Brutal Youth

An enjoyable album.

it dragged on a little.. his other album (from YESTERDAY) was much more exciting and good. this one was just slow and it seemed like it was trying to push it along but i didn’t love

So. Yesterday I had Elvis Costello. Today? Elvis Costello. When I went to the wiki page for this album I found out that this is one of SIX E.C. albums in the top 1001. ...?? SIX! Well screw it, at this point I expect - nay, want - the rest of the week to be Elvis Costello. (OK but really?) Look, I like Elvis Costello. Like. I don't quite get it though (meaning 6 albums?) and this isn't a fair review because now I'm creating some sort of meta-critique of how much he should or should not be represented in a subjective listing of the ~1k most important albums ever. He's not 6-worthy. Not sure anyone is to be fair. I can only assume this one is here because he reunited with his band The Attractions for the first time in nearly a decade. Cool? I mean, it's pretty decent - but I don't know if it's better (or worse) than his other few I'm familiar with. It's...Elvis Costello and if you're familiar with his old work it sounds like a slightly softer 90s version of his 70s material. Which yeah, nice enough. So. Overall, there are some good songs (personal faves: "13 Steps Lead Down" and "My Science Fiction Twin"), but the album is too long (EC was definitely an artist who benefitted from the pre-CD era of ~45minute max album lengths) by about 5 songs, it's not quite as punk/raw as 15 years prior but it's still a fun listen. Kind of an easy 6/10; straight 3 stars. A safe album, aka nothing explicitly bad but outside of a few choice cuts I probably wouldn't go out of my way for it. Then again maybe I've just had too much Elvis for one week...

was ok, nothing wow though - had an expectation that lyrically I would be really impressed but not really

more of the same Elvis Costello. Just doesn't do much for me. 2/5

again nondescript

Not particularly bad. Just pretty ordinary.

This is not the first Elvis Costello album I have listened to. When I completed the Rolling Stone top 500 album list from 2012 I know there were a few of his albums on the list. Guess I just don't get him.

No single track stuck out to me as better or worse than the others. So I guess that is saying something.

2.8 - I want to like Costello more, but it’s hard to pull off. Tracks like “Sulky Girl” and “Just About Glad” are enjoyable and the lyrical wordplay is fun, but overall his music sounds repetitive and overly focused on his (still unique and quality) vocals. It too often feels just a bit too stilted for me to lose myself in - it’s a very top of mind type of music.

Liked it!

7/10

I have tried and tried, but I just can't get into EC.

Not a lot of fun. Other Elvis albums are better

This album is pretty trash in my opinion! I quite like the odd song from Elvis Costello but listening to this entire album was very boring and didn't particularly inspire any feelings in me lol. Even musically I didn't really enjoy most of it or find it that impressive. I guess he's popular with lots of dads? But personally, I can't see why this would be on the list.

This album is remarkably boring. Elvis Costello's punk tendencies are wasted here, or even there, especially when "20% Amnesia" actually makes vocal sense, contrary to the rest of the album. Lyrically and musically, we can respect the creativity and composition of this album. This listener would never discourage Elvis Costello from making this music ever again, but it is telling that the need to say that is even necessary.

didn't grab me like I hoped...just okay.

I enjoyed it, didn't give it my full attention really as I was cooking and that but it was good to have on

Fucking awful I just hated this. Preferred all the death metal we'd had. I cannot STAND his weird singing voice, it upsets me.

I just can't get on with him.

Not my favorite album of his. Still some decent tracks, but didn't hit as hard as This Year's Model

Not the biggest Elvis Costello fan, but this album was enjoyable. Not memorable at all to me, but still a decent listen. 3.5/5.

