Still less than a decade after his debut with My Aim Is True, Costello released his 11th (yes, eleventh!) studio album Blood & Chocolate in 1986.
Possibly past the peak of his chart topping days, Costello nevertheless delivered an album which received critical acclaim, despite a lower album chart position than any of his previous output.
I owned it on vinyl soon after release, and replaced it with CD some time later, but it isn't a Costello album that gets regular outings but I've recently been remind of it by a Twitter friend, so it's time it had a listen.
The album opens strongly, Uncomplicated being exactly that, a song based on one chord, Costello's anger carrying the song through. I Hope You're Happy Now is trademark Costello pop song, bouncy, catchy with the wordplay you'd expect, and Tokyo Storm Warning continues that feel. By comparison, Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head feels a bit limp, but the first half concludes with the epic, eerie, threatening I Want You.
The second half opens with Honey, Are You Straight Or Are you Blind?, a decent enough song, but no classic, but Blue Chair is a little brighter (although I far prefer the faster single version that Costello did with T-Bone Burnett, added as a bonus track here.) Battered Old Bird is a fair listen but doesn't really move me, and I'm feeling the same with Crimes of Pain and Poor Napoleon, and while things get more upbeat with final track Next Time Round, the second half doesn't live up to the promise of the first.
This CD release has some interesting additional tracks, most of them also on the Out Of Our Idiot compilation, including the fantastic Seven Day Weekend with Jimmy Cliff.
I don't go along with those who claim this as Costello's best. There's some fantastic moments here, but the second half drags at times, and I can think of at least four previous albums I'd rate more highly. It's not a bad album, it's an enjoyable listen, but by this point the Costello bar has been set very high.
3* - a solid enough Costello album, but it's far from my favourite
Comments