Customer Reviews

Punch the Clock

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

 

 

I think "Punch The Clock" is the most underrated Costello albums. Yes, it's probably one of his most commercial sounding release, but, so what ? "Shipbuilding" is just an amazing song. The sound is fresh and young. It has been my summer album for about 5 years now.

Elvis releases too many albums, and as a result, half of his albums are mediocre. For my money, this is one of his top 3. (The only one I might rate higher is Imperial Bedroom.) Punch The Clock is pop at its best: catchy melodies/lyrics, good grooves, upbeat tempos, and well constructed song forms. It's a fun album with substance--what all pop music should aspire to be.

This is one of my favourite Elvis Costello albums, full of clever two and a half minute pop songs that EC has sadly found impossible to put in less than six minutes since !

Yes, it is overproduced, but I challenge anyone not to be uplifted by the opening track, "Let them all Talk", which to me is EC's most underrated pop song ever

There are plenty of EC albums for misery, but for pop pleasure, this is his best.

Elvis was releasing so much music at this point in his career but for us fans it was a joy to listen to his genius. This is kind of a varied release with his most obvious hit single ("Everyday I Write The Book"), Some horn-laden pop raves ("Let Them All Talk", TKO (Boxing Day)" & "The World and His Wife")and serious songs ("Pills & Soap", "Shipbuilding"). A mixed bag that offers a little of something in various Costello styles over the years, has to be considered one of his best.

This is an interesting Costello recording. Some of his most upbeat and joyous tunes are to be found here, songs like "The Greatest Thing" with its "Bo Diddley beat" and Everyday I Write the Book," just seem to bounce off the CD with a sense of fun and unbridled happiness that I find to be infectious. The CD has the usual lyrical agility that you would expect to find in a Costello recording but the overall feeling is more positive than normally found on his recordings. This is not to say the dark side never rears its head, check out "Pills and Soap." But the overall effect is a welcome breath of fresh air and while I don't think it ranks with Costello's best, PUNCH THE CLOCK is just a bit more fun than most of his stuff.

Realising there was nowhere to go but down from his 1982 masterpiece "Imperial Bedroom," E C decided to make a completely different kind of album from the dark, smoky lounge of Bedroom and return to his Stax and dance hall roots.

Most EC devotees might have a hard time getting past the albums upbeat mood, which can clash at times severely with the lyrics. This is not the manic, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach that he used on "Get Happy" that he used to get through his post "Armed Forced"-US Tour fiasco doldrums. This album shows a lot more polish and maturity in songwriting that he picked up with Bedroom.

The use of horns, upbeat tempos, and soul backing vocals from "Afrodesiac" give the album a unique feel. Costello moves out of the dank, after-hours clubs of "Trust" onto the big stage where the headliners play. "Every Day I Write the Book" is a bona fide hit, worthy of radio and MTV play that EC couldn't repeat until "Veronica."

Even so, most EC fans will cite "Shipbuilding" and "Pills and Soap" as their favorites because of their dark, complex moods. That would overlook "Charm School," a song subtler on the acid.

"Let Them All Talk" is a defiant cry to those who would immediately dismiss this album. The song itself almost says, "Yes, I know this isn't as good as Imperial Bedroom and some of the older stuff. Yes, I know it's derivative (Have we come this fa-fa-far to find a soul cliché?). But this is what I want to do now and I like it."

I would have to agree whole-heartedly.

I have loved this great album from the day of its release. We also drove down from Waterloo, Ont., to Ann Arbor to catch him on that tour. Why didn't this sell in the zillions? It's another fantastic Costello release. It's got a dynamite single in Everyday I Write the Book. My personal faves are Mouth Almighty, Invisible Man, and of course Shipbuilding. The horns rule, Costello's singing is particularly good on this (he won the NME reader's poll that year for Best Male Singer), and The Greatest Thing is a sly take off on WHAM! Get it!

....and that's not a compliment. good tunes, for the most part, and lots of energy -- but it just hasn't aged well. go back and look at your old high school yearbook picture and all the funny haircuts and you'll know what i'm trying to say here....

I agree that this album is Elvis' most 80s sounding. I got it on cassette first and after becoming addicted couldn't buy it on CD fast enough. My favourite song on the album is "The Invisible Man" with its exuberant melody and sharp lyrics. Other obvious favourites are "Everyday I Write the Book" and "Shipbuilding", the latter being, in my opinion, one of the best songs ever. "Element Within Her" makes me happy to be alive! The only faults I see on the album are the overused TKO horns and uneven collection of songs, but those are picky complaints. Taken one by one, each song is good in its own way, but as a cohesive whole it's not Elvis's strongest. If you're a big fan of typical 80s rock, or must have everything Elvis, then this CD is for you. Otherwise don't search it out.

I admit that I am one of those hopeless EC collectors that must have everything. For no better reason than... well, just to say that I have everything I guess. That being said, I think Punch the Clock is one of my least favorite Elvis albums. But I can listen to it. I was very hopeful of Punch the Clock because I really really liked Imperial Bedroom and I was completly blown away by Trust.

Punch the clock is a sub par album in that it doesn't really seem to fit in with the other Elvis albums made around that time. Comercial? Maybe. But even then, when he's comercial, he's not that comercial. So I apreciate that. It's not really a 180 degree turn from where his music was headed. I'm just glad the power pop, turbo horn, soulful backing vocal jag he was on at that time stopped when it did.

If I'm making a mix tape, I might include a few songs from the album beyond "Shipbuilding" and "Pills and soap". "Every day I write the book" is real good. I can stand "Love when Mad". But, no, I'm not a fan of this album. Buy Trust or Armed Forces instead. In fact, buy everything else. Because it's all golden in comparison. Could have been much better.

Not as bad as Almost Blue though.