Bursting out with all the classic Costello trademarks- pounding drums, lyrical piano flourishes (always a suggestion of Abba in there), Bruce Thomas octave flourishes on the bass (on some tracks - on the rest it is either Nick Lowe or Elvis himself stepping through the smoke. pink Precision at the ready, saying "Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be Bruce Thomas out the Attractions"). As always with Elvis, he spits out lyrics packed with tension, about women who are out of reach, of frustration and exclusion, and adds McCartney-esque flourishes to sweeten the rage. Clever-clever, as always "but its by Julie Andrew not by John Coltrane" - you need to join the dots yourself to get "My Favourite Things". Often the protagonists in the songs have a misogynistic outlook similar to the Stones on Aftermath. "Sulky Girl" - "You're talking like a Duchess but you're still a waitress". Great lyrical specificity, such as the use of Hungerford Bridge in London's Brilliant Parade. I think my issue with Elvis is that he had made quite a lot of quite good albums, which can end up sounding much of a muchness - that's probably on me rather than on him! 4 stars

I wonder if the first half of 1994 felt as epochally accelerated to live through as it looks now, 30+ years in the future. Nirvana coming to a screaming halt while Dookie takes pop punk mainstream, Frank Black and Kim Deal both going their own ways to varyingly brilliant effect, “Supersonic”, triphop ... transitional moment after transitional moment. And there in the midst of all that maybe not upheaval but certainly dynamism, Elvis Costello. Once again putting out an album of 15 solid, honest to goodness bloody songs. Once again managing to be both behind and in front of the trends du jour. Once again being maybe a little too easy to take for granted. Brutal Youth has songs that sound like The Lemonheads, anticipate Arctic Monkeys and really, really put me in mind of The Cribs. There are crafted pieces that wouldn’t sound out of place on Rubber Soul, and at least one moment where I thought about Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance (“20% Amnesia”, obviously). And that’s my experience of Elvis Costello – an artist who, and even by dint of his chosen stage name, is somehow impossible to talk about without in the same breath also talking about everyone else. Beyond iconic, he is synecdoche. I enjoyed this record. And I gather 1994 did too. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Pleasantly surprised

I started off thinking it sounded like any other EC record, same sneery vocals, same mid-tempo mild rockers... Then it kinda got its hooks in me. Great musicianship in the band, and he's singing his lil nerdy white ass off.

Every song on this album sounds like it should be the soundtrack underneath a montage of a complicated character in an indie film walking through the streets of their city at night as dawn breaks while figuring out their purpose/finding peace.

An interesting mix of genres and styles here. I really haven't given Elvis Costello as much of a chance as I should've. This album is fun and consistently upbeat even when it gets a bit more edge on some songs.

I liked it. I'm a Costello fan.

80 albums in, reluctantly my first 1 star… but it was so boring and bland, at least musically, and the lyrics also didn’t do anything for me.

More upbeat than the last album of his, less ballad-ey. Really enjoyable.

Apparently there are 6 costello albums in this list. I like his style, I like his music, but...... is he responsible for 6 of the greatest albums of all time? no. obviously he isn't.

An album of two halves. About half fairly standard MOR, whilst the other half is more experimental and varied. It makes it more interesting, but interrupts the flow. Might have been better as two separate albums? Overall, its pretty average. I didn't massively enjoy it. 2.5/5

Quite liked this.

Didnt expect to enjoy this as much as I did.

Favs: This Is Hell, You Tripped At Every Step Mehs: Pony St. Always enjoyed Elvis Costello. I think his voice works better on slow, coffeehouse stuff. When the songs get fast and tinkle-y, like "Pony St.," his voice grates on me. But some of his stuff like "This Is Hell" and "Everyday I Write the Book" (not on this album, but my favorite) is excellent.

Good album. I really liked This is Hell. I enjoy Elvis Costello, but his voice gets a little annoying to me after a whole album.

wasn’t a fan :(

is it just me or did this SUCK.

Okeydoke

The only thing brutal here was listening to this album all the way through. I generally find EC to be somewhere between "fine" and "good", but something about Brutal Youth was just absolutely unbearable. Why are all the good albums only 30 minutes and all the bad ones over an hour? He just kept GOING and GOING and WHINING and WHINGING. No thank you Elvis. I'll stick to Alison.

