Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Pretty self-explanatory
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Jack of All Parades
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Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by Jack of All Parades »

Recent discussions on the board of EC's core work from the early 80's has caused me to spend some quality time revisiting "Punch the Clock" and to realize, more importantly, that it, like it's dynamic three predecessors, has reason to be celebrated, though perhaps not to the same degree as them.

I got the cd out of the collection a while ago and to my amazement have been consistently playing it and, more importantly, moving around the house to it as it's arrangements and instrumentation are an inducement to move unlike EC's disclaimer that he had witnessed first hand it's ability to clear the dance floor. A good part of the effect comes from the very melodically muscular bass playing by Bruce Thomas coupled with some tangy horn arrangements. A real memory highlight for me is first hand experiencing this music live with the TKO Horns and the Afrodiziacs on stage, on a warm summer night. It was one of those shows that has consistently stayed fresh for me.

I liked, and still like, that EC went for the brass ring with this production and have never been bothered by the 'sheen' given individual songs by Langer & Winstanley. In fact, I remember welcoming it at the time as a step forward. It has never been off-putting for me that EC attempted 'pop' Nirvana with this album nor that he achieved it in spots with songs like "Everyday I Write the Book" or "The Element Within Her" or "Let Them All Talk". There are moments on this record that achieve a joyful, bright marriage of intelligent, yet playful, lyric with 'pure pop' melody-witness those previously mentioned songs. EC has an economy of line within many of the songs that is breathtaking in its execution and near purity- there is a lyric writing class going on in songs like "Let Them All Talk", "The Greatest Thing" and "Mouth Almighty". It is the last time I think that he so naturally and playfully worked lyric lines and rhymed with such felicity. His recent mature writing style breakthrough in "Trust" carries over into the love songs on this record and he continues to look at his relations with the other sex with a ruefulness that lays a greater blame on his person for individual failures with a partner. I particularly like the echo to Joni Mitchell in "Love Went Mad" with its "looking at love in every way I can, From under and above, And every chance I've had, My love went mad". There is a strong sense in these 'love' songs that the writer's best time has passed; that he is rapidly becoming 'history' now. I remember such a feeling myself as I left my twenties and emerged into my thirties. EC has caught that feeling exquisitely for me.

An added bonus for me are the 'political' songs. I remember that time clearly and songs like "Shipbuilding" and "Pills and Soap" and "Invisible Man" catch succinctly for me the deadening I and others felt as Thatcher-ism and Reagan-ism crept over the populaces of their respective countries. The mindless jingoism and shuttering of doors and windows throughout communities still gives me chills. EC provided a pointed, elegiac voice to my feelings. I have always appreciated that.

I probably would have dumped "King of Thieves" and substituted "Heathen Town" and "The Flirting Kind" on the record in its place. But that is a minor quibble. I think this record gets unfairly knocked. Approaching 30 years, I have found a new respect for it. Not perhaps in my top five but it consistently prompts me to replay it because I think it approaches a high bar for song craft and for presentation as a 'pure pop' artifact. I am appreciative he tried to break his mold and give his listeners something akin to a commercial product for its time. There is a musical heart in this album that is still beating when I listen now. PD has suggested that EC struggles when he tries for 'formalism'; I think this album is an argument against the entirety of that notion-I think he had a comfort there if only for the time span of this album.

PS- have a best friend who has a large, framed poster of the EC caught on the front photo-have always liked that image- a youth emerging into his adulthood and some semblance of maturity. It is, and has been, an iconic image for me.
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
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Re: Re-examination of "Puch the Clock"

Post by Dr. Luther »

I love King of Thieves. I think it's a great song.
(Love Went Mad is one of my least favorites over the decades.)

As far as the production:
At the time it was pretty thrilling -- the horns and all.
Over time I've grown to merely tolerate it.

The thing is:
Costello's writing and vocal approach took a huge step forward in this time period.
The Rhino bonus disc of Punch the Clock shows this appropriately.
I love the way he was singing then. Relaxed, but elegant -- or something like that.

The first time I heard the solo World and His Wife from the shows at the end of 1982, I was really stunned by how mature and advanced his songwriting and vocals had become.

It's a great period of his career.
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by FAVEHOUR »

This is an interesting topic, Chris. PTC is an album that has always brought me mixed feelings. If I really stop and examine why, it leads me to believe that the record is a victim of its context more than anything else.

I was an EC fan from 1977. Although the 1981 releases (esp. Almost Blue) weren't so much to my liking, everything else was just great, and with the end of the year shows in 1981 and the subsequent release of Imperial Bedroom, I was fully on board. Late 1981 is also when I first started trading for tapes of concerts. After the brilliant IB and the equally brilliant tour that followed it, I was ready for the next masterwork. The new songs I got to hear in late 1982, thanks to the tapers out there, also sounded great. Everyday I Write the Book, in its Merseybeat version, sounded perfect to me. I wrote my brother across the country and told him, "Elvis is finally going to have a hit song in the US." Then the Albert Hall shows came along, and there were these lovely, plaintive songs like The Comedians, The World and His Wife, even Mouth Almighty had a tinge of sadness to it. And the pre-recorded Pills and Soap sounded dead serious. Plus there was Shipbuilding, which I'd heard live on the 82 tour. Wow, I thought. This next record is going to be really something.

There's a danger, I guess, in hearing these songs ahead of the finished product, because you set certain expectations that may not match up with the actual result. PIlls and Soap came out and of course, was the same track, basically, as what they had piped in to the hall before the Albert shows. But my first sign that things were amiss was the single release of what I thought was the greatest Elvis pop song ever. And when I played Everyday I Write the Book on my turntable, I was quite surprised, and not in a good way. (And yet, my prediction about it becoming a US hit came true. Go figure.)

Then the album came out, it was a real disappointment. Even the packaging seemed to be the opposite of the vaunted Imperial Bedroom. The lyrics, printed in different and apparently random fonts, with silly disembodied heads of the musicians floating around them, made it all look very trivial. And the lyrics seemed so.....simple, so tossed off. While the music sounded very 1983, if you know what I mean. And what the heck had he done to The World and His Wife? There's a lesson in presentation. The words are the same. I couldn't decipher them on the Albert Hall tape. The song sounded sad and wistful in 1982. And now, here it's a knees-up dance tune. ????? For a while there, I was crushed.

Over the next few weeks, though, I found myself discovering what a great summer time, driving in your car record this could be. At the time, I was living in temporary quarters, and had to drive an hour to work in the morning. PTC started to charm me and cheer me with its energy. I still found (and still find, in several songs) the lyrics disturbingly plain, but the melodies and the horns carried the songs forward. Take a song like "The Element Within Her." Lyrically, there's very little "there" there. But I love the tune, and the singing.

Finally, I had tickets for 3 of the shows in August 1983. The first one, opening night in Allentown PA, was marred by problems in the crowd (it was just a standup audience in a fairgrounds...very weird). But I loved the horn-based rearrangements of the old songs, some of which I'd heard on the aforementioned live tapes, but a lot of which (Detectives, Clubland, etc.) were new. When I went to my next show at Columbia, MD, I was blown away. It was such a fun show! I couldn't wait to see it again, and eagerly drove to Harrisburg PA the next day for my third show, only to find it had been cancelled!

Live recordings of the tour confirm, it was a great live package. I never got to see Afrodiziak on stage with the boys (they didn't join the tour till the last leg) but the horns really delivered the goods.

Now when I hear PTC songs, it's the tunes that carry most of them. Obviously, Pills and Soap and Shipbuilding sound like they belong on another record. There are some good lyrics in songs like Mouth Almighty, King of Thieves, Invisible Man, maybe Charm School. The slight songs, like Let Them All Talk, Greatest Thing, Element, Love Went Mad, TKO, still are a pleasure to listen to musically.

So it wasn't the disaster I thought it was initially. It's a fun record. I wouldn't have wanted him to continue in this vein, but as we know, that's rarely a problem with Elvis.
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by Jack of All Parades »

Favehour-like you there from the start in 1977 and I understand your early trepidations about this record. I concur this record needs to be heard with movement, either while in your car as you note or with your own two feet[as noted by a single from EC at the time "From Head to Toe". As to the lightness of the lyrics I think the point is just that-taking out the political songs- it is 'pop' light and it takes a real skill to create that lightness in the words as playfully, economically and rhythmically as EC does on this record. There is a record by The Kinks "Face to Face" that this album most reminds me of sonically and thematically. A song like "The Element Within Her" could easily fit on that record and one could easily extract the more overtly political songs from that album, as well. That is why I view PTC's pop songs as a masterclass in this type of writing. Like you, would not want this type of record from EC frequently but I am grateful it came when it did. It put a 'fun' cap on a great time in my life and I have had a tremendous time revisiting it these past few weeks.

Those shows at that time were my all time favorite EC concerts-fun, energetic and full of inventiveness. I never had to second guess myself for going to see one, unlike these later years where it has been an internal argument to work up the enthusiasm to see one[SP&S in particular].
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by FAVEHOUR »

Chris, funny you mention the Kinks. This is when Elvis started to sound more "British" in his singing, and particularly like Ray Davies in a song like "The Inivisible Man."

Dave
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by bronxapostle »

funny how it seems a VERY common thought pattern here that the 1983 shows were indeed the beginning of new journeys. yet, the lp remains looked upon with a certain disdain. i always liked the record a lot, though anyone would have to admit to the apparent 80's synth production feel which can sometimes feel quite dated. but, i too, favedave, did the opening night at the strangely atmospheric allentown fairgrounds and remember just running around a bit and enjoying the NEW show! remind me please of the crowd problems. and it was VERY funny that he opened the tour there as billy joel had the hit single titled for that town just then. strange coincidence? and after three more GREAT shows in the following ten days in nyc and jones beach...i too had to go for one more and did the excellent asbury park august 14th show. i remember steve tinkering with "i'm a rocker" somewhere during the night in homage to springsteen. so, 1983 was the first time i went to five shows on anyone's tour and cemented the obsession all these twenty eight years since. ROAD TRIPS, MULTIPLE NIGHTS, EVERY NIGHT, ODDBALL APPEARANCES! oh, and whomever does not like KING OF THIEVES...what???? that song rules!!! thank God i got to hear it in a one hour soundcheck at the pier in nyc where i also got to see E play bass and Bruce the guitar....what a bonus afternoon early arrival that turned out to be!
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by pophead2k »

Upon reexamination, I find this to be a very satisfying album as well. I think the reason it didn't do much for me initially is because none of the individual songs is a top ten favorite for me, but as an album they all work so well together. I could live without TKO, but the rest is top notch. Agree with Favehour about The World and His Wife. The acoustic solo version is far more powerful.
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by sulky lad »

BA says
thank God i got to hear it in a one hour soundcheck at the pier in nyc where i also got to see E play bass and Bruce the guitar.
What a sight that must have been, BA. Did Bruce look sneeringly over at EC ? The only soundcheck I ever saw was EC solo in Bristol in November 1984 when he got out The Singing Dictionary to check the chords for "Girls Talk".
PTC was always a bit of a favourite for me because of the bass playing again (like GH) and I remember feeling proud of getting to grips with the simpler lines quite readily, unlike IB. It's a great album to play loud and uninhibited as I regularly did in my hospital accommodation in the summer of 1983 when all the other flat mates were playing their synth boy band "pop" singles!
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

I'm with you on the student memories. Birmingham 1983, played it to death. It fitted the mood of the times and my mood very well. I've always loved it. Possibly the EC LP I played most on its release. I'm not sure the Dec '83 Birmingham Odeon show has been topped on any of the subsequent occasions I've seen him. given that my first encounter was the notorious Nieveless trio in Guernsey, this full line-up with horns and backing vocals was a very different proposition. I was blown away by the passion and precision of the whole thing, and how well all the songs came over. I think that Shipbuilding that night and I Want You at the Hammersmith Odeon Sept 2002 rank as the equal top moments of my Elviswatching. Songs you held your breath to.

