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Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Imperial Bedroom Audio CD

A fair review of the Elvis Costello & the Attractions "Imperial Bedroom" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Elvis Costello & the Attractions reviews here, or go back to the Elvis Costello & the Attractions tabs.

Elvis Costello & the Attractions Band: Elvis Costello & the Attractions
Title: Imperial Bedroom
Rating:
Release Date: 1994-08-30
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Beyond Belief 2: Tears Before Bedtime 3: Shabby Doll 4: Long Honeymoon 5: Man Out of Time 6: Almost Blue 7: And in Every Home 8: Loved Ones 9: Human Hands 10: Kid About It 11: Little Savage 12: Boy With a Problem 13: Pidgin English 14: You Little Fool 15: Town Cryer 16: From Head to Toe [*] 17: World of Broken Hearts [*] 18: Night Time [*] 19: Really Mystified [*] 20: I Turn Around [*] 21: Seconds of Pleasure [*] 22: Stamping Ground [*] 23: Shabby Doll [*] 24: Imperial Bedroom [*]

Ambitious, Sprawling, Brilliant
"Beyond Belief" is that, with a spine tingling delivery of Elvis at-his-best lyrics that almost qualify as an instrument in itself. The opening four songs of "Imperial Bedroom" are a simply amazing outpouring of Elvis at his finest; "Beyond Belief", "Tears Before Bedtime", "Shabby Doll", and "The Long Honeymoon" come at you like a brilliant bully, daring you not to be dazzled by their lyrical dexterity and musical diversity. The first four are followed by "Man Out Of Time", which is fine also, and which manages to pull in the reigns of the almost out-of-control locomotive energy created by the first four songs. This definitely is a work of great ambition by an Elvis Costello at the peak of his songwriting powers, and its sprawl only occasionally dilutes the towering achievement of "Imperial Bedroom". "Town Cryer" is promising but never finds its edge, and is not helped by overproduction. In general it is the (over)production that is the only real weakness, and it's not a significant weakness. The sheer, raw talent of the young Elvis flexing his prodigious songwriting muscles more than compensates for a few too many horns.


Elvis Costello's Best
All of the songs are strong with nary a dud on the album. This is definitely Elvis Costello's best work to date. It's also notable that the additional songs that were provided for this CD version are great too. If you are new to Elvis's work, this is the best place to start.


Some great tunes, too much production
Snappy lines, sung with force and definitely dripping with caustic wit. Listen to the opening lines of "The Loved Ones" and you hear Costello at his best. Then we hit the piano "noodling" and the song starts to drift away from me. The CD is filled with moments like this; great lyrics and a solid melody often lost amidst overproduced musical adornments. Stripped down, this is some of Costello's best stuff; songs that walk the fine line between emotion and intellect. But every time I feel like I get close to the heart of the song, I feel lost in the middle of music that serves no purpose. This is definitely worth a listen and I still enjoy popping it in the machine, but I feel some of his other works is more deserving of the high praise given IMPERIAL BEDROOM.


Good Stuff
I like musicians who have serious sensibilities and yet are capable of maintaining a sense of humor. Seems Elvis really had fun with this album.


Simply a Classic
Suffice it to say that Elvis Costello is not my favorite artist by any means, yet this is unquestionably one of my three favorite albums of all-time, and easily my favorite album of the 1980s. See below for effusive praise.


You can see a complete list of all Elvis Costello & the Attractions discography, or go back to the Elvis Costello & the Attractions tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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