Customer Reviews

Cruel Smile

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Call him Declan MacManus, Little Hands of Concrete, Napoleon Dynamite or in this case, "The Imposter". Whatever name he chooses to amuse himself with, CRUEL SMILE is a pleasant surpise. I had mixed feelings about WHEN I WAS CRUEL but in the end was won over by it's charms. Though I wouldn't call CRUEL SMILE essential, it's certainly an intruiging bag of oddities.

"Smile" pretty much sets the tone. Here's Costello at his most playful and his take on the Chaplin classic is a welcome relief from a past history of overwrought covers. Gone is the strained, pig squealing tenor. In it's place is a jaunty, mellow baritone, almost unrecognizable at first listen. The follow up, "When I Was Cruel (no.1)" is a gem and would have been at home on the crimminally underrated, ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY.

In my humble opinion, "Almost Blue" is one the best songs Costello has ever penned and this gorgeous live version has him once again, crooning with powerful restraint. Less successful is the live medley of "Watching The Detectives/Funny Valentine" but you have to admire him for the attempt. That being said, you can't deny "Detectives" in any form even if it suddenly goes Rogers & Hart on you. On the live version of "Spooky Girlfriend" he's clearly having fun, tossing in ad libs like, "Congratulations, you all pass the audition" and concluding with an impish chuckle.

Though a few cuts could be considered self-indulgant rehashes of WHEN I WAS CRUEL, in many ways the experimentation pays off. The goofy rocker, "Doll Revolution" is transformed into a menacing chorale and on "Peroxide Cut" he ditches the catchy chorus of "Episode of Blonde" in favor of drawing out it's rap/hip hop side. I have to say, "15 Petals", "Dust" and the likes of "Honey House(Cruel no.2)" are a tad bit redundant in light of his recent album. Things pick up for me with a rare live offering of his one chord thrasher, "Uncomplicated". Though sweeter and mellower than the original, it's still a treat.

You don't have to read into things too deeply to realize his intention was to begin and end with a "Smile". Where the opener was more off the cuff, the string laden closer is a touch more maudlin but equally as effective. Just when you're ready to replay the disc, he manages to sneak in an unlisted version of "Soul For Hire". Who knows why? I suppose the whole album can be summed up in, "I had to follow my passion...Oh well". Though it think "whim" would be the more operative word here. For what it's worth, CRUEL SMILE is a nice little diversion and I think that's all it's meant to be. Fans beware.

I'm going to try and keep this review as short as possible - but Lord knows that once I get rolling there is no stopping me. I'm pretty confident that most casual-Costello fans won't know about this until it's been around for a while, but I know for sure that the hardcore fans (especially in the USA) were probably the first to purchase this "album" of "airshots, imposter remixes, studio mysteries, world tour highlights". Let's dance on the tracks now.

1. "Smile (a-side)" - A nice little diddy that can't help but make you think of "She" and all those other loungin' and jazzin' tunes.

2. "When I was Cruel (no.1)" - Finally we get to hear the first version of the enigmatic tune ("no.2"). I believe this cut is much more structured and just an all around beautiful Costello track.

3. "Almost Blue"(live in Sydney) - Hasn't always been my favorite song but this version truly is a great listen. The live audio is amazing.

4. "15 Petals"(live in Sydney) - One of the best songs from When I Was Cruel rocks even harder when performed live.

5. "Spooky Girlfriend"(live at KFOG) - great take on this already awesome song. This version breathes new life and if you haven't caught on by now - Elvis & the Imposters are harder rocking than you ever thought they would be.

6. "Honeyhouse (cruel no.2)" - a remix of "When I was Cruel No. 4". It doesn't drag like the original and the samples are absent. All in all it doesn't do much to stand out.

7. "revolution doll" - Great and innovative remix of "Tear off your own Head". It'll be stuck in your head before you know it. Trust me.

8. "peroxide side (blunt cut)" - I'm not exactly sure where the title comes from yet but this is one helluva remix of "episode of Blonde". My favorite track on the disc.

9. "oh well" - stand out track. Elvis up to his old tricks in this one.

10. "the imposter Vs the floodtide (dust and petals)" - a remix of dust and a fine one at that. These tunes just keep on grooving.

11. "watching the detectives/my funny valentine" (live in Tokyo) - hardcore fans will love this live version and for great reason. Once again - the Imposters rock.

12. "dust" (live in Melbourne) - this song <is kickin'>. That's all I can say about it.

13. "Uncomplicated" (live in Tokyo) - the opening tune from Blood & Chocolate gets a face lift and sounds amazing.

14. "Smile (b-side)" - a more laid back, ballad-esque, and sleeping version. I prefer this one over the "(a-side)" mix.

Dah ha. And there's a bonus track of a "soul for hire" remix. Great stuff all around. You get a video of "45" with the Enhanced CD and for fans from the USA - this is a good way to get some b-sides and live tracks without having to pay the price for imports. A good puchase. Always great to see Elvis through broken glass and distorted noise.

I'm an A number 1 Elvis fan, so I would only caution that this CD will most likely be of interest to others like me. While the opening track "Smile" is brilliant, the rest of the CD you'll find a bit of a noisy hodgepodge that typifies Elvis' meanderings of late.

For those who have seen him live this year or heard performances on the radio, you will not be surprised by a lot of echo boxes and interpretive reworkings of old songs.

Like Prince, even a lesser Elvis tune is better than most artists on a good day. ;) So, Elvis fans, yes, add it to the collection. Casual listeners, stick to the A-list stuff.

