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Blood And Chocolate

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

1986

Blood And Chocolate

Album Summary

Blood & Chocolate is the eleventh studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in the United Kingdom as Demon Records XFIEND 80, and in the United States as Columbia 40518. It is his ninth album with his long-standing backing band known as 'The Attractions'. After his previous album King of America with producer T-Bone Burnett and different musicians, this album reunited him with producer Nick Lowe and his usual backing group the Attractions. It peaked at No. 16 on the UK Albums Chart, and No. 84 on the Billboard 200. In The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for the year's best albums, Blood & Chocolate finished at number 9. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2000 it was voted number 475 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.The recording of Blood & Chocolate was troubled, as the relationship between Costello and the Attractions had deteriorated during sessions for King of America. The album was recorded at concert-level volume in a way Costello felt suited the material.

Wikipedia

Rating

2.93

Votes

15711

Reviews

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Jul 10 2021
1

I hate Elvis Costello. I pray to everything holy I never get another one of his albums.

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Feb 04 2024
3

After 900 and 80 something albums I finally figured it out. This list was designed so we would have to listen to every Elvis Costello album. All of which were the same. You won this round Elvis!

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Jan 28 2021
2

My favorite part of this album was when Spotify played a Replacements song in the queue after it was over and I didn't notice it was a different artist for 30 seconds. || Nothing was awful about this album, but nothing felt special. I spent more time digging into lyrics and story behind it, and still didn't spark excitement. Meh.

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Nov 29 2023
1

I’m so sick of Elvis fucking Costello

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Dec 06 2023
1

Please don’t recommend this band to me anymore

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Aug 11 2022
5

Well that worked out well, I was probably going to listen to this today anyway. Y’all one star wankers need to grow up.

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Jun 15 2021
2

There were a couple of songs that I thought were fine but this one failed to hold my attention. I see lots of folks complaining about his monotonous voice and I can’t disagree

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Aug 01 2022
2

Does Elvis Costello get paid by the word? He crams a lot of words into these songs and I’m not sure most of them are needed. In that spirit, a quick and to-the-point track by track review: Uncomplicated - No. I Hope Your Happy Now - Solid power pop, this would’ve made a better opener than Uncomplicated. Tokyo Storm Warning- Six minutes is way too long for this. Home is Anywhere You Hang Your Head - That got awfully pretty towards the end. I Want You - This is basically a Summerteeth-era Wilco track, no? Never really made the connection between Jeff Tweedy/Wilco and Elvis Costello, but holy shit, this had to be an influence on his vocals. Honey Are You Straight or Are You Blind? - Thank god this was only two minutes. What an obnoxious riff. Blue Chair - I can not unhear the similarities in the vocal stylings of Costello and Jeff Tweedy now. Battered Old Bird - “he’s a battered old bird and he’s alivadupalellwerlllll.” This song sucks. Crimes of Paris - This is what I was expecting from an Elvis Costello record. Relatively straight forward power pop. Poor Napoleon- “She called you her magic fingers”. This is what happens when you get paid by the word. You come up with terrible metaphors…ones that should still haunt their author 36 years after being forced upon the world. Next Time Around - another pretty standard power pop number, REM’s “Stand” bears a striking resemblance to the chorus of this song.

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Jan 06 2022
5

I have been simultaneously waiting for and dreading my first Elvis Costello album. He is absolutely one of my favorite artists, but I feel like it’s impossible to talk about him without sounding like a bit of an idiot. I haven’t really given this album as much time over the years as I have for other EC albums, which was an incredible mistake on my part. This album is fantastic. I want to go off and spend a week with it and then listen to it all the time for the rest of my life. This the last of that first (best) series of albums Costello made with the Attractions in the 80s. Elvis Costello has done so much interesting work over the years, but musically, it never got better than when he was with the Attractions. It’s the end of an era, and a pretty damn good send-off. This is Costello & the Attractions at their best - smart, punchy, witty, seething. There are some really melodic, gorgeously arranged songs, offset by pointed, frequently dark songwriting. Lyrically Costello is clever as ever, with a flair for vivid imagery. It’s a very specific, bitter pill brand of pop that not everyone likes, and no one in the world can do like Elvis Costello. I also don’t know if the Attractions ever sounded better than this. What a pleasure to listen to. And Nick Lowe producing again? *Chef’s Kiss* This album was way too smart for the likes of 1986 (or 2022, for that matter). Maybe it could be a song or two shorter, but who cares? More Elvis Costello is not a bad thing. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): I Want You, Tokyo Storm Warning, Battered Old Bird, Crimes of Paris, Next Time Round, Home is Anywhere You Hang Your Head, Uncomplicated, I Hope You're Happy, Poor Napoleon, Blue Chair, Honey Are You Straight or Are You Blind

