Album Review | Elvis Costello and the Attractions' 1984 LP "Goodbye Cruel World"
Costello's ninth studio record recently turned 40. Does it still hold up? Did it ever?
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Good Morning!
Today Matt Springer’s got the wheel and we’re taking a look at Goodbye Cruel World by Elvis Costello and the Attractions.
We’re in for a treat today. Matt Springer is joining us to take a look at (or take apart) Elvis Costello and The Attractions’ 1984 LP, Goodbye Cruel World.
Matt is the writer behind That Fatal Mailing List, a newsletter that aims to explore all of Costello’s songs one track at a time. He also looks at Costello’s albums and ranks them as part of his “Rank the Record” series.
I was lucky to first meet Matt as part of Substack’s GO! program. He (and a few others) were in a different pod, but we quickly connected. Besides being a fellow Midwest suburban dad and an all-around cool guy, he’s also a helluva writer; please check out his work when you're done!
And with that, I’ll get out of the way and let Matt take it from here!
KA—
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“Congratulations! You’ve just purchased our worst album.”
For big Elvis Costello fans, I need say no more; for the rest of you, an explanation.
The quote above is EC himself writing in the liner notes to the 1995 reissue of Goodbye Cruel World, the “worst album” in question. That line has become somewhat infamous amongst EC fans because it’s a great example of the man’s self-deprecating humor…and depending on your point of view, his brutal honesty.
I picked up most of Elvis Costello’s recorded work in 1995, when I was in my freshman year of college. The Columbia House Record Club was still in full swing, and so I wantonly ordered a few hefty stacks of the EC reissues that came out around that time, oblivious to the overpriced CDs I’d have to purchase somewhere down the line.
It was a lot to take in at once, and the included first-person liner notes from EC were fundamental in creating my initial understanding of his catlog. Over time, as I became more familiar with his albums (especially the 1977-86 run at Columbia), I developed my own opinions. Some albums that are dismissed rank among my favorites (Punch The Clock), others that are lauded are not ones I return to often (Almost Blue).
I think EC and I may be in agreement on Goodbye Cruel World. It’s an album that sounds as exhausted and drained as it must have felt to those who made it. An attempt to “further” the punchy, trebly sound of Punch the Clock, it instead emerged as a muddled mess, with occasional bursts of inspired songwriting smothered by clunky arrangements and fuzzy production.
So why are we talking about it? Well, it’s 40 years old this year, so there’s that hoary excuse. And Kevin was kind enough to offer a space to do this and help promote my Elvis Costello e-mail newsletter, That Fatal Mailing List.
For the sake of adding another 1500 words to the pile of meaningless drivel on the internet, let’s dig into Goodbye Cruel World, track by track, with fresh ears. Pull it up on whichever streaming service you prefer and click “play.” We’ll deliver a final verdict for each song–keep it, or kill it? Then we’ll take a tally at the end and see how the record fares.
Keep your finger over that skip button; you may not make it through every track. That’s OK. We’re sifting for gold in the dirt.
SIDE A
“The Only Flame In Town”: Costello is touring this summer with Daryl Hall, who performs the harmony vocals on the chorus of this song. They haven’t managed a duet yet, which is insane, but then EC has also been pretty dismissive of this song in a live setting, commenting recently, “That was a fucking terrible record. We were trying to make a hit; look how that turned out.”
He’s not wrong; it’s not a great record. But it is a good one, and a terrific song. There’s an electronic saxophone featured as the tune opens, which does not bode well. But once that’s out of the way, the melody floats over an unobtrusive 80s midtempo pop ballad accompaniment. When Hall’s blue-eyed soul vocal drops in on the chorus, I defy anyone with unbiased ears not to feel a little thrill. KEEP IT
“Home Truth”: It’s always a little dangerous to assume that a songwriter’s personal life is a direct influence on his songs, but in this case, Costello himself suggests as much about some of the songs on Goodbye Cruel World:
Although the title was meant with black humour, I used to quit about once a week in those days (I still do). My first marriage finally collapsed between the recording and the release of this album, so it is not hard to imagine where some of the desperation in the lyrics originated.
That comes through loud and clear on “Home Truth,” easily one of the best songs on Goodbye Cruel World; the arrangement and production combined turn it into a romantic thriller, with Steve NIeve’s piano as the dagger being held menacingly behind the shower curtain. “Is it the lies that I tell you/or the lies that I write?” is a couplet that could act as a thesis statement for the entire record. KEEP IT
“Room With No Number”: This song is a good reminder that while no one doubts EC’s ability to write catchy melodies, or Langer/Winstanley’s ability to produce a catchy track, all of that can be put to service in the absolute wrong direction. There may be a good song here, but hearing it around the prominent cowbell is impossible. KILL IT
“Inch By Inch”: Underrated in EC’s catalog. Anchored by a simple, clear acoustic rhythm guitar, the Attractions demonstrate the kind of nuanced restraint they were able to deploy when needed. Electronic or otherwise, the saxophone adds mysterious color rather than demanding the listener’s attention. It's a hesitating, suspicious love song. KEEP IT
“Worthless Thing”: This might have been a better single than “I Wanna Be Loved,” which opens side two; that opening riff is just irresistible and grabs both ears with both hands. It feels more like a continuation of the successful sound on Punch the Clock than something from this more muted, cloudy album. KEEP IT
“Love Field”: “You yield/with your lips still sealed,” another statement of emotional intent from the Singer. A tender, pretty ballad, made uneasy by echoing production, and that pulsing synthesizer rhythm that never stops but never goes anywhere. It calls to mind the wailing drill-on-electric-guitar sound that REM used to open their song “Leave” on New Adventures in Hi-Fi. In both cases, an otherwise beautiful song turns unsettling and strange. KEEP IT
SIDE B
“I Wanna Be Loved”: One of the three singles from the record (along with “Only Flame” and “Peace In Our Time”), apparently Langer/Winstanley put their considerable hit-making efforts into making these songs as radio-friendly as possible, allowing the other album cuts to remain impenetrable. This is a cover of an old 1973 Memphis soul ballad, with all the yearning and passion squeezed out like lemon into a room-temperature Diet Coke. KILL IT
“The Comedians”: What a strange life this song has had–on Goodbye Cruel World, it appears as a stumbling up-tempo waltz. A few years later, Roy Orbison would claim it as his own, transforming it into one of his signature heartbroken operatic ballads for his final album, Mystery Girl. The Orbison arrangement has been covered frequently, while EC’s original has rightfully vanished into the obscurity it deserves. KILL IT
“Joe Porterhouse”: Here the album almost successfully escapes into country rock, with a lyric that Costello describes as “about the funeral of a family strong man.” KEEP IT
“Sour Milk Cow Blues”: This song may be the posterchild for the album’s reputation as an overly synthesized mess. It’s important to note, it’s not so much the synthesizers themselves that are the problem; it’s their misuse. I hate it when 80s music gets called “dated” because of synths or electronic drum beats. Good music is never dated; you only notice the chunks of spoiled meat in the weak sauce. Anyway, this song has what can only be an early mobile phone ringtone on the chorus, treated as some kind of instrumental punctuation. KILL IT
“The Great Unknown”: More odd noises distract from a compelling lyric; I particularly like the line about the “murky waters/by the dog biscuit factory.” I have to imagine only the handy access to a synthesizer inspired the choice to provide a carnival organ accompaniment to the verses. KILL IT
“The Deportees Club”: This is the closest that Goodbye Cruel World gets to a “rock” song, and that may only be due to the obvious presence of an electric guitar and trademark EC yelps and screams. A strong performance by the Attractions is dressed up with bleats from that damned electronic saxophone, trying to imiate a horn section; Costello himself described the effect as “a very passable impersonation of an Italian traffic-jam.” KILL IT
“Peace in Our Time”: Although Costello describes it in his liner notes as a bit too obviously an attempt to follow in the vein of “Shipbuilding” and “Pills and Soap,” I actually think with the benefit of time, it fits well as the final piece in that trilogy. If nothing else, it provides a resolution, even if it’s one none of us really want. Jim Patterson, who led the horn section on Punch The Clock, plays the wistful trombone figure at the top and bottom of the song. The pinging piano and electric clank of a hammer on steel pound out a rhythm that suggests we’re all destined to fall in line and march along, regardless of how we may really feel about the geopolitical landscape. KEEP IT
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So if I do a rough tally, I actually like about seven of these thirteen songs. Still not great! But certainly not the complete catastrophe you may be imagining. It’s intriguing to ponder what could have been, as EC describes it in his liner notes:
I think I probably wanted to make a kind of "folk-rock" record but instead of an open ringing sound we ended up with a muted background against which events were supposed to occur.
Costello did a series of solo acoustic dates where some of the Goodbye Cruel World songs were featured, stripped of all artifice, and boiled down to their essence. Some of these recordings are on the album’s various reissues; others can be found on bootlegs. They offer a fleeting glimpse at what might have been.
Listen:
Elvis Costello and the Attractions| Goodbye Cruel World, 1984
Click the record to listen on your platform of choice.
What do you think of this record? Where does it rank in Costello’s discography? Did you have it when it was first released? Share your thoughts below!
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
As much as I love Elvis Costello, the only album I ever purchased was Spike, on cassette. The whole album is solid and was in my heavy rotation for a long time!
I remember and love The Only Flame in Town, and that is the only song I recognize off this album. Will definitely check out the whole album today. I had no clue that was Daryl Hall! I recently was made aware (another newsletter and can’t remember which one) that he also did backing vocals for INXS on Original Sin - which I have been listening to for 40 years! Hahahaha!
You know, I don't think I've ever given this album a fair shot. Going to do that now!
Picking up Punch the Clock as one of those "why not?" vinyl purchases actually got me way more into EC- the beginning of side B - Charm School and Invisible Man- insanely great songs IMO.
Would have to say Armed Forces and This Year's Model are my favs, but what an amazing artist. Subscribed to Matt!