Customer Reviews

Punch the Clock (Bonus CD) (Dlx)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Heads-up to fellow Costello completists: don't get rid of your Rykodisc versions when you buy this one. Ryko includes two live songs that are not repeated here!

For me, at least, this wasn't up to the quality of EC's first 5 albums. It's not a disaster. I can think of very few EC albums that deserve that moniker. The weakness is in the inconsistent songwriting. The best material here holds up well compared to his best but there's too much filler. What makes Punch The Clock so compelling and still a great listen is EC's willingness to embrace a wide variety of musical styles including the pop of its era. Punch The Clock is a search for a new direction after reaching a creative peak with the brilliant Trust and Imperial Bedroom. The albums it most recalls are John Lennon's trio of mid-70's albums Mind Games, Walls and Bridges and Rock 'n' Roll in its slick production style and attempt to merge the soul of the performer to the flesh of the marketplace.

There was something endearing and powerful about Nick Lowe's claustrophobic production. Lowe would have been a poor fit for Punch. Even when EC and Geoff Emerick opened the songs up to a new sonic world on Imperial Bedroom, they withstood the challenge. There are a few tracks, though, where EC and L&W meet head on. The collison produces a couple of strong masterpieces including the sublimely realized Shipbuilding with the aching horn solo by the late, great Chet Baker. Pills and Soap, Let Them All Talk (the catchy opening track) and the brilliant single Everyday I Write The Book demonstrate that the match isn't a miss so much as a hit and miss depending on the material.

The bonus tracks have, again, been relocated to the bonus disc. Punch The Clock benefits from the bonus tracks even more than Trust or the other reissues do. There is a flaw, however, because Punch isn't as complete as it should be with a few missing tracks that were on the original Rykodisc version. Perhaps they'll be relocated to the re-release of Goodbye Cruel World. Still, the bonus disc is very generous with numerous unreleased live/demo tracks.

EC has a blast here. Punch The Clock is EC's most "fun" record of the original albums with the attractions. The production can sound dated (that's not necessarily a bad thing either)but the performances are, on the whole, as vivid and invigorating as anything from EC's prime. From here it would be a long fall from a very short pier.

Oh, and thanks to the writer who mentioned that the two live tracks from Punch 95 were not included here. I kept mine and, despite the lower fidelity of the sound on those tracks, EC probably should have kept them on here (could have put them on as secret bonus tracks).

I've read so many bad reviews of this album and I just don't get it. This album is packed full of very clever songs and great lyrics with a great big noisy band behind Elvis. It's a real treat for the ears. And for the song writer/musicians out there, these songs are brilliantly written, using thick harmonies and great chord changes.

Don't pass this one by.

If you admire Elvis Costello but wish he'd relax a bit and let his tunes breathe, this is the album for you. "Punch the Clock" delivers Costello's trademark snarl and bite but emphasizes the music and melody over incessant wordplay. The result is an album that's easy to love and dance to, even if it's dismissed by Elvis purists. The high points come right at the top with the revved up "Let Them Talk" and the sweet soul of "Everyday I Write the Book." But though "Clock" never gets its gears so beautifully in line again, there are plenty of choice cuts including "Element Within Her," "The Invisible Man" and "Love Went Mad." A fun record -- and even for Elvis Costello, that's no sin.

Elvis dove in to the mainstream and came up with a pearl of a pop record. Imperial Bedroom was a classic: brilliant, deeply intimate, intricate, and timeless. his next, Punch the Clock, was dead-on timely: accessible, clever, splashy, and a real pleasure. Punch is full of swing! (seriously.) don't be afraid to enjoy it. but in case your nerves just can't handle the light sound of a bubble pop, remember that the heaving burble of the masterfully boggy and wet-heavy Blood & Chocolate was only Goodbye Cruel World away.

All critical praise & poor sales aside, IMPERIAL BEDROOM proved to be a tough act to follow. And after cranking out a steady stream of classics for 5 frenetic years, things were bound to fall apart at some point. Though that wouldn't happen until the much maligned, GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD, PUNCH THE CLOCK falls a little short of essential status.

Artistically, it's no leap forward. In fact, next to BEDROOM one could say a step back. To paraphrase the maestro himself in the liner notes, this is the sound of trying to do something new while still adhering to the same tried & true formula.

There are 2 bona fide classics in "Shipbuilding" & "Everyday I Write The Book". And I suppose you'd have to include "Pills & Soap" in that company as well, though I much prefer, "Charm School" & "Let Them Talk". As for the rest, let's be honest here, the likes of "Element Within Her" are pleasant but slight.

PUNCH could be considered Costello's most "Pop" record & production-wise, it hasn't aged particularly well. It's mostly somber sentiments seem to have been buttoned up in an artificially upbeat package. Behind it all, one senses a bit of a career crisis.

At best it's a glance back to the 80's through cracked, rose-colored glasses. Not to mention a middle finger to the preening arrogance that was Thatcherism. At worst, it captures Costello at his most self-consciously cute-n-clever. And despite the presence of Chet Baker & the gung ho efforts of the TKO Horns, The Attractions occasionally get lost in the shuffle.

As with all the Rhino reissues, the bonus disc opens a window into the creative process. While obsessives are getting their money's worth, it all proves a bit unweildy & far from a cohesive listen. But it's worth sifting through the rubble to dust off rough gems like, "Shatterproof". On the other hand, his cover of Yoko Ono's "Walking On Thin Ice" goes to show some jokes need only be told once.

