Elvis Costello – Punch The Clock (1983/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 45:30 minutes | 1,84 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © UMe – Elvis Costello
Punch the Clock is an album released in 1983 by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. It was Costello’s eighth album, his seventh with the Attractions since 1978. The album featured Costello’s first US Top 40 hit, “Everyday I Write the Book.”In 2014, NME ranked it at number 345 in its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Perhaps frustrated by the lack of commercial success Imperial Bedroom encountered, Elvis Costello enlisted British hitmakers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley to produce its follow-up, Punch the Clock. The difference between the two records is immediately noticeable. Punch the Clock has a slick, glossy surface, complete with layered synthesizers, horns, studio effects, and the backup vocals of Afrodiziak. The approach isn’t necessarily a misguided one, since Costello is as much a pop musician as he is a singer/songwriter and many of the best moments on the record — “Everyday I Write the Book,” “Let Them All Talk” — work well as shiny pop singles. However, the problem with Punch the Clock is that Costello is entering a fallow songwriting period; it is his least consistent set of original songs to date. The best moments, the antiwar ballad “Shipbuilding” and the eerie pseudo-rap “Pills and Soap,” are as articulate and effective as any of his past work, but frequently Costello falls short of meeting his standards, particularly when he’s trying to write a song in the style of his older songs. Nevertheless, the sheen of the Langer and Winstanley production makes Punch the Clock a pleasurable listen. Costello’s uneven writing means that only portions of the album are memorable. –AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Tracklist:
01. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Let Them All Talk (03:06)
02. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Every Day I Write The Book (03:54)
03. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – The Greatest Thing (03:04)
04. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – The Element Within Her (02:52)
05. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Love Went Mad (03:13)
06. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Shipbuilding (04:53)
07. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – TKO (Boxing Day) (03:28)
08. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Charm School (03:55)
09. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – The Invisible Man (03:04)
10. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Mouth Almighty (03:05)
11. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – King Of Thieves (03:45)
12. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Pills & Soap (03:42)
13. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – The World And His Wife (03:25)
