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Elvis Costello is known as an experimentor — previous albums have ranged from country and western to New Wave, all heaped with praise by music critics worldwide.
His latest album, Punch the Clock, continues his exploration of a diversity of styles.
Along with the same cryptic, lyrical style of his previous eight albums, Costello adds new dimensions to his music. A horn section and two female vocalists give this album a "Motown" flavor; one that is very appealing. No one could ever accuse Costello of falling into the same sound repetition.
This latest release, which coincides with his "Clocking in Across America" tour, is filled with aging sentiments. Costello caves the "punching the clock" theme on malty or the thirteen tracks on the record. including "Let Them All Talk:"
Oh yeah we're killing time
just to keep you clocking on
These are the best years of your life
Now they're here and gone.
In "T.K.O. (Boxing Day)," a more fast-paced track, Costello reiterates this aging theme with the line. "You need a back to break or a back to stab / Now your birthday suit looks dull and drab." Though Costello writes of growing old, many of the tracks are quick and danceable with punched-up bass lines and strong drum rhythms — aspects many fans missed on his last album, Imperial Bedroom.
He generally puts down "pop stars" and their paths to success — such as he speaks of in "Radio, Radio," a track from an earlier release, This Year's Model. But with Punch the Clock, Costello might gain a much larger following in America.
The second track on Punch the Clock, "Everyday I Write the Book," is already receiving airplay from radio stations with "top forty" formats, as well as the progressive music stations. "Shipbuilding," a slow ballad Costello cowrote with producer Clive Langer, describes the plight of English towns during the Falkland Island War. This track has achieved much critical acclaim and will definitely become a Costello classic.
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