Cruel Attractions

 

Elvis Costello & The Attractions  - Goodbye Cruel World [MFSL 1-432 USA 2015 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC]

By his own admission, Elvis Costello's most difficult album with The Attractions. Close to breaking up and having a hard act to follow in Punch The Clock, Goodbye Cruel World hardly tickled the hit parade or enthused the critics, however the fan base stuck around ...and this album needs a reappraisal. One single, I Wanna Be Loved stands out revealing a little more pop than Costello's usual subtle political song writing. Perhaps due to his friendship with Paul Weller, this album reminds me much of the way in which the Bard Of Woking had been dabbling in pop music. Weller isn't involved, however Darryl Hall and Green Garside are among the pop stars who do feature on the album.

Originally released on F-Beat Records in 1984, my current go-to copy is the 2015 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab repress. The label don't feature this album among their recent confessionals, but its all about how it sounds isn't it? We now know that the label's GAIN 2™ Ultra Analog LP 180g Series is purely a marketing gimmick and this album does sound much better through a proper hi-fi system than through headphones. You decide.

A1 The Only Flame In Town

A2 Home Truth

A3 Room With No Number

A4 Inch By Inch

A5 Worthless Thing

A6 Love Field

B1 I Wanna Be Loved

B2 The Comedians

B3 Joe Porterhouse

B4 Sour Milk-Cow Blues

B5 The Great Unknown

B6 The Deportees Club

B7 Peace In Our Time