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Just when you had amost forgotten him, Elvis Costello has brought out another 20 track album.
Taking Liberties, Costello's fifth Columbia album, contains 20 cuts never before available domestically. This latest album is a compilation of tracks which Costello was unable to fit onto his first four albums (My Aim Is True, This Year's Model, Armed Forces, and Get Happy!).
Taking Liberties includes unreleased masters, rare B-sides, and English album cuts.
Costello wrote all of the tunes on the album, with two exceptions. "Getting Mighty Crowded" was written by Van McCoy (who also gave us "The Hustle") and "My Funny Valentine" was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
All of the cuts on the album are produced by Costello or Nick Lowe (of Rockpile). For some unexplainable reason, the 11 cuts that Lowe produced seem qualitatively superior to the nine that Costello produced.
The best cuts (all produced by Lowe) on the album are "Radio Sweetheart," "Stranger in the House," and "I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea."
Many of the tracks are recorded with the Attractions, Costello's current back-up group. The album credits, however, do not list the names of the band members.
Oh well — no loss. The band is rather mediocre, at best. Costello is the main attraction. His unique voice, which exudes power from the start, controls every song, almost to the point of domination.
There are some guest appearances on the album, however, which are worth a mention.
John McFee's presence on "Radio Sweetheart" is a pleasant surprise. His lead and slide work gives this song its undeniable country swing flavor.
On "Big Tears," Costello added Mick Jones to the recording session. Jones whips off one of the only decent guitar solos on the album.
Costello has, if nothing else, proven that he is an extremely versatile singer. He delivers the 20 tunes on Taking Liberties in a host of different styles.
Seemingly with ease, Costello ranges from the bouncy "Ghost Town" to the bluesy "Clowntime is Over," from the rockin' "I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea" to the emotionally moving "My Funny Valentine," from the shuffling "Radio Sweetheart" to the driving "Crawlin' to the USA," and from the Beatle-like "Clean Money," which opens the album, to the woeful "Just a Memory."
Costello demonstrates here that his ability and versatility are virtually unlimited. His range of talent is hard to imagine... that is, until you've heard 20 uninterrupted cuts of pure Elvis Costello.
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