Produced by the hit-making team of Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, Goodbye Cruel World reflects the polish of the day in places but now reveals a deeper soulfulness, grit, and honesty. Such aspects particularly come to fore on multiple tunes featuring saxophonists Gary Barnacle, trombonist Jim Paterson, and percussionist Luis Jardim – the very first guests ever welcomed on an Attractions album.
With added instrumental assistance, Costello and Co. traverse styles ranging from rambunctious new-wave rock (“The Deportees Club”) to frisky New Orleans-derived blues (“Sour Milk Cow Blues”) to suave, jazzy pop (“The Only Flame In Town”). In the closing “Peace In Our Time,” a sobering albeit optimistic song whose verses still apply to contemporary times, Costello crafts the finale to a socio-politically conscious trilogy that began with “Shipbuilding” and “Pills and Soap.”
Track Listings
- 1. The Only Flame In Town
2. Home Truth
3. Room With No Number
4. Inch By Inch
5. Worthless Thing
6. Love Field
7. I Wanna Be Loved
8. The Comedians
9. Joe Porterhouse
10. Sour Milk Cow Blues
11. The Great Unknown
12. The Deportees Club
13. Peace In Our Time
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