Every dog has his day, and every genius has his dog. Elvis Costello’s follow-up to Punch the Clock, 1984’s Goodbