Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Imperial Bedroom (1982, Remastered 1994)

 ^{Elvis Costello & The Attractions — Imperial Bedroom}  ■•■   Album “Imperial Bedroom” bylo zvoleno v The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll jako nejlepší album roku. V roce 1998 čtenáři časopisu Q označili album jako 96. největší album všech dob. V roce 1989 bylo zařazeno v seznamu 100 největších alb 80. let dle Rolling Stone magazine jako #38. V roce 2003 tentýž Rolling Stone magazine album zařadil jako #166 na seznamu 500 největších alb všech dob. V roce 2012 Slant Magazine uvedl album jako #59 na svém seznamu “nejlepších alb 1980”. Parke Puterbaugh v recenzi pro Rolling Stone v roce 1982 uvedl, že Costello napsal “své mistrovské dílo” poté, co strávil několik let snahou různých přístupů na předchozích albech.” Robert Christgau oceňuje písničkářství, s pocitem, že některé skladby “jsou tak mocné, jak songwriterství to jen občas umožní”; i když uznává, že celkově se album příliš koncentruje na techniku ​​psaní a po stránce emocí je spíše ‘literárně gramotné’ než srdečné — takže konečný produkt je “nabubřelý”.
Birth name: Declan Patrick MacManus
Location: London ~ New York City
Genre: Rock, Alternative Rock
Album release: 2 July 1982
Recorded: AIR Recording Studios, London, 1982
Record Label: Rykodisc F~Beat (UK), Columbia (US), Rykodisc (30 August 1994 Reissue), Rhino (19 November 2002 Reissue), Hip~O (1 May 2007 Reissue)
Duration:     78:07
Tracks:
01. Beyond Belief     2:35
02. Tears Before Bedtime     3:03
03. Shabby Doll      4:48
04. The Long Honeymoon      4:16
05. Man Out Of Time      5:27
06. Almost Blue      2:50
07. .....And In Every Home      3:23
08. The Loved Ones      2:48
09. Human Hands      2:43
10. Kid About It      2:45
11. Little Savage      2:37
12. Boy With A Problem      2:12
13. Pidgin English      3:58
14. You Little Fool      3:12
15. Town Cryer      4:21
16. From Head To Toe      2:37
17. The World Of Broken Hearts      3:04
18. Night Time      2:55
19. Really Mystified      2:05
20. I Turn Around      2:20
21. Seconds Of Pleasure      3:46
22. The Stamping Ground      3:11
23. Shabby Doll      4:23
24. Imperial Bedroom      2:48
Personnel:
■   Elvis Costello — vocals, guitar, piano
■   Steve Nieve — piano, organ, harpsichord, accordion, guitar on “Tears Before Bedtime,” orchestrations
■   Bruce Thomas — bass
■   Pete Thomas — drums
Charts:
→   1982 Billboard Pop Albums     #30
→   1982 UK Albums Chart     #6
Credits:
■   David P. Bailey Photography
■   Barney Bubbles Cover Design
■   Elvis Costello Composer, Guitar, Original Idea, Vocals
■   Chris Difford Composer
■   Geoff Emerick Audio Production, Producer
■   Daniel Hersch Mastering
■   Michele Horie Producer, Reissue Producer
■   Bill Levenson A&R
■   Steve Nieve Member of Attributed Artist, Orchestration, Organ, Piano
■   Coco Shinomiya Design
■   Adam Starr Product Manager
■   Bruce Thomas Bass, Guitar (Bass), Member of Attributed Artist
■   Pete Thomas Drum, Member of Attributed Artist
→   [Imperial Bedroom] was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll. In 1998 readers of Q magazine named it the 96th greatest album ever. In 1989, it was ranked #38 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 100 Greatest Albums of the 80s. In 2003, the album was ranked number 166 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the album at #59 on its list of “Best Albums of the 1980s”. ... Parke Puterbaugh in a 1982 review in Rolling Stone felt that Costello had written “his masterpiece” after spending some years trying out various approaches on previous albums. ... Robert Christgau appreciates the songwriting, feeling that some songs “are as great as songwriting ever gets”; though he feels that on the whole the album concentrated too much on the technique of songwriter, and as such the emotion is literate rather than heartfelt — so the finished product is “pretentious”.
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine;  Score: *****
→   Having gotten country out of his system with Almost Blue, Elvis Costello returned to pop music with Imperial Bedroom → and it was pop in the classic, Tin Pan Alley sense. Costello chose to hire Geoff Emerick, who engineered all of the Beatles’ most ambitious records, to produce Imperial Bedroom, which indicates what it sounds like →  it’s traditional pop with a post~Sgt. Pepper production. Essentially, the songs on Imperial Bedroom are an extension of Costello’s jazz and pop infatuations on Trust. Costello’s music is complex and intricate, yet it flows so smoothly, it’s easy to miss the bitter, brutal lyrics. The interweaving layers of “Beyond Belief” and the whirlwind intro are the most overtly dark sounds on the record, with most of the album given over to the orchestrated, melancholy torch songs and pop singles. Never once do Costello & the Attractions deliver a rock & roll song — the album is all about sonic detail, from the accordion on “The Long Honeymoon” to the lilting strings on “Town Cryer.” Of course, the detail and the ornate arrangements immediately peg Imperial Bedroom as Costello’s most ambitious album, but that doesn’t mean it’s his absolute masterpiece. Imperial Bedroom remains one of Costello’s essential records because it is the culmination of his ambitions and desires →  it’s where he proves that he can play with the big boys, both as a songwriter and a record~maker. It may not have been a commercial blockbuster, but it certainly earned the respect of legions of musicians and critics who would have previously disdained such a punk rocker. And, perhaps, that’s also the reason that he abandoned this immaculately crafted style of work on his next album, Punch the Clock.
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Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Imperial Bedroom (1982, Remastered 1994)

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