any people would claim that When I Was Cruel is Elvis Costello’sbest album since the late 80’s rockers, Blood and Chocolate and King of America . I would disagree; I am going to go so far as tosay that it is his best album since Trust . After Trust , a record full of Costello displaying a clear mastery of multiple styles,Costello fell in with the ‘duh’ pop crowd, not recovering in the nineties somuch as trying very hard to convince us he still had it.


When I Was Cruel seems like a comeback record. Not like there’sreally anything to come back from, Elvis has been keeping himself busy the pastcouple years with collaborations. Perhaps he thought he could better serve thepublic with a return to form, rather than respectable but otherwise sleepyteam-ups with opera stars and show tune sages. No matter, Costello hasdelivered the goods like old respectable Costello of 1981.


"45" opens the record brightly, with Elvis happily crooning lyrics in short,potent bursts, using the number 45 to reference his age and old-timey records. The irony, of course, is that with this song (one of the most upbeat on therecord) he is trying to show us that he is still together. If the lyrics fallshort of typical Costello fare (though they are miles above anything writtensince the eighties), it can be forgiven, the song manages to rock. ElvisCostello has managed to rock again.


So he continues the record, rocking quite a bit, but allowing for some moredeveloped musical ideas. The song "Tart" hearkens back to the Spike days, but rather than devolving into a pile of self-congratulation, it standsup quite nicely. The bass jumps up every once in a while, pulling us out ofstraight rock territory as Costello releases chords that could have been takenfrom Armed Forces , if they weren’t so suave. The great thingabout all of this is that Costello has finally fused his years of musicalindecision with the rock he always had in him.


This record introduces Costello to sampling, which he uses very well. Some ofthe patterns are a bit repetitive and a bit too simple (the vocal sample on thetitle track), but ultimately, Costello shows good taste. "Spooky Girlfriend"cruises along with an incredible backing choral arrangement that lands somewherebetween new wave and doo-wop.


With When I Was Cruel , Elvis Costello continues the legacy of agreat songwriter. He shows us that he can adapt to the environment of an unsurelistening public, while indulging his own primal rock urges.