I can't imagine how PTC would come across to me if I was to hear it afresh now. Dated, I guess. But for me it's an old friend, still studded with many magnificent moments that will always thrill.
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by FAVEHOUR »

BA, I wasn't very precise about Allentown. The crowd problems were not widespread, just some folks around me who lessened my enjoyment of the proceedings!

Ah for the good old days, though, when I used to see multiple shows and go around the country seeing Elvis concerts. Sigh.
1983 was messed up as I was moving back to the East coast from Arizona right when the tickets were going on sale and it was difficult to make plans to attend anything. So I only had tix for 3 shows and then one got cancelled. A bummer, as that was a very cool tour.

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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by bronxapostle »

yeh Dave...looks like i should enter your stratosphere this year. God willing...my 100th show!
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by docinwestchester »

bronxapostle wrote: and after three more GREAT shows in the following ten days in nyc and jones beach...i too had to go for one more and did the excellent asbury park august 14th show. i remember steve tinkering with "i'm a rocker" somewhere during the night in homage to springsteen. so, 1983 was the first time i went to five shows on anyone's tour and cemented the obsession all these twenty eight years since.
Wasn't there, but that August 7, 1983 show at Pier 84 is a phenomenal bootleg. Love them TKO horns on Let Them All Talk > Possession > Watching the Detectives > Secondary Modern > The Greatest Thing, among other things.

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-deta ... ?id=318928
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Yep, the samples sound great. Another download. I thought I had too many EC ones to listen to in one lifetime, but this and the excellent ATUB songs one have totally re-whetted my appetite.
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by bronxapostle »

thanks Otis for appreciating my ATUB comp. dare i say...it IS better than the official release!!!!!!!! :oops: :oops: :oops:
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by alexv »

Punch The Clock and the early 80s for me go hand in hand. Good and Bad. And the Good far outweighs the bad. I have a very soft spot for this record.

The Good: like some of the others I attended the NYC shows on this tour. Those were the days when I would do the trio of Pier, Jones Beach and Forest Hills. Not sure how many shows he did, but I saw all of them, and they were great. The live renditions, even with the horns and background singers, just worked. A whole other side of a very young EC. You must recall that at the time we had no idea...The feeling for the record, all these years later, still stems to a large degree from the affection for those shows.

For the Bad, yes, they, in retrospect, are very un-EC like. And the horns and backup singers and the production are all negatives. He clearly was trying for a hit record, and made all the compromises needed to get there. I remember reading the obligatory Musician magazine interview he would do in the 80s after every record release. As I recall, the article opens with him and Cait munching on some peanuts in a park in London, and EC excitedly running into a store to pick up a copy of a music trade mag to see how the single was a hit, and being very pleased indeed. EC the careerist on the case, he just wants to be loved, by lots and lots of people. Of course, we now all know it would never happen but that’s another story.

Those are minor quibbles as far as I’m concerned. Now, here’s the thing, I like every song on this record, with the exception of Let Them, Invisible Man and King of Thieves (not much of a Kinks fan, I) and what is really unusual for me with PTC is that the first couple of lines of every song become instant EC classics for me.

The songs themselves in some cases peter out (strangely enough, for our Boy, many of them could have been all out gems of love songs), but those first lines and the lovely melodies that arrive with them keep them in my happy zone:

I hear “Don’t tell me you don’t know…” and the melody kicks in and off we go, doesn’t matter whether it’s the original Motown version or the EC version or the Ron Sexsmith version, it’s a beautiful pop song, Winstanley and company be dammned.

“Everyone stopped when she walked into the room, isn’t she the Greatest Things”. It’s like a Pavlovian response, my toes are a tapping.

“Its’ the element within her, something under her skin… two sapphires and couple of rows of pearls”. What a gorgeous starter!!

“I’ve looked at it every way I can, from under and above and every chance I’ve had my love went mad” Love went mad, love went mad!! So what if it’s silly, gimme more.