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Sep 18 2024
1

I do not know how Elvis Costello convinced anyone he was good. This is my second album of his from this list, and do not look forward to any others. His voice is obnoxious and none of this is good.

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Apr 19 2023
4

This immediately grabbed me with unexpected cacophony and whallop: That’s how you begin an album, nerds! Drums sound great, making my head do a Wilko Johnson dance. The Boss brought to mind, another midlife discovery with a gift for narrative, anthem and soaring. Surprised by how much I like Costello’s voice. The garage band guitar sometimes verges on no wave chaos, which is magnificent, as if the songs are barely able to hold together. The record is well paced, rockers, laments, introspective bits all feel like they’re in the right place on this first lesson. Yeah, I’ll get this. I think this is a record I’ll find more to like on further goes.

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Apr 26 2021
2

* Didn't listen to whole album* Bored

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May 17 2024
4

I had a girlfriend in about 1990 who owned only a handful of records, including Blood & Chocolate, so she played it a lot. It was a recent-ish album, even if not his most recent release. (Her other records included Changes Bowie, the first Jesus Jones record, Jesus & Mary Chain's Barbed Wire Kisses, Hair Broadway cast recording, and Them Dirty Blues, which was a box set of raunchy blues songs from the 1920s and 30s). It was also a favourite at a share house I moved into about that time, so I listened to this record quite a lot. I love Elvis Costello when he is just rockin' out. The band were barely talking to each other, but were a well-honed live unit. They got into the studio and recorded quickly, loudly, and with verve. The album is concerned with sexual obsession and betrayal, which reflects the band's vibe. The reality comes across. Muscular, immediate, honest and loud. Are they classic tunes? Maybe not. I don't really think anyone believes this is EC's best record. But they are like old familiar friends to me, and I really enjoyed revisiting this record. Love it.

