Mighty Like a Rose

Elvis Costello | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 14, 1991)
• Original Release Date: May 14, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros.
• ASIN: B000002LP2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,912 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Artier tendencies cranked up really high, Costello slaps together lots of weird noises, screeches gnomic lyrics, and even sings a proper tune once in a while. Virtually the definition of "failed experiment," Mighty Like a Rose is interesting but probably the least essential record in the man's catalog. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite possibly his best, November 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mighty Like a Rose (Audio CD)

Don't believe the hype. If you respect the matured, pop craftsman Elvis as much as the young, aggressive EC, this is a masterpiece. Yes, it is a departure, but the songs are pop music at its finest. "The Other Side of Summer" ranks with "Oliver's Army" as Costello's catchiest, "Harpies Bizarre" and "Georgie and her Rival" are clever pop gems w/great lyrics, and "So Like Candy" and "After the Fall" are two of the most achingly beautiful tunes he's written. But the crowning moment is the closer, "Couldn't Call it Unexpected #4:" maybe EC's best song. The album is worth it for this song alone. Simply gorgeous; only hearing it could do it justice. If you're still upset Elvis stopped writing songs like "Red Shoes" and "Chelsea," go listen to the first three albums, but if you recognize that Elvis Costello is the most gifted songwriter around, this is essential.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the easiest listen, but still phenomenal, December 21, 1999

By 

Danielle Gaither-Williams (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mighty Like a Rose (Audio CD)

First of all, those of you who are looking at this album expecting "Son of This Year's Model" or something to that effect--save yourselves some time and money and just listen to the original. The only place you can find the sound on "This Year's Model" is on that album itself. However, if you're interested in hearing how Elvis Costello has grown and changed as a songwriter and performer over the years, I highly recommend giving this album a listen.

The album's closer, "Couldn't Call It Unexpected #4", is by itself worth the sale price of the album. It's one of those songs that will make you obsess over it and may well be one of the best songs ever written by anybody. In fact, this album in general features some of Costello's best lyrics.

"Mighty Like A Rose" does have just as much bile as TYM, but it's a more mature, refined bile. He's still angry, but instead of targeting vapid models (which is almost too easy, isn't it?), this time his focus is at the same time on a larger scale and more intimate. In songs such as "Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Taking Over)", Costello preaches doom for society at large in his lyrics. However, the sparse, quiet "After The Fall" tells a story of an individual gone wrong with just guitar and bass.

This album is definitely one of the man's most adventurous efforts. If you expect to be spoon-fed everything without having to think about it, save us all the trouble and go buy something else. However, if you're up for the challenge of listening to one of the most poetic albums out there, give this a chance. You won't be sorry.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Under Appreciated Gem, July 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Mighty Like a Rose (Audio CD)

I am always surprised that this album is not better received by Elvis fans. I too was at first turned off by this unusual album, but recently it has become one of my favorites. Songs like "How to be Dumb", "All Grown Up", "Harpies Bizarre", and especially "After the Fall" deserve a reconsideration from his fans. Though the style ranges from the extremes of chaos in "Hurry Down Doomsday" to the tight orchestration in "Couldn't Call it Unexpexted No.2 & No.4", the album's violent contrasts curiously overlap and bond into a delicately crafted whole. Neither the succeeding "Brutal Youth" nor "All this Useless Beauty" match the originality or complexity of this album. Even alongside the much touted "Spike", "Mighty like a Rose" shines because it closes having achieved a beguiling symmetry that largely eludes its predecessor. It is by far the most challenging and engagingly clever of his many great albums.