This was not very good.

I like me some Elvis Costello. It's weird and eclectic in a way that works for me as opposed to weird and off-putting.

Super forgettable considering his previous work

Rock

No había escuchado a Elvis Costello. No dudo que sea un genio, pero este disco se me hizo muy básico. Espero que otros que seguramente van a estar en el listado estén mejores.

bullshit

EC vibrato fatigue.

instruments are good, some good songs, but his voice is not enjoyable

Sometimes interesting and unpredictable musically, other times not so much. Sometimes his voice is annoying, other times perfectly expressive. Wasn’t my cup of tea but it wasn’t bad. Faves (not in order): This is Hell, Clown Strike, Still Too Soon to Know, London’s Brilliant Parade, Just About Glad

couldn't finish it :(( he annoys me

Not impressed. This one should stay in the 90's.

Nothing to special. By no means is it a bad album, but just not my thing and kinda generic

Mixed feelings on this one... not memorable, i finished listening and didn't even remember half the songs. probably would never listen again but it wasn't terrible... it was just mediocre. 5/10

Vintage Elvis songs. Listening while traveling so I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the album

Not for me.

overall thoughts: woww i enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I was gonna. really like his voice. would definitely have to give another listen for the lyrics. sounded like it was good writing. not sure how to describe the genre, like a rock, pop type vibe. not 1 bad song on here, tho a couple of tracks I'd have to relisten. 4/5. fave tracks: my science fic twin, pony st, kinder murder, 13 steps lead down, 20% amnesia, sulky girl, all the rage, favorite hour

I found the album to be a little weird. I'm not quite sure I am a fan of his vocals, but it wasn't hard to listen to. The ending got a little slow, but over all it was enough to get me to explore his other music which I think speaks for itself.

Elvis Costello, on this album, sounds like what Billy Joel would sound like if Billy Joel kinda sucked. The sound is... Unoriginal. It's exactly what you would expect it to sound like if someone who grew up in the rock&roll/punk scene, and who also happened to love Broadway musicals, but wasn't a talented enough singer to make it, told you that they were going to make a 50s pop revival album. The influences seem to be just a list of the most tired genres of white American/British music. The instrumental aspects of the album, with a few exceptions, are slightly more boring than necessary to achieve their purpose, which is apparently to be entirely subordinate to the vocals. This is unfortunate, because the vocals are pretty annoying. Costello is not a great singer, and I think the mix engineer did him no favors here: the vocals are dry, abrasively saturated, and way too loud. We looked up some of the lyrics, and our consensus was that it was difficult to tell if he had anything interesting to say, but it pretty much felt like the answer was no. Lots of love/breakup songs. Some annoying choruses (e.g. "this is hell"). Wouldn't recommend.

I'm not a fan of Elvis' voice. It's too nasally and whiney.

good album...never heard of the guy before

Interesting 3? 3.2?

I feel really neutral about this one lol

Tråkigt

Typical Costello as far as I can tell. Not bad.

Pour ceux qui ne seraient pas au courant, eltrapeze et moi sommes à l'origine des nombreuses émeutes anti-elvis costello auxquelles vous avez sûrement pris part.

Don’t like Levi’s Costello. But actually better than I expected

Oh man I don't think I'm an Elvis Costello fan but here we gooooo. Ugh this is just not good. I don't understand how he got so popular. I want to understand his context. Is he power pop? Pop rock? I cannot wait for this to be over.

I would rather go to a 5 hour nickel back concert then ever listen to this album again... I wish I could give him zero stars

Faltam CINCO desse cara??? Gostei de Clown Strike e Rocking Horse Road, só.

I feel like there are some good songs here, but the production really stands in the way of them shining.

Fine with a couple of good tunes, however feels pretty functional and way overlong at an hour. Maybe if I had a better sense of Costello's catalogue and it's place in it I may appreciate it more but seems a strange choice for this kind of list.