Anyobody have a problem with “A new winter coat and shoes for the wife…”?

If that’s too heavy for you, “You can run all you like from the classroom or the cot from a great big man to a tiny tot” Nice.

And then we get the first sighting of our Boy’s monkey obsession, only here it works cause the melody is nice: “Men made out of monkeys men made into mice happy days are here again and all the drinks half price, a girl with a trick and a man with a caaaaaalling”.

And then we have the beginnings of an honest and truly EC love song: “This town belongs to you and your tricks of confidence all the pavements around are littered with your footprints”. One of my favorites.

Now we go heavy again, as in Rap heavy: “They talked to the sister…”

And then cheeky: “The family circle gather round from very far and near to pass around the same remarks they passed away last year the little girl you dangled on your knee without mishap stirs something in your memory and something in your lap”. Now come on, that line is why we LOVE EC, right BA?

We also love him for leaving out great songs. On this record, for me, it’s Heathen Town. I remember getting this from a Village record shop, in one of those two sided things, and wearing it out, wondering why it wasn’t on the record. “They used to call it Sin City now it’s gone way past that”.. “Now there’s a choir of angels…”. Lovely.

One of my favorite records, and I don't care how many perfectly reasonable objections are made, by perfectly reasonable Forum members. I hear what you are saying, you are probably right, but...
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Love the first line theme, great appraisal, but it defies all sense of taste and decency that you omit TIM and KOT, and LTATis a fine opener too. 'But if stars are only painted on the ceiling above/Then who can you turn to, who can you love?' is just a moment of pure EC magic.
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by Jeremy Dylan »

I think Shipbuilding is perfect, but otherwise the production badly lets the songs down. I find the record largely unlistenable due to the incredible eightiesness of the whole thing. It sounds like a Phil Collins album.
I could never bring myself to like EDIWTB until the Sugarcanes got ahold of it. The tender, plaintive 'Canes version - with most emphasis on the lyric and the melody line and a killer fiddle solo from Stuart Duncan - made me love it.
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by cwr »

I always felt that PTC was every bit the equal of Imperial Bedroom. Not a sentiment I've heard echoed a lot, but to me, they were both pop albums with The Attractions augmented by additional players.

True, some of the songs on PTC are a bit more lightweight than the songs on IB, but I felt (and still feel) like there are songs on IB like "...And In Every Home..." that aren't exactly making deep and earth-shattering statements. IB ends with "Town Cryer", which has always felt every bit "of its time" as the 80s sounds of Langer/WInstanley.

And PTC's fluffier tracks are more than balanced by the intensity of "Pills & Soap" and "Shipbuilding", which are as serious as anything on IB-- maybe even more serious.

I love PTC unconditionally.
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by Poor Deportee »

I haven't head a chance to re-listen to this one in response to this thread. So I suppose I should shut up - not my strong suit. :mrgreen: However, I'll say that, although the production is somewhat dated, I never found it to be nearly as god-awful as the really bona fide '80s' victims out there (e.g., Dylan's execrable Empire Burlesque). This remains a basically listenable record to me: a tad over-bright, yes, with too-powerful drums, but the keyboards aren't truly awful, the playing is good rather than tyrannically drum-machined, and there that noxious 80s echo doesn't seem to be collossally over-applied to ever part of every track like some sort of toxic sludge poured over living tissue. As 80s production goes, it's really quite decent. Now for a few random observations:

-the horns rock!!! 8)

-what's the average age around here?? :lol: No spring chicken I, but I never heard any Elvis until my second year of university when "Veronica" came out. So I listen to this particular album purely as an aural exercise, unencumbered by sentiment and memories (not that these are bad things). This may explain my lack of super-strong enthusiasm for it. It's a nice enough record. Far from his best.

-there is NOTHING wrong with fun, entertaining, well-crafted pop songs. Indeed, EC's later career could use a few more of them - although he sometimes, inexplicably, seems to flub these in his later years (e.g. "The Spell That You Cast"). So I harbour no ill-will toward the album for being primarily a clutch of songs meant to be fun, entertaining, well crafted pop songs! And nor should anyone else, in my view. "Fun" needn't mean stupid.