Far from his worst album, PUNCH is well worth the price of admission for devoted fans. But probably not the best place to start becoming one. In terms of his tradmark bite, this is more of a nip.

As said above, the guy that wrote this first review must be stuck in the mainstream of something and it surely isn't good music. Contrary to what some people might believe, Elvis Costello is a great performer with or without the attractions. It is his lyrical content and masterful mind that make his music what it is and has always been.

Yes there were many horns involved but it's great to hear that the man has many musical interests and does not only stick to one "type" of music. I have seen EC in concert too many times to count, and songs that are on this album are always played at his concerts. In other words, the music on this CD is very worth purchasing.

Don't follow the masses of what is ecpected of Elvis, listen to the music for what it is, not what it is supposed to be. Listen to Elvis' voice and enjoy his comical, unexpected, and unheard of lyrics (and the music's pretty good too).

Flush with artistic raves and the critical success of "Imperial Bedroom," Elvis Costello did exactly what we should have expected him to do. He made an album absolutely nothing like the one we'd all been listening to for the entire previous year. I even remember a scathing review of this album at the time that opened with a comment akin to "Well, nobody's going to call this album a masterpiece."

OK, so that was a pretty accurate assessment. "Punch The Clock" was a maniacally obsessive pop album, primarily due to the choice of Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley as producers. Their track momentum was unstoppable at the time, and they wrapped EC and the Attractions with soul vocals, punchy horns and a free swinging style of production that was the polar opposite of Nick Lowe's. If you can, imagine "Get Happy" with more breathing space in the songs.

The result might have been "Punch The Clock's" irresistibly catchy opening track "Let Them All Talk." L&W layered the production with what was common to the period...the lush horns, the steamy r'n'b pulse, etc. Just as important was their finger on the popbeat of the moment, which suddenly saw Elvis flirting with the American Top 40 via "Everyday I Write The Book." While the video was more topical than the song, it didn't mean Elvis was shying away from biting lyrics. "Punch The Clock" is loaded with such notable quotes like "I wish you luck with a capitol F" and "He said 'are you cold,' she said 'no but you are,' la la la."

It also didn't mean that Elvis' definition of "pop" didn't include some heartfelt jabs at the current state of England. This being the era that produced Reagen-Thatcher and the Falklands War, the songs "Pills and Soap" and "Shipbuilding" were remarkable for their inclusion among the giddy pop of "The Greatest Thing" or "Mouth Almighty." The understated, elegant lyric, along with a perfect solo from Chet Baker made "Shipbuilding" not only the best song on "Punch The Clock," but one of the outstanding songs in EC's library.

Given the success of the album (it was one of EC's first albums to reach gold status in sales), it made sense that L&W would be around for the next. If you really want to gauge how underrated "Punch The Clock" usually is, just give an re-listen to "Goodbye Cruel World," the undisciplined follow-up. The bonus disc here is strictly hit and miss, and is interesting in that you can hear just how much architectural work L&W invested. The live cuts are, as usual, great. (But missing a couple from the Ryko CD.)

Over twenty years later, "Punch The Clock" has definitely aged well. Which means the answer to the opening line is no cliches here, but some strong 80's pop as only Elvis and the Attractions could shape it.

A funny minor Costello album with great EC liner notes though the production must have cost a pretty penny. At the time he was competing with Dexy's Midnite Runners, etc. for club and airplay, and they hewed this strange pop lp that EC himself said, 'cleared the dancefloor'. Also, interesting about how the title refers to Thatcher England and the lack of work available for ordinary Joe's turns into an EC concept album gone awry. A failure as club music, but fun to listen to--great horn charts, glossy arrangements, clever lyrics, cool phrasings and vocal stylings and a woozy Chet Baker horn solo. The bonus disc makes it worth the price though. Yoko's? Walking on Thin Ice and EC's crack at Backstabbers and the live cuts of Elvis with horns, make this a great disc. I found it at Pure Pop in Burlington, VT for $10 new. Amazon had it for $45 new!! Therefore remember your local independent record store!! Yet again, but not always, Costello shoots! He scores!!

Man was I missing out for 22 years. EC put out so many albums in this time frame and I had a lot of things going in my life (being a sailor and away from the US, plus getting into all the other music at the time), that this release slipped through the cracks for me. My listening experience for the time till now was the selected tracks from the compilations I had bought (Girls...The Best....The Very Best), so for all this time I'm getting Pills and Soap, Shipbuilding, and Everyday I Write the Book as representation here. Now that I'm getting the real EC releases and listening to all these tunes I'm floored. Yeah it's a EC pop release and I'm saying to myself "All Right!" I'm a big Get Happy lover as well as Imperial Bedroom (the later another of those I settled on selected samplings from the compilations) so I absolutely am digging this cd now. Will it hold up for me for another 20 years? I happen to think it will. Songs I can't keep playing over and over right now because the vocals are awesome; "The Element Within Her", "Charm School", "Love Went Mad", and "The Invisible Man". I love the line in "Element" that goes like this "But back in the bedroom, With her electric heater, I SAY 'ARE YOU COLD?', SHE SAYS 'NO, BUT YOU ARE', La La La " I cracked up over that one, right up there with my favorite EC lyric "They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie". If your looking for a deal get the Rykodisc release for about half (the bonus stuff is mostly unpolished demo's that I won't listen to regularly) but definitely get this CD it's a very worthwhile disc for EC fans.

Ralph/Working in the Middle East; getting great music through Amazon!