The only Elvis that matters

Alt/independent rock. Piano, guitar, drums, solo and harmonized vocals, occasional brass. Clever lyrics and rhyming schemes.

Liked this a lot better than the last one, songs were catchy

Absolutely cannot stand his voice, it's like a cheese grater chuffing on my soul

I love this man's voice. A pleasure to listen to, and one I'm likely to revisit, despite not having an individual track stick in my head.

Not superior Costello, by any stretch, but there’s always enough variety, texture, idiosyncratic turns of phrase and weird vocal flexion in any of his songs to last the day, let alone his albums.

Was sceptical at first because it was not what I expected, but there were some really good lyrics, which I really connected to

Mean man with oodles of talent rings out the dregs of it in what I guess is actually his mid-career seeing as he still putting out records. Results are music that's as ugly as some of the things he's said on the first half and occasionally exquisite on the second (London's Brillaint Parade, My Science Fiction Twin).

false

une excellence prestation de Gerard de Palmas

Hope this rating doesn't offend anyone! This album didn't really do it for me, especially the artist's voice. Maybe not his best work.

Elvis is the man! My only knock is Elvis’s vocals are so distinct that you instantly know it’s him as soon as you hear it. On this album, he didn’t vary up his vocal styles enough and towards the end it dragged a little. Definitely excited to check out some of his earlier work with The Attractions now though.

Easy to listen to. Some words are unintelligible. Gets boring toward the end.

Not my bag at all. Wasn't really interested in any of the tracks

T

So this is a weird one. It’s not terrible, I wouldn’t rush to turn it off if this album somehow popped up in my everyday listening. But having said that, I don’t feel the need to listen to it again. As such it’s getting a 2, though it would be more of a 1.5 if I had the ability to grade it that

Pretty good, will definitely revisit Elvis Costello. I had heard a few albums when I was in middle school, but hadn't listened to it since. I can tell he was influence for a lot of other bands I've heard, namely Wilco.

3/5 some interesting tracks in there, but not so much.

ehh.

Idk what the fuck I thought Elvis Costello sounded like but I was very wrong. Enjoyed

I can't. I just can't with that voice. All that uppy downy on every syllable thing he does makes me want to hurt not just him but anyone I can get hold of. It's an instant rage maker. I get that he's very popular, but no, you can't make me listen to this, no amount of persuasion will work. Ick, I heard half a song, I want to scrub myself clean.

Weird to hear a mid nineties Elvis C album. w a voice like his it's hard for the sound to change too much. Not sure why the pause but it's solid EC

.

Teknisesti kivaa musisointia, mutta siihen jäi. Ehkä edellisen levyn jälkeen yllätysmomentti oli käytetty ja odotuksetkin oli nyt korkeammalla.

I like the diversity of sound Elvis packs into his albums, all remaining in the sort of pop rock world but having a good number of feels throughout. This album was alright, but not enough songs to really bring me back again

It was alright. 0RS

Se aiempi Elvis Costellon levy oli iloinen yllätys, mutta tämä levy oli paremmin ennakko-odotuksia vastaava ja se ei tässä tapauksessa ole hyvä asia. Kovasti on vauhti hiipunut ukolta vuosien varrella. Nuori Elvis pääsi alkukierrokselta jatkoon, mutta tällä suorituksella tie nousi pystyyn puolivälierissä.

EC did not really do it for me. His voice was annoying

I always want to enjoy Elvis Costello albums more than I think I will. And then I always do in spite of my own overthinking it.

lots of really weird but funny songs on here. fun listen but i found it a little long. 8/10

Still not a huge elvis costello fan. It was okay. 6

8/10, pretty enjoyable, another good Elvis Costello album

So, Sue & I used to watch the show "Spectacle Elvis Costello with:" He had great (aging) guests who would sing a song or two, they’d do a duet, then the part that we’d have to brace ourselves for was Elvis’ two solo songs of the night. In one of them we knew he’d use his “rock n’ roll voice”, which was well past it’s prime. He seems past his prime here too. For comparison purposes, I went back to his sixth album, Imperial Bedroom (1982), which had a similar vibe & I remember liking. The overall sound on this release is comparatively raw, notalways bad but not a good thing here since the song-writing isn’t as strong and his voice is stretched in places. The 1982 production was lush and creative. Compared to Imperial Bedroom, this sounds like a demo tape. He’s still a great lyricist though and after 3 listens there's a few songs I'll playlist.