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Feb 22 2024
4

I own this record at home, and obviously, its main selling point is the song *I Want You*, one of the best tunes Elvis Costello has ever written: it's raw but melodic, it's disturbingly blunt and disarmingly honest... yet it's also catchy, simple, and frankly endearing--and this, as painful and even *ugly* as the feelings expressed in the song are. It's quite refreshing that Costello, always mired in all sorts of sophisticated, borderline-"literary" posturing, could find it in him to pen something so direct instead in 1986. In the album reissue's liner notes, Costello claims that the melody in the verse of the song was inspired by a Japanese folk tune, which is kind of hard to believe. But whatever the case may be, there is something truly universal in this tale about jealousy and unrequited love. Which is why it hits the intended mark. About the rest of the album, I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty good. A bit rough around the edges, a bit messy--but that's actually an asset after the stifling dynamics and hackneyed production values of the records that preceded it. Not to mention the annoying verbose mannerisms of *Imperial Bedroom*--where you simply want Costello to buckle up after the third song. Costello fans would probably cry foul play after reading my words, but most people and their mothers outside that circle of fans know that including *This Year's Model* and *Armed Forces* in such a list is more than enough to give Elvis Costello the place he deserves there. Robert Dimery thought very differently, unfortunately--how many Elvis Costello albums are in his damn list? 6? 7? Honestly, I've lost count... Now does that mean there's no room for *Blood And Chocolate* in my *own* list? Well, the jury's still out on this one... On the "Pros" section, there's Nick Lowe's "loud" and very "live" production, which honestly aged better than the one on the albums before, as I said earlier. Hiring Lowe, the man responsible for the aesthetics of *This Year's Model* and *Armed Forces*, was all that the Attractions needed to sound good again. And there are still some interesting studio tidbits sprinkled here and there (some reversed tapes, some *subtle* echoes, some quick off-kilter effects adding to those already "noisy" sessions). Yet as off-kilter as those tidbits are, they never ruin the overall dynamics. Even better, those details even give a sixties near-psychedelic subtext to those tracks. Which is good. Especially for a record released in 1986. Another thing for the "Pros" section is the sheer quaity of most of the songs. Opener "Uncomplicated" is exactly what its title suggests, "I Hope You're Happy Now" is textbook Costello (in a good way), but the album really hits its stride with the long postmodern epic "Tokyo Storm Warning", near-Dylanesque in both its musical and lyrical flourishes. Closing side A, there's "I Want You", but I don't need to say more about it than what I have already stated at the start of this tentative review. And closing side B (along with the album), you have four great cuts that go in interesting, less forceful directions: there is the strange-yet-fascinating "Old Battered Bird", quite hard to describe, but very ominous and evocative, as when Costello lets out those chill-inducing yelps over a rather atmospheric bakckground. You also have the sardonic-yet-subdued "ballad" "Crimes Of Paris", the more textured "Poor Napoleon", and the merseybeat-inspired last track and catchy earworm "Next Time Round". In the "Cons" section, however, all the tracks I haven't quoted are more akin to the "automatic mode" version of Elvis Costello and the Attractions after the release of *Armed Forces*, with a lot of words sung by the man, and a lot of chords played as well. And consequently, those other songs don't have much in them that could make them memorable. Costello, as often, is too damn *chatty* on those cuts. Truth be told, he's chatty in the good songs as well, but if the music doesn't have the right hooks to make that aspect bearable, it becomes a bit of a chore to go through those other tunes. Reading what I've just written, I reallize my "Pros" section is bigger that the one for my "Cons". This record is also the last one of the "classic" tenure of Costello's collaboration with The Attractions (in 1986, his relationship with the band had soured to the point that it was better for everyone involved to go their own way for a while). So in a sense, *Blood And Chocolate* is also a "historical" album. Giving it the benefit of the doubt, then. 3.5 for the purposes of this list gathering "essential" LPs (rounded up to 4). Which translates to a 8.5/10 grade for more general purposes (5 + 3.5). A quick note about my ranking of Elvis Costello's albums in Dimery's list. To this day, the man is still far from being my favourite artist of all time, but since I've started this project, I've warmed up to his music somehow. My grades (and reviews) for *This Year's Model* and *Armed Forces* were quite harsh, I know it now. Today, I would rate both those albums with a 4/5 grade. Which, coincidentally or not, is the grade I will also give to this later album. Won't change my 1/5 "protest" grade for debut *My Aim Is True", though, *That* record was dull, no question, and you can bet your boots that if Costello had not had the career he had afterwards, everyone would have forgotten about it... Number of albums left to review: 278 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 319 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 176 (including this one) Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many other records are more important to me): 232

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Feb 05 2021
4

I had no clue this album existed. So jangly and grungy. Love Elvis Costello.

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Apr 19 2023
3

I seem to prefer Elvis Costello in small chunks, the albums never hold my full attention. His voice is far more idiosyncratic than Dylan's ever was, and the songs can be a bit unimaginative. Nonetheless, there are a good few bangers on here; a stingy 3*

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Jul 27 2022
5

Great EC album from his classic period. Check out his list of "500 Must-Have Albums" on Vanity Fair.

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Aug 29 2021
5

I always forget how great this album is. Probably his best sounding album after Imperial Bedroom. Certainly the loudest. Also the last great album of The Attractions era. “I Want You” is such a great song, definitely one of his best.

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May 13 2021
4

7/10. The singing started out more annoying than usual, but seemed fine later on.

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Jun 26 2024
2

Same as most of the other Elvis Costello albums really, you listen to it and think 'this isn't bad', but you can never really name a song from it more than about an hour after listening. I am surprised to hear that we've had three other albums of his, because I really can't remember them. 2/5, hopefully coming to the end of a pretty poor run.

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May 02 2024
2

My blood, it boils, this chocolate’s too bitter; Elvis Costello, I don’t like you much, mister.

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Mar 13 2024
1

no.

