brilliant as the studio cuts on the albums from which they originate, the live versions of 'Watch Your Step', 'Secondary Modern' and 'Possession' also provide excellent listening
In short, get it for the undisputed highlights and the second disc!
Rating: 3 out of 5
I always think of this album as being a bit like David Bowie's 'Let's Dance' - there are some good (in places excellent) songs on it, but about half of it is filler, with the TKO Horns really intruding on some tracks. 'Shipbuilding' and 'Let Them All Talk' are some of Costello's best, 'TKO (Boxing Day)' 'Everyday I Write the Book' are pretty decent numbers, 'Pills and Soap' is an ominous near-masterpiece, while 'the World and His Wife' provides a nice chirpy, up-tempo and somewhat fitting closer for the album. The rest of the songs are fairly tedious ('the Greatest Thing' and 'the Element Within Her' are easily two of the worst song's EC has ever written!)
It's worth buying for the highlights of the album, not to mention the in-depth second disc. God only knows why 'Heathen Town' and 'Baby Pictures' never made the final album, and the demoes make for fascinating listening too (some of them, ie 'Let Them All Talk', 'the King Of Thieves' and 'Love Went Mad' are actually pretty good songs in their own right!). Finally, while sounding nowhere near as brilliant as the studio cuts on the albums from which they originate, the live versions of 'Watch Your Step', 'Secondary Modern' and 'Possession' also provide excellent listening
In short, get it for the undisputed highlights and the second disc!
Rating: 3 out of 5
people should buy this if only to hear the incredible live version of 'The World And His Wife'. It'll blow your socks off !
Rating: 4 out of 5
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