Occasionally an artist releases something for the fans, alternate cuts, remixes, and live bits that fans will appreciate. That pretty much sums up CRUEL SMILE. Filled with bits and pieces from tours and the WHEN I WAS CRUEL CD this recording has a great alternate cut of "Spooky Girlfriend" that beats the original, "Watching the Detectives" and "Uncomplicated" (Two of my favorites) live and enough other songs of interest for the true fan. OK, we didn't need two takes of "Smile," and it really doesn't hold together as a typical CD; it's just a potpourri of current stuff that was probably lying around the studio. I'm glad he put it out, I'm getting a kick out of it, but I don't think it's for anyone who's not fan of EC.

(not that there's anything wrong with that.....)

Costello is kicking out the CDs faster than I can buy them and each is better than the last. His gritty punk style and voice have finally caught up with his audience and the promo of each cut has been wonderful.

Costello once (visibly) shook the cast and crew of the Belushi/Radner/Chase nothing-sacred era of Saturday Night Live when he stopped in mid-song, kicked his mike and demanded his band to play a different, unrehearsed tune. Wasn't in the zone for a ballad that night. The performance's energy seeded with his anarchy was absolutely riveting. Unforgetable, even is my limited, 50 year old memories.

I see the death of my own rebellious youth while the image of Costello, talking and smiling with Leno and Letterman, flickers on the tube. Couldn't he just ... ah, well, when he was cruel.

The third of a trio including "When I Was Cruel" and a re-release and updated version of "Blood and Chocolate" makes me want more. "My Aim is True" was an early touch of this man's genius and these last works aminate the genius that found me pulling out of my Classical and Blues ear to discover what was going on in the other world.

I still keep my CD collection growing, attempting to replace the thousands of vinyl discs that will remain a staple of my listening world. However, Costello has brought me back to check out Eno and Byrne and rediscover Gary Brooker's amazing voice and the Bonzo Dog Band's Pythonlike antics.

When asked what one concert I would attend in this day and age (after following and living my life for great concerts and the original blues greats) -- I would set out to see Costello in any venue I could find.

Elvis Costello IS the genius of his generation and will stand up to the tests of time in the ways that Count Basie or Duke Ellingoton's genius will be remembered.

Keep em comin' old man!!

It took me about three or four listens to warm up to this eclectic mix of alternative takes, live recordings and outtakes. "when i was cruel" is a brilliant album, in my view the best of the year so far. If you like that, you'll probably dig this as well. The live version of "spooky girlfriend" is haunting. it's nice to hear that 'almost blue' and 'my funny valentine' still pop up in elvis's touring repetoire. An alternative version of "Episode of Blonde", a Dylan-esque rambling number that struck me as an upbeat "Tangled up in blue", is on this disc, and the darkness is striking. As with many of elvis's outtakes, its clear that he made astute choices in what went in the original album, but this collection is still shoulders above many of his peers. Pick it up, but pick up "when i was cruel" first.

...so relax, sit back, and dig some wicked-cool variations on the themes. My guess is you will, if you've bothered to get this far. I'm not big on remixes, but I do enjoy those included on this disc, including "Revolution Doll," which has an entirely new vocal track. Hearing EC laugh after he plays "Spooky Girlfriend" live on the radio is a treat. The studio take on "When I Was Cruel, No. 1" is every bit as good as it was in concert recently. And a live "Soul for Hire" is the hidden track #15. Thanks, Elvis!

I was reticent to buy a CD that contains "airshots", "imposter mixes", and live tracks. But, Cruel Smile is an excellent companion to the outstanding When I Was Cruel. The versions are significantly different and form a solid CD (much like Gorillaz vs. Spacemonkeyz). Highlights are the previously unavailable When I Was Cruel (No. 1), the driving Spooky Girlfriend (live), the reworked version of Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution), and an extended jam of Soul For Hire (bonus track).

Get it while it lasts. This is strictly limited edition. A must for all Elvis fans.

[DW]

While this should not be the first Elvis album anyone should be exposed to, it is a joy for those of us who love his ability innovate and move so gracefully between genres and styles.
I love the new takes on his previous work, especially "Spooky Girlfriend", which I already loved. I love the remakes and rehashes because he does it so well. I don't just absolutely love every song, but you get the feeling that Declan could take each song and create 60 new versions that would all stand on their own and that's pretty much what he does here. Nor do I love every Elvis album ("King of America", "For the Stars", and "North" come to mind out of how many? Maybe a hundred?), but I like this one.
I like oldies, recent music, hard rock, soft rock, pop, Indie, and look for great new releases from today's band and artists, but I find that every Elvis album competes with them all and I end up listening to him at least 20% of the time. My teenage kids have heard all his albums and seen him in concert. They know him so well that they immediately recognized him from the one line he sings in the recent Fall Out Boy album. In fact, at the store a year or so ago, someone said something that started my 13 year old singing a rendition of "All This Useless Beauty". My point is that Elvis is appreciated by all ages, but some of it is an acquired taste.
I listened to this one for several days before finally putting some of the cuts into yet another Elvis compilation. This is an album that must be listened to several times to be appreciated. Some of my favorite songs on it now are those that initially caught me by surprise and made me go "Hmmmm."
I would liken my experience with this album to "River in Reverse." At first, I didn't like it, but after subsequent listenings there are several songs that I love and tend to get stuck in my head.

What I want to know is when is he going to add that amazing version of "Alison" that he does in concert to one of his albums?

In conclusion, this album will be best appreciated by those who already like Elvis, enjoy music that is innovative and skirts the edges, don't always look for a standard sound, and listen to this album several times.

This is a great CD. Turn it up. I don't have any idea why you would not enjoy this. This is the best CD I have purchased in years. I can not quit listening to it.