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Jan 05 2022
5

I want you I want to hear he pleases you more than I do

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Dec 31 2021
5

Saved Prior: None Cutting Edge: 11. Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head Off Rip: 10. Poor Napoleon 9. Crimes of Paris 8. Battered Old Bird 7. Uncomplicated 6. Tokyo Storm Warning 5. Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind? 4. Next Time Round 3. Blue Chair 2. I Hope You're Happy Now 1. I Want You Off Rip: Uncomplicated, I Hope You're Happy Now, Tokyo Storm Warning, I Want You, Blue Chair, Battered Old Bird, Crimes of Paris, Cutting Edge: Overall Notes: I've been skeptical of Mr. Elvis Costello for a while. I've liked some of his songs (chiefly Alison, Veronica, and Pump It Up), but his status as one of the greatest songwriters ever seemed kind of silly. I get it now. I didn't adore all of these songs, but his voice shines through every single one of these tracks. They're all simultaneously catchy yet resentful. The album jumps between genres but not so forcefully that he loses his voice in the process. I like the somewhat simple production of the album as well. Low 5.

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Aug 03 2021
5

Always on … Raw … live feeling … dark and darkly funny … desperate in places … I want you … (which is amazing -when I’ve seen it played live) Blue Chair … the pop songs are great with more dark bits …Crimes of Paris … Massive fan of his writing … and WHAT A BAND … Steve and Pete and Bruce are tremendous

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Apr 11 2021
5

false

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Jul 06 2021
5

Can't really go wrong with Elvis Costello, can you? This is pretty great. A little bit grittier than some of his other stuff. I really like this album.

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Feb 10 2021
5

I want you gave me goosebumps. This album has a Beatleslike feel but there’s some tracks in there that are just amazing. I’m gonna listen to this again

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Jan 29 2024
4

tokyo storm warning

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Jan 16 2025
3

sadly changing the 114 to 0 on the "days without an elvis costello album" sign

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Jul 05 2025
2

*bleeding from the ears* okay OKAY Elvis please stop, I'll tell you everything... the nuclear codes, the security passwords.. everything you want, please just spare my family

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Jun 25 2025
2

Talk about over exposure, is he the editors brother in law or something. Here’s my 3rd Costello album already. It sounds like an Elvis Costello album, just like the last 2, little difference even with over 10 years between, so why do I need to hear this 1 too?? Like why? It’s a middling album at best, if being generous, it was on he was doing that bouncy melody thing, lots of lyrics, limited vocal range, not sure any of it penetrated my thick skull as it wafted along. Then it was over and nothing made me feel like returning, nothing was remembered. So why did I need to hear it? If you are a fan then good for you, To me Mr Costello is way over represented without any reasonable justification, there’s little variety that warrants from album to album, and they sure aren’t seismic on their own to deserve a must hear. So to rate, as an album it’s ok if a little so what, but the whole situation, fed up of him the personification of meh, so 2 Star

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Sep 04 2025
5

His best album. Its best track: "I Want You."

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Sep 03 2025
5

LOVED THS A LOT ACTUALLY! really reminded me of some 90s/00s rock band but i couldn’t place what. enjoyed all the songs so much honestly

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Jun 19 2025
5

Honestly, this might be my favorite Elvis Costello project

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Jun 06 2025
5

I was not familiar with this particular Elvis Costello album and after listening to it I was surprised to find out it was from the mid 80s. It was raw and original and really felt like something more from the earlier parts of his career. Lots of highlights for me especially "Home is Where You Hang Your Head," "I Want You, " and "Battered Old Bird."

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May 08 2025
5

got it

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Apr 10 2025
5

Kinda funky and deep

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Mar 17 2025
5

I already know I like this cause of Tokyo Storm Warning

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Feb 12 2025
5

p544. 1986. 5 stars. A stark reminder of just what he was capable of, and how far he as fallen in recent years. Stiletto sharp lyrics and cracking tunes. Essential Costello listening.

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Feb 07 2025
5

Greatly exceeded what I expected if it, fun and a cool rock album

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Feb 03 2025
5

damn that's good

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Feb 02 2025
5

A raw and bloody steak thrown at your face and then expecting you to say "thank you" afterwards. Costello's divorce album is every bit as angry, bitter, love lorn, sleazy and harrowing as you'd expect it to be. It's a work of genius as the instruments and vocals are as in your face as an ex lover in a slanging match. Plenty of blood and as cloying as chocolate. I could pick any track of this album as the best. Not an ounce of fat. Best Tracks: Uncomplicated; I Hope You're Happy Now; I Want You

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Jan 29 2025
5

I've always thought My Aim Is True was my favorite Costello record, but damn, maybe it's this one? The guitar tones are incendiary, and Elvis' lyrics and hooks are as strong as ever. 5/5

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Jan 13 2025
5

Album 653 of 1001 Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Blood And Chocolate (1986) Rating : 4.25 / 5 I think I've said this before but it is the same now. I always like what I hear from Elvis Costello but, for some reason, never just search him out for a listen. Don't really come across a song of his that is just bad.