-Having said that, a lot of these songs are only so-so. But "Invisible Man," "Charm School," the mordantly hilarious "World and His Wife," and the scintillating "Let them All Talk" - why these are fabulous pop tracks. "Book" I always wavered on a bit, but I think it's just the kind of song that can come off as great some nights and a mechanical genre pastiche the next (plus Lowe's "When I Write the Book" is arguably the better track). Certainly Sexsmith has revealed its full potential. The Great Songs (Shipbuilding & Pills and Soap) need no elaboration. So, lots to like: a record partially compromised by some sketchy writing and some dubious production...but only partially.

-I'm glad that Christopher pointed out EC's self-presentation on this one. He looks really good here, and it's a stylistic tone he seems never really to have gone back to. The thin wire frames give him an almost elfin look. Were I prone to man-crushes, it'd be for this Elvis or the most recent, wrinkly one. :wink:

-I always think of this record when musing about EC's careerism. This was a completely calculated effort to make a hit record, and I recall an interview from that time in which he says that he wants this record to sell, because otherwise he may not be able to make more records, etc.. It's concrete proof to me that, despite the casual fan's image of him as some pure musical adventurer heroically indifferent to Mammon, this guy is motivated as much by hard graft as pure Art. I don't see that as some great sin, by the way. But some ascetic sufferer for his Art he ain't.
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by Jeremy Dylan »

Poor Deportee wrote: -what's the average age around here?? :lol:
I'll be 21 in March, but I suspect I'm not typical.
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Which explains why PTC sounds pretty alien to you in terms of production. Worth listening beyond that to the quality of the songs, though. I'm 46, probably a similar age to several around here, but there's always been a healthy spread, which is testament to the enduring appeal of Elv.

You'd be hard-pushed to recognise Pete Thomas on PTC. It's the least typical of his drum sounds. All very square and compressed, with none of his characteristic high-toned ring on the snare. IB was also lower in snare pitch, but a more natural sound. I think the Emerick production over all is much less of the 80s, more 'classic'. The bright shininess of PTC is very different to that.

I love the bonus CD version of EDIWTB, the way he wrote it. That said, they did a great job of taking it and upping its chart-friendliness. I loved it when it was first out, and its corny Charles and Diana in a terraced house video. So of its time.
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Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by alexv »

I was about 26 or 27 when PTC came out, and, unapologetically, concede that this may have something to do with my unabashed affection for this record (and for lots of others from that era). I was smack in the middle of my original EC obsession, and although I was disappointed by this follow up to IB, the songs still stuck to me like glue, happy companions in a very happy time. It's not all-time EC, but back in the day less than all-time EC (which is what this record is) was great stuff.

I think Jeremy is dead on. EC was trying for Phil Collins land, in terms of popularity at least, and the production is dated, but EC even when aiming for Collins land is the anti-Collins (although Collins wrote some killer songs). Of course he failed, and the record is better than any Phil Collins record, unless you love Phil Collins.

What redeems the record are the lyrics and melodies in these songs. You can make a very good argument that three of the songs stand today as classic EC songs: Everyday, shipbuilding and Pills have aged very well indeed, regardless of production, for many different reasons.

Otis, what can I say, as you know, my taste is questionable (how can I not love Distorted Angel?) and decency is overrated. But there may be other reasons for my failure to appreciate the gems you speak of.

Let Them All Talk always came across to me as a forced "soul" cliche. Although that is the one line I like in the song. Too bad it wasn't the opener:

Listening to the sad song that the radio plays
Have we come this fa-fa-fa to find a soul cliche

There is much horn blowing in this song, but I can't find the tune.

