Punch the Clock

The Attractions, Elvis Costello

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 7, 1995)
• Original Release Date: 1983
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B0000009UY
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #64,126 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #38 in	Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Singer Songwriters
  #64 in	Music > Indie Music > Pop > Singer-Songwriters

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
At times more ear-rending than the much maligned Goodbye Cruel World--thank the blaring horns, which augment an uneven bunch of songs--Punch the Clock nonetheless has its great moments. The searing political statements "Shipbuilding" and "Pills and Soap" are obvious high points (as is Chet Baker's solo on the former), while on the poppier side "Everyday I Write the Book" is sweetly distressed, "Let Them All Talk" definitively defiant, and "The World and His Wife" high-level sneering wordplay. At least a couple of the bonus tracks in Rykodisc's edition, though, trump some of the original Clock's weaker cuts. --Rickey Wright

From the Label
A return to the world of straightforward pop music, PTC swings with startling horn arrangements from subtle poignancy to full blown hook-laden mini-epics. Though best-known for soulful struts like "Let Them All Talk" and "Everyday I Write the Book" (one of the most obvious hit singles of his career), PUNCH THE CLOCK also contained a pair of unsettling topical works, "Pills & Soap" (originally rush-released in the UK in hopes of putting a monkey-wrench in the Thatcher re-election) and "Shipbuilding," an early response to the Falklands war, featuring a haunting trumpet solo by the late Chet Baker). These tracks provide a balance to the lusher popcraft of the other tracks.

In the detailed liner notes that accompany the package, Costello writes that he was eager to become "reacquainted with the wonderful world of pop" since the release of the more somber albums, ALMOST BLUE and IMPERIAL BEDROOM. Renowned hit-making producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (Dexy's Midnight Runners, Madness) helped Costello achieve a polished sound which paid off with two chart-topping US singles, "Let Them All Talk" and "Everday I Write the Book" (featuring guest vocalist Caron Wheeler, who later sang lead on Soul II Soul's smash "Back to Life"). The seven extended play tracks include the B-sides "Heathen Town" and "Flirting Kind", "Walking on Thin Ice" (from the Yoko Ono tribute album EVERY MAN HAS A WOMAN), and the unreleased demos "Town Where Time Stood Still" and "Shatterproof" (later recorded by Rockpile's Billy Bremner). Rounding out the album's bonus material are rare live versions of "The World and His Wife" and "Everyday I Write the Book," both very different from their studio counterparts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An underrated Costello album, May 2, 1999

By A Customer

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Pop!, February 5, 2002

By	Dodd V. Attisani (Sea Cliff, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

4.0 out of 5 stars Underrated, March 14, 2006

By	James, WA - See all my reviews

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.