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Jan 06 2025
5

Loved it!

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Dec 23 2024
5

Great Album!

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Nov 08 2024
5

Not his best, but still bloody brilliant!!!!

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Nov 02 2024
5

I've lived decades thinking Elvis Costello was either overrated or I was missing something. I was missing something. His first two albums (My Aim & This Year's Model): energetic, fun, rocking new wave. His third album (Armed Forces): Stylistic change, not so excited about it. Don't know about the lay of the land from there to here, but this 1986 album has the same energy as those first albums. It's different; he's expanded his lyrical scope, the songs are longer. Kind of like a garage band that's had a very, very long time to practice and develop their craft. These are songs I want to return to. Reminds me of an album like Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, but more direct, more rock/garage and (for me) more musically arresting. Or a collection of songs like you'd get from The White Stripes, but less blues. I get it, some people are still feeling Elvis Costello is overrated. I just encourage you to consider that maybe, just maybe, you're missing something. This is great stuff.

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Nov 01 2024
5

i like this album 5/5

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Sep 29 2024
5

I love this album. I don't think there's a weak moment on it and I love the swampy live in the studio sound despite how much the bass player moans about it. Side one encapsulates so well the self pitying horror of the spurned man. Side two is a great collection of stories that crept up on me over time.

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Sep 28 2024
5

¡Qué belleza la voz de Elvis Costello! No conocía este disco, pero me encantó, así como otras obras de este músico.

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Sep 09 2024
5

i know embarrassingly little ab elvis costello but being thrown into the thick of someones later career is deffo one of the more fun parts of this little project. idk what brought him to this point, how typical this is for him ect, but i was enamored with this almost immediately. its great, full-blooded rock music with a strange embryonic quality...like he shattered the whole genre into pieces and glued them back together partly in an attempt to rebuild from memory but also inject his own instincts into the very dna of musical history. the attractions kick an unbelievable amount of ass and the songs are hypnotic and offputting and very cozy to me honestly. rly excited for anything else i roll from him

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Sep 06 2024
5

Everyone hates the overrepresentation of Costello on this list but I don't mind it too much as a big fan of him and the albums on this list from him This is one of my favourites from him: emotionally and lyrically powerful, the Attractions really rock out and there's a good amount of variety so each song has it's own unique character to it

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Aug 23 2024
5

"Blood and Chocolate" is the 11th studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello and his band the Attractions. The recording of this album was troubled as the relationship between Costello and the Attractions had deteriorated during the recording of the previous album "King of America" to the point that Costello used another band. The album was recorded mainly live with monitors not headphones and with minimal takes and overdubs. It was to be Costello's last album with the Attractions for eight years. The tone of the songs was a response to the poor sales of "King of America and to the "growing indifference" of his record label, Columbia, to him as an artist. Commercially, the album hit #16 in the UK and #84 in the US. "Uncomplicated" opens with hard guitar slashes, tribal pounding drums and a guttural Costello voice screaming "Blood and Chocolate!" A swirling organ and spiraling, pyschedelic guitar. A song about love and/or lack of lobe in a relationship? Thumping drums and a wobbly organ bring in "Tokyo Storm Warning." Once again, Costello very upfront and assertive in the lyrics and vocals. This is a straight-up rocker. Costello described it as a thug's psychotic travelogue. Bad things happen as he travels from London to Paris to Buenos Aires. Costello's starts "I Want You" a capella. A creepy guitar and creepy vocals and lyrics as the narrator is in an obsessive and tormented relationship. The music mood gets more cheery in "Blue Chair." A piano-driven melody in this mostly pop song leftover over from the recordings of "King of America." Two guys are infatuated with the same woman as they learn the truth sitting in the blue chair. The album closes with another song from "King of America" in "Next Time Round." Costello singing a capella in the intro again as the bass-led band kicks in. A nice pop-rock guitar bridge. A guy's lover is dead (drugs?) and their roles will be reversed next time round. This album is one of Costello and the Attractions most rockin' especially excluding the songs from "King of America." Songs are guitar and organ driven. Costello's lyrics and vocals are assertive and aggressive as he explores bad, obsessive and end of relationships and death. Some might not put this album atop of the Costello best of list but I would put this atop my favorite Costello list. A strong recommended listen.