As for TIM, eergh, I would concede that the first part has its charms:

I WAS COMMITTED TO LIFE AND THEN COMMUTED TO THE OUTSKIRTS
With all the love in the world
Living for thirty minutes at a time with a break in the middle for adverts
But it's a wonderful world within these cinema walls
WHERE A SHOWER OF AFFECTION BECOMES NIAGARA FALLS
And you wish she could step down from the screen to your seat in the stalls
BUT IF STARS ARE ONLY PAINTED ON THE CEILING ABOVE
Then who can you turn to and who do you love

I really like: "But it's a wonderful world within these cinema walls where a shower of affection becomes Niagara Falls" and "but if stars are only painted on the ceiling above then who can you turn to and who do you love"

But the rest...

I want to get out while I still can
I want to be like Harry Houdini
Now I'm the invisible man
My head is spinning round faster and faster
Here I stand on the edge of disaster
I'm shattered like a piece of crystal porcelain or alabaster
Crowds surround loudspeakers hanging from the lampposts
Listening to the murder mystery
Meanwhile someone's hiding in the classroom
Forging books of history
NEVER MIND THERE'S A GOOD FILM SHOWING TONIGHT
WHERE THEY HANG EVERYONE EVERYBODY WHO CAN READ AND WRITE
OH THAT COULD NEVER HAPPEN HERE BUT THEN AGAIN IT MIGHT

I don't like these lines. Can't stand the way he pronounces "Harry Houdini". The porcelain, disaster, alabaster combination is strained, to me. And the rest is whiny EC. "They", they are all doing the bad things, instead of going to the movies, and no appreciates literary folks, like him. No like.

And then there's KOT. There's nothing I like about this lyric (don't like the melody either). I thought it EC at his whiniest and least wittiest. The secretaries don't respect him; he's threatening to change his name again; they, they don't understand him, love him, they all want to hurt him; and then he throws in the girl just to have company in his misery/spite/agony. Yech. But that's just me Otis. Only line I like: the "Look at the girl, look at that girl" finale:

I had forgotten all about 'The Case Of The Three Pins'
THEY SAID I MUST BE CRACKED
Until the brown paper parcel landed on my welcome mat
Even the pretty secretaries who wouldn't even
Let me HANG MY HAT
All recognize my handwriting
And return to sender as a matter of fact
If I were you I'd change my name again
They don't care what they do to you believe me
This is the coronation of the King of Thieves
His occupation is the King of Thieves
He can steal more than you can save
You can take him on, but you're not that brave

I'll tell your fortune in a minute or two
I might even tell you what comes next
The moguls want a HUMAN SACRIFICE
AND LOOK AT THAT GIRL, YOUNG HUNGRY AND PERPLEXED
They took away the best years of her life
Ah but it's all in good fun
And if you kept you nose clean
You can laugh now at the caring things they've done

I'll write this story down, but you'll never guess the
Final twist
Blow the whistle on the whole design
As they find my name on that fatal mailing list
I hear the clatter of a typewriter
Another rookie eating up the reams
I think it's time to place my feet under the desk
And PUT MY MARK ON ANOTHER MAN'S DREAMS
This is the coronation of the King of Thieves
And look at that girl
Look at that girl
LOOK AT THAT GIRL
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Top balcony
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Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:48 pm
Location: Liverpool

Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by Top balcony »

These lines from "World and His Wife" always make me laugh :

Went for two weeks' holiday
in Taramasalata


Colin Top Balcony
(aged 56 and 10 months)
FAVEHOUR
Posts: 1118
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2004 5:41 pm

Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by FAVEHOUR »

Top balcony wrote:These lines from "World and His Wife" always make me laugh :

Went for two weeks' holiday
in Taramasalata


Colin Top Balcony
(aged 56 and 10 months)
Me, too. When my late wife and I attended Meltdown, we searched the buffet downstairs at the South Bank centre for something to eat (she was a vegetarian). I was surprised to see taramasalata there, and discover that it was food!

Dave
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EarlManchester
Posts: 175
Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2003 6:41 pm
Location: In the liberated territories

Re: Re-examination of "Punch the Clock"

Post by EarlManchester »

The World And His Wife
Speaking of "The World And His Wife", is anyone besides me ever reminded of the theme to "The Odd Couple" TV series when listening to the melody of this song?
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