Description
Remastered from the Original Master Tapes!
Elvis Costello wasnt in a happy place when he began writing Goodbye Cruel World. His marriage collapsed between the records start and finish. He was also dealing with what he deems the dreadful 80s a period in which the importance of videos trumped musical merit, the government in his native England engaged in controversial conflicts, and nuclear threats hovered over daily life like a black cloud. What possible good came out of the age? An underrated yet smart batch of songs that stands up to many of the singer-songwriters better-known works.
Produced by the hit-making team of Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, Goodbye Cruel World reflects the polish of the day in places but now reveals a deeper soulfulness, grit, and honesty. Such aspects particularly come to fore on multiple tunes featuring saxophonists Gary Barnacle, trombonist Jim Paterson, and percussionist Luis Jardim the very first guests ever welcomed on an Attractions album.
With added instrumental assistance, Costello and Co. traverse styles ranging from rambunctious new-wave rock (The Deportees Club) to frisky New Orleans-derived blues (Sour Milk Cow Blues) to suave, jazzy pop (The Only Flame In Town). In the closing Peace In Our Time, a sobering albeit optimistic song whose verses still apply to contemporary times, Costello crafts the finale to a socio-politically conscious trilogy that began with Shipbuilding and Pills and Soap.
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