702 Elvis Costello - Punch The Clock (1983)

 702 Elvis Costello - Punch The Clock (1983)

Studio Album - Art Rock



About the Act:

Elvis Costello is a British singer/songwriter who started in 1970 and is still going. He came to popularity in the late 70s and at that time was considered to be a "New Wave" act, however it's probably more reasonable in retrospect to think of him as a medium rock singer/songwriter.  He had a sometimes consistent band, The Attractions, and some of his albums are credited to "Elvis Costello and the Attractions". Some albums used the band, but were just credited to Elvis himself, and on some albums he used different musicians.

His first studio album was released in 1977 and he has had 25 since. He has had a lot of commercial and critical success, especially for his earlier albums, and he is widely respected for his song writing ability

About the Album:

This was his eighth album, the seventh with The Attractions.

My History with this Album:

None

Review:

If you know what Elvis Costello music is like, then this album is squarely that. If you don't, read on, I will try to describe it.

So this is 80s pop, but it doesn't really sound like it. It doesn't have the archetypal 80s sounds, but I think that's maybe dependent on what you think are 80s sounds, I guess. It's definitely poppy, and mostly lightish musically. There are elements of jazz and other influences here, but it's a melting pot of influences. There are guitars, but they are not overdriven. There is quite a bit of piano and other keyboards, but in a supporting role, adding twinkles and ornamentation rather than being the solid basis that you would get from Elton John, for example. There is a well-used brass section, that with the poppiness reminds me of Dexy's Midnight Runners. Musically it is mostly upbeat and towards the boppy end of the spectrum, with some interesting and unusual chord structures. Some of the chord changes had me thinking "that was typical Elvis Costello". 

The singing - well Elvis has a distinctive voice, in a way I cannot describe. I can try. It's kind of clipped and nasally growling. Yeah I can't do it justice, you'll have to listen.

The words, well Elvis is known for his song writing, and so they tend towards the clever, with interesting imagery, some harder to understand than others, mostly not too obscure and some good rhymes. It's the clever words and the clever chords that make this clever music, i.e. Art Rock, or maybe Art Pop.

A lot of these songs could have been singles. Every Day I Write The Book was, and I recognised the song (although I wonder if I have heard it covered by somebody else). Other than that my favourite songs were Shipbuilding and Pills and Soap. Possibly because they stood out in terms of being slower and differently produced.

So, comparisons to other stuff. I was reminded of Squeeze, Dexy's Midnight Runners, and bizarrely (because they came later) The Beautiful South. If you like poppy songs (not the overproduced autotune pop that seems to be the thing these days) that are intelligent and have some depth, then this might be one for you.

7.3/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0jo7K3IkLusU2dbYLvQIOs

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmFE8JMdodQOJZ6gVGNl0J1crJLAGDvFT

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_the_Clock



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