Uncommon upbeat album in 90s Costello discography. Still boring though

Buena sucesión de canciones para un estilo bastante definido. Voz característica. Estilo cercano al pop. Nivel medio por lo que aporta y por las novedades que da

I didn't like it too much, but it is an ok album.

I enjoyed the slightly slower pace of this album because I think he stood out more as a songwriter and the music varied more between songs. Another 8

Although this album is pretty inoffensive, nothing much on it grabbed me.

Beim ersten Hören solala, hat aber Potential #listenagain

Elvis Costello is one of those artists that I have a hard time getting into or understanding what the big deal is. I will say that this album had a few songs I could see myself liking after a few listens but I'm still not really sure what the big deal is.

It was ok. Some fine songs, but overall just… ok. Favorite tracks: “13 Steps Lead Down,” “You Tripped At Every Step,” and “Favorite Hour”

Just can't really stand Costello's voice... tough listen for me. Some of the lyrics are quite good but that voice... ugh.

I am pretty sure that I do not like Elvis Costello

I want to compare this to other Elvis Costello albums, and it's far from my favorite. But it's a great album overall.

Elvis Costello sure is cool. But this alb is just middling. Nothing too great here, there's a lot of fun. It's jaunty, but there's too many weird ballads. I wish the attractions were here.

Not bad

Not a bad album, but also not the kind of music I fully enjoy. Could let it playing in the background, perhaps.

Meh

Meh.

No more!

2.5 | Hubo un momento hace mucho a fines de los 90s en que me interesó conocer sobre Elvis Costello, lo que conocí me gustó mucho en su periodo inicial en los 70s, fue un punk y postpunk muy interesante con canciones que se sentían frescas, innovadoras y muy bien escritas. Desde esa época y hoy en día siento reafirmado creo que con el tiempo Costello se convirtió en un Jack of All Trades, Chambitas, Muchoabarca o como se le quiera llamar, incursionó en tantos géneros y formas que se comenzó a diluir y para está época siento ya se oía un poco genérico. No tiene nada malo el disco, las letras de hecho bastante buenas pero musicalmente no me llama, se oye como un rocksillo alternativo muy estándar que, para su supuesta habilidad, debiera ser bastante mejor. Un disco bastante medianon a mi sentir, decente como fondo musical pero alejadísimo de canciones como Radio Radio, Less Than Zero o Pump It Up que son muy muy brillantes. Supongo habrá mucho más de él en la lista pero esta selección, aunque no mala, deja mucho que desear para ser de él.

Yeah. Ok. Yeah.

Next tier EC.

liked a lot of it, but some if the slower songs just were snooze fest.

I should listen to the lyrics. I do like it though.

I can’t. His voice is so annoying I want to gouge out my eardrums.

Today I listened to an Elvis Costello album from 1994, called Brutal Youth. I've been tangentially aware of Elvis Costello since I was a young kid. The more I learned about music, the more I heard about his large influence on new wave and punk. I've not really spent much time with older albums that cemented his status, they were never very accessible to me when I would jump in. Maybe something with his voice? OR I can't understand anything he is saying. I do enjoy this album, it has lots of hooks and melodies that have grabbed me. It makes me want to do more and give all his albums a listen.

At first listen, if youre not familiar with the sound of Elvis Costello like I was, you may get hung up on his almost abrassive voice. If given a chance, you'll quickly find something to love in his simple yet at times complex music. The lyrics to most songs are just about as literal as you can get. Many songs paint an exact picture of events or stories, yet Costello always has a way to make even something like a Clown Strike seem universal.

