Re: Costello's Low Points

lazuli777@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 wrote:
> It may be a big letdown after the first five masterpieces, but it was
> catchy as hell. You don't hear melodies anymore on one CD like-King Of
> Thieves-Book-Mouth AlMighty-World & His Wife.  Let Them All
> Talk-****pbuilding & Pills And Soap are outstanding.

I've always loved PTC. I personally would have pulled "Mouth Almighty"
and one other lesser entity ("TKO"? "Element"? "Love Went Mad?") in
favor of "Heathen Town" and "The Flirting Kind." But that's part of the
fun of being a fan of an artist who has made his rejected tracks and
alternates so easy to hear -- imagining your own little cosmetic
surgeries and Mr. Potato Head mix-and-match games with the released
version. It has many fine songs, some of them quite overlooked ("Charm
School" comes to mind), all unified by a bright, slick, snazzy sound.
It's date-stamped, yes, but the brass-oriented textures and the soulful
backing vocals keep it a safe distance from the plastic, hollow
territory of GCW. 

Todd K