Album Lyrics from When I Was Cruel by Elvis Costello

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Following a string of tasteful but sometimes bloodless collaborations with Sophie Van Otter, Bill Frisell, and the London Symphony Orchestra, Costello delivers his most visceral and satisfying CD in years with When I Was Cruel. Reunited with half the Attractions, Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve, Costello sticks relatively close to the sharp new-wave melodies that sealed his reputation in the late '70s and '80s, but infuses them with powerful sonic touches: a hypnotic loop of Italian pop singer Mina that carries the title track, the melodica that casts an eerie glow over "Soul for Hire," and the frenetic, klezmer-inspired horns that drive "15 Petals." Costello's guitar is frequently drenched in tremolo, and his lyrical wit hasn't been this consistently spiky and unforced since Blood & Chocolate. Compared to some of his more uptown adventures, When I Was Cruel may seem at first a kind of semi-nostalgic slumming, but the opposite may be the case: like Woody Allen, Costello is at his most artful when he produces perfect pop trifles that will almost certainly outlast his more self-conscious "serious" work.

--Keith Moerer

When I Was Cruel
by Elvis Costello

Song Lyrics

15 Petals
45
Alibi
Daddy Can I Turn This?
Dissolve
Dust 2...
Episode Of Blonde
My Little Blue Window
Radio Silence
Soul for Hire
Spooky Girlfriend
Tart
Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution)
When I Was Cruel no. 2
...Dust


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