It's about time Elvis Costello was no longer allowed to rest on the considerable laurels he has gained in the music business over the years. Every review he gets is tainted with a bias towards him. His latest effort "Peace In Our Time" has had the same "seal of approval" from the critics as always, and it's infuriating.
The song itself is quite decent lyrically I admit, but musically it is totally forgettable, and it's not the words that make a song. And it's certainly not original, I mean who the hell hasn't slagged off the shortcomings of the world before? And didn't there just HAVE to be a line about poor Ronnie in the Whitehouse?
It's a case of "we've heard it all before" with this record and it's a pity more reviewers haven't got the nerve to say so. Maybe the idea of a protest song is to keep it simple, even sparse. But the Special AKA got their message over (a record which Costello worked on) by being loud, colourful and most importantly, memorable.
Elvis is still capable of writing masterpieces, but "Peace In Our Time" is rubbish.
— Anonymous and Awfully Annoyed
Editor — Maybe sitting on his laurels has made him such a hardy annual
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