When I Was Cruel
Encyclopedia
When I Was Cruel is Elvis Costello
's 20th album, recorded in 2001 and 2002 and released in the US by Island Records
on 23 April 2002. Although officially a solo Costello album, this was the first album to feature his new band, The Imposters, whose only difference from his previous band, The Attractions, was the replacement of bassist Bruce Thomas
, with whom Costello has feuded, with Davey Faragher (formerly of Cracker
). The album includes the hits "45" and "15 Petals".
.
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
's 20th album, recorded in 2001 and 2002 and released in the US by Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
on 23 April 2002. Although officially a solo Costello album, this was the first album to feature his new band, The Imposters, whose only difference from his previous band, The Attractions, was the replacement of bassist Bruce Thomas
Bruce Thomas
Bruce Thomas is best known as bassist for The Attractions; the band formed in 1977 to back Elvis Costello in concert and on record....
, with whom Costello has feuded, with Davey Faragher (formerly of Cracker
Cracker (band)
Cracker is an American alternative rock band featuring founders/songwriters singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. They are best known for their platinum-selling 1993 album, Kerosene Hat, featuring the hit songs "Low", "Euro-Trash Girl", and "Get Off This".Founders Lowery and Hickman...
). The album includes the hits "45" and "15 Petals".
Track listing
All songs written by Elvis CostelloElvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
.
- "45" – 3:33
- "Spooky Girlfriend" – 4:22
- "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution)" – 3:31
- "When I Was Cruel No. 2" – 7:06 (featuring a sample from MinaMina (singer)Anna Maria Quaini, Grand Officer , known as Mina, is an Italian pop singer. She was a staple of Italian television variety shows and a dominant figure in Italian pop music from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s known for her three-octave vocal range, the agility of her soprano voice, and her image as an...
's "Un bacio è troppo poco", also heard on The Herbaliser'sThe HerbaliserThe Herbaliser is a jazz rap band formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba London, England during the early 1990s. Although currently signed to !K7 Records, they were one of the best-known acts from the Ninja Tune independent record label...
1997 release "Take LondonTake LondonTake London is the 7th album released by The Herbaliser, released in 2005 .A second version was also released which contained a second disc Take London is the 7th album released by The Herbaliser, released in 2005 (Cat. no: ZENCD098).A second version was also released which contained a second disc...
" on the track "Song For Mary") - "Soul for Hire" – 3:55
- "15 Petals" – 4:01
- "Tart" – 4:03
- "Dust 2..." – 3:21
- "Dissolve" – 2:22
- "Alibi" – 6:42
- "...Dust" – 3:03
- "Daddy Can I Turn This?" – 3:41
- "Little Blue Window" – 3:10
- "Episode of Blonde" – 5:01
- "Radio Silence" – 4:58
Personnel
- Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, horn arrangementsHorn sectionIn music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...
on 6 11 14, melodicaMelodicaThe melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,...
, cymbalCymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - Steve NieveSteve NieveSteve Nieve is an English keyboardist, best known for his work with Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Elvis Costello and the Imposters.-Musical career:...
– organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, pianetPianetthumb|Hohner Pianet TThe Pianet was a series of electric pianos built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany from the 1960s to the 1970s. The designer of the early Pianet models was Ernst Zacharias, basing the mechanism closely on a 1920s design by Lloyd Loar...
, piano, vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, melodica, filters - Davey FaragherDavey FaragherDavey Faragher is an American bass guitarist from Redlands, California. Faragher's career took off and received critical notice as a founding member of the nineties band, Cracker, and his following work with The Imposters, the backing band for Elvis Costello since 2001.Faragher is an accomplished...
– bass, handclaps - Pete ThomasPete ThomasPete Thomas is best known as the longtime drummer for Elvis Costello. Tom Waits has referred to him as "one of the best rock drummers alive".-Career:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, handclaps, percussion, shakerShaker (percussion)The word shaker describes a large number of percussive musical instruments used for creating rhythm in music.They are so called because the method of creating sound involves shaking them—moving them back and forth rather than striking them. Most may also be struck for a greater accent on certain...
, tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
Additional personnel
- Steven Kennedy – backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on 1 12 13 - Leo Pearson – electric tablaTablaThe tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
on 3, rhythm processor on 5 8, tambourine, mixing - Bill WareBill WareBill Ware III born William Anthony Ware III is an American jazz vibraphonist.Ware played bass and piano early in his career, playing at the Harlem Jazzmobile. After spending several years playing Latin jazz, he formed his own Latin Jazz group, AM Sleep...
– vibraphone on 4 - Ku-umba Frank Lacy – trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
on 6, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
on 11 14 - Curtis FowlkesCurtis FowlkesCurtis Fowlkes is an American jazz trombonist. In 1987 he founded, together with saxophonist Roy Nathanson, The Jazz Passengers, an eclectic group dedicated to putting entertainment and humor back into jazz. The two had met performing in John Lurie's The Lounge Lizards, a group that shares a...
– tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
on 6 11 14 - Jay RodriguezJay RodriguezJay Enrique Rodriguez is an English footballer who plays as a Striker . He currently plays for Burnley.-Early life:Rodríguez, of Spanish descent, was born in Burnley, Lancashire, the son of Enrique and Carol Rodríguez . He attended Heasandford Primary School and Barden High School in the town...
– tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
on 6 11 14 - Roy NathansonRoy NathansonRoy Nathanson has a varied career as a saxophonist, composer, bandleader, actor and teacher. He is leader and principal composer of the Jazz Passengers, a six piece group that he founded with Curtis Fowlkes in 1987. They have toured Europe many times and played at major festivals in Finland,...
– alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
on 6 11 14
Trivia
- The song "45" is about being 45 years old, like Costello at the time it was written. (The song also features Costello's penchant for multiple meanings, referencing the year 1945, .45 caliber pistols.45 ACPThe .45 ACP , also known as the .45 Auto by C.I.P., is a cartridge designed by John Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic .45 pistol and eventually the M1911 pistol adopted by the United States Army in 1911.-Design and history:The U.S...
, and 45 rpm records.)
- The idea and title of "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)" came from a set of EngrishEngrishrefers to unusual forms of English language usage by native speakers of some East Asian languages. The term itself relates to Japanese speakers' tendency to inadvertently substitute the English phonemes "R" and "L" for one another, because the Japanese language has one alveolar consonant in place...
-laden dolls in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It appears in the 2003 film The Shape of ThingsThe Shape of ThingsThe Shape of Things is a 2001 play by American author and film director Neil LaBute and a 2003 American romantic comedy-drama film. It premièred at the Almeida Theatre, London in 2001 with Paul Rudd as Adam, Rachel Weisz as Evelyn, Gretchen Mol as Jenny, and Fred Weller as Phillip. The play was...
. The BanglesThe BanglesThe Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade.-Formation and early years :...
covered it as the title track on their 2003 album, Doll RevolutionDoll RevolutionDoll Revolution is the first album of original material by The Bangles since 1988's Everything. It was released in 2003 on Koch Records....
.
- When the album was released, promotional materials billed it as Costello's "FIRST LOUD ALBUM SINCE 199?".
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... 200 |
20 |
| 2002 | Billboard Top Internet Albums | 50 |