Estoy seguro de que nunca había escuchado nada de este disco (y probablemente nada de Elvis Costello), sin embargo su música suena inusualmente familiar. Aunque el disco es agradable, se me hizo como muy genérico. Sólo me llamaron Kinder Murder y 13 Steps Down, que suena a intro de Sitcom.

3.5| Verga con éste disco, siempre pensé que Elvis Costello era para tías viejitas pero la verdad es que es brutal o por lo menos para mí así lo fue ya que tenía una idea diferente, tal vez me sorprenda más con discos anteriores.

Popcito mono, bien hecho, agradable de oír y con letras ingeniosas pero con todo y todo un poco olvidable. Es muy obvia la influencia que tiene Costello en el britpop que vino unos años después y que hoy todavía suena en muchas bandas que me gustan. Quizá me animaría a darle más puntos si conociera más discos de él.

Really good album that I've never listened to start to finish.

6

Pretty good, that guy does know what he's doing, just didn't like it that much. Favorite song probably was 20% amnesia

Ei ihan yhtä räväkkää menoa kuin listalla aiemmin vastaan tullut herran varhaisempi levytys. Kuitenkin silti ihan toimivaa setämiesrokkailua. Erityisesti This Is Hell jäi mieleen.

Sheeeee

Сойдёт

Really really really good.

det här var inget vidare tycker jag. knepig röst och låtar som liksom inte ger en det där lilla extra i mellangården va.

Great!

Slightly too long, but some nice parts certainly

I love me some Elvis!

Enjoyable. Vocals on the first track were way too loud

I've never really been much of a fan of Elvis Costello. I generally find his tracks to be bubble-gum, pop-sugar imitations of punk songs. The opening track, "Pony Street" did nothing to change that impression. Things picked up with the second track, though. "Kinder Murder" is fun and approachable while keeping with a more punk lyrical ethos. That carries through the remainder of the album. While some of the tracks are definitely dated and haven't necessarily aged well, the guitar tones on this entire album are outstanding, the engineering/mixing is impeccable, and the lyrics are generally compelling and thought-provoking, at times reminiscent of The Beatles and, at other times, bringing to mind classic funk/soul masters like James Brown and Aretha Franklin. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this album.

Everything about Elvis Costello, from the name to the glasses to the sneer in his voice to the nonsensical pop culture references, is aped from another artist in a cynical attempt to separate Boomers from their nostalgia dollars. He's Springsteen for people who bristle at the thought of even pretending that they're working class. That may not be fair to him, but he was just unfair to my ears for an hour, so we can call it even. This album feels like it was specifically engineered to be bland and unremarkable, and contemporary reviews were middling. Why is it on the list? Best track: Kinder Murder

Connor: - really cool mix of groovy rock with unusual rhythms playing against each other - I really liked the choice of instruments in each song, which seems like a weird thing to point out, but they add piano/keyboard and different types of drums in various songs and it always works well, the instrumentals are great - but Costello's voice is quite limited and he tries to do too much with it

Mostly boring - I just don't enjoy the dude's voice or the musical concepts he tries to employ.

A bit weird

This was not bad, but didn't live up to my previous expectations of Elvis.

2.5. nondescript, listened to it while cleaning. don't see why it's on this list.

7/10

Elvis Costello! man he is the better Elvis. That being said, this is not one of my fav alums of his, like his new wave stuff better

3,5/5

I had another Elvis Costello album just two days ago. Not really keen on more so soon, but open mind! haha. Apparently SIX of his albums are in the book ffs. I guess it'll at least be interesting to hear what he was doing in the mid 90s. Ok, and the answer is a poppy version of like whatever the Lemonheads were doing, or soul asylum etc. Fancy that - new wave no longer in! 2/5 cause it goes too long.

bloody awful album