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Jul 18 2024
5

One of EC’s best. Always one of the first I will go to on any given day.

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May 29 2024
5

This might be controversial, but I think this is a a crown jewel in Costello's discography, even better than King of America, which came out the same year and is generally regarded as a masterpiece. It's every bit as good as his first three albums, but where those were brash, angry, and taut, this is brutal and anguished. It's the sound of a man who has aged and grown, both as a person and as a musician, but who still harbors a lot of uncomfortable feelings. Really fantastic.

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May 24 2024
5

I love Elvis Costello. I’ve been a fan since I saw him open for Bob Dylan at my university, where he played an incredible set featuring just a guitar and himself. It was awesome. Over time I’ve listened to much of his output, but I’ve never listened to this album. What a miss! After three spins it may be my favorite album of his, and his consistency through the late seventies and eighties is pretty remarkable. REM was around by this one, and I wonder if there is some influence from Murmer and other early REM on this one. It’s a strong record from beginning to end, no filler whatsoever. My favorite tracks are Home is Anywhere You Hang Your Head, Blue Chair (unbelievably good song - fantastic buildup in the chorus), Poor Napoleon, and Next Time Round (particularly REMish). As good as the record is, my favorite thing I learned while listening to this record is that Elvis Costello coined an alter-ego name of “Napoleon Dynamite,” and that the filmmaker denied that he got it from him. That was a super fun fact to my older-millennial mind.

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May 24 2024
5

I'm kind of baffled by the hate for EC on this website. I bet the people who don't like him listen to a lot of Drake.

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Apr 09 2024
5

I had only recognized one song on this; it’s a good find and I thought I knew all the Elvis albums

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Feb 11 2024
5

Brilliant - Elvis is a genius

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Dec 31 2023
5

Currently the average rating for this album is 2.97. So I enjoy this WAAAAY more than the average. I think this is the perfect rock record. It has great songs and doesn’t overstay its welcome. There are different kinds of tunes so there’s a good flow to the whole thing. I’m a fan of Elvis Costello generally. I’d never listened to this before but so glad I did as I’ve just found a new favourite. 5/5

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Dec 18 2023
5

Glorious. 5 stars.

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Nov 05 2023
5

I love Elvis Costello because he sings crooner songs, but is not a crooner. I'll never not love Elvis!

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Sep 29 2023
5

New one to me, really enjoyed it

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Sep 28 2023
5

cool

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Sep 14 2023
5

Great record by one of my favourite songwriters! Such a cohesive album that shows many of his strengths. It’s an album I’ve listened countless times yet still discover new tidbits, that’s what I love about music. These songs got you humming along in no time! 9 out of 10

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Jul 14 2023
5

Never listened to Costello before, but this was damn fine

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Jun 02 2023
5

The last album in the 11 albums in 10 years run Elvis put together during the late 70s/80s with the Attractions. This one sounds a little less dated than some of the albums in that span. I also followed his catalogue chronologically, so one of the last I dove into from that period (alright I never dove in Goodbye Cruel World). There are some outstanding tracks on this one - the first 5 songs or so are some of his best and the back half is also very strong. This one is almost a culmination as well of all the genre hopping Elvis did during the period. A classic among many classics in his catalogue.

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May 19 2023
5

The last great Elvis Costello album. It's his only 80s album that I think holds up with the energy of his late 70s output. "I Want You" is stunning.

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May 11 2023
5

BL: Elvis Costello's solo work I am familiar with but not with his work with the Attractions. Will see how it turns out AL: Liked this a lot. Very well orchestrated and composed. a mixture of simple and more complex tracks all playing into one of the best heartbreak albums of all time in my eyes FT: "I Hope You're Happy Now" "Home is Anywhere you Hang you're Head" "Battered Old Bird" "Crimes of Paris" 5/5

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Mar 05 2023
5

Costello's best album.

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Feb 26 2023
5

5/5 I know EC's albums through King of America but missed this one the first time around. I was surprised by how gritty and aggressive it was - a lot like This Years Model but with even better vocals. Great songwriting as always.

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Jan 26 2023
5

Blood and chocolate is my favourite meal. I eat it every Thursday afternoon after I just fucked your mum in the ass.

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Nov 28 2022
5

I'm pro-Elvis but didn't know this record or any of its songs. Happy and slightly surprises that it's an absolute treat. Someone used the word infectious, whicj is a great description. Best song, I Hope You're happy now.

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Nov 07 2022
5

a perfect alloy of lyrical inventiveness and pop skills

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Sep 12 2022
5

not as good as Imperial Bedroom imo but still pretty fuckin great 9/10

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Aug 18 2022
5

PREFS : TOUT MOINS PREF : RIEN

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Dec 16 2021
5

Totally awesome

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Aug 17 2021
5

Another incredible EC record.

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May 10 2021
5

Almost felt like a template for the modern rock album. Surprised I hadn't heard before. Really enjoyed I Want You.

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May 09 2021
5

classic Elvis, great melodic songwriting seems to mark the end of his pre-Spike era, with albums like Oliver’s Army, etc

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Feb 19 2021
5

LOVE it

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Apr 27 2021
5

A 5.

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May 12 2021
5

One of my fav albums of the mid-80s.

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Sep 03 2025
4

Another great album by Elvis Costello! How does he do it? Album after album the quality is sky high. One of the greatest back catalogs- 33 (!!!) albums in he's still producing great work as his most recent album (A Boy Named If) will attest! Go see him in concert if you get the chance at 71 years old, he remains an essential live act delivering set after set of pure fire and skill. Starting today I will start a new mini project - I will hear all 33 EC albums in chronicle order . I'm pumped it, now!

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Sep 03 2025
4

Pretty cool emotional contrasts and interesting arrangements, definitely circling back to this one soon.

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Aug 28 2025
4

I didn’t like any of the previous Elvis Costello albums, but this one is honestly pretty good.

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Aug 22 2025
4

With growth comes pains and there were plenty for Elvis Costello & the Attractions. Whatever the aim was now, it was blurred, out of focus and far beyond reach and Blood and Chocolate documented those tensions. Far less glossy and indicative of how things were, this results in one of the more approachable albums in Costello's oeuvre regardless of where one stands with him; he'd be back on his own trail soon enough. Favorites: Uncomplicated, I Hope You're Happy Now, Tokyo Storm Warning, Home is Anywhere You Hang Your Head, I Want You, Blue Chair, Battered Old Bird.

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Aug 20 2025
4

It was okay.

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Aug 18 2025
4

Such a chill album. Really enjoyed the vibe, easy listening, and musicality. Some of the lyrics were out there lol.

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Aug 14 2025
4

Battered Old Bird is excellent. I think the whole thing is good, but the second half is definitely stronger

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Aug 09 2025
4

Does this album need to be on the list? Not really. Still, I had my fun with this one. The first few tracks, especially the opener, have some great percussion on them. I want you is also a nice track that I keep confusing with the Beatles song of the same name. I liked this more than his other 2 albums I've had so far, every vocal performance Elvis Costello seems to give it his all.

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Aug 06 2025
4

Good album. Lots of really solid and interesting songs. Was listening while driving so not the best audio and a bit distracted. But went through twice and really enjoyed.

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Aug 04 2025
4

i liked

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Jul 24 2025
4

I’m surprised?

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Jul 16 2025
4

More intense than I anticipated. Really liked this.

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Jul 16 2025
4

I quite enjoyed

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Jun 30 2025
4

I've never listened to Elvis Costello enough - my Dad is a massive fan but I don't think I've ever given him enough time. Glad this has given me a push towards him. Enjoyed this album. Haven't had a chance to fully take in the lyrics, but I'm sure this would add plenty. I Want You is obviously the stand out excellent track - so raw yet melodic. This being said, I felt that it was dragging a bit by the end, and probably could have done without two or three of the last songs. 7/10

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Jun 29 2025
4

Creo que no he escuchado este disco de Elvis Costello nunca.

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