ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS
Cruel Smile (Island)
Reviewed by John Sekerka

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Hey an Elvis Costello record you can actually listen to more than once before filing with the others. Actually the recent When I Was Cruel is quite good, but lately the Imposter's recordings have been rather, ah, sketchy. Cruel Smile is a wonderful hodge podge of an album, brimming with odds and sodds, live tracks, b-sides, alternate takes ... you know, the usually dreaded cutting room floor compilation marched out to fill cash registers before the inevitable Christmas crunch platter is bestowed upon us mere record buying mortals. But as you may already know, Elvis' throw aways are often quite superb, and in this case, far better than plan A material. Look no further than the thrilling one-two salvo of "Watching the Detectives/My Funny Valentine" presented ever so smugly before a Tokyo crowd for absolute proof. The live stuff, and there's a whole mess of it, is delicious, and the Japanese only single "Smile" (both A and B sides, bookending the selections) is his best soft hook in years.

© 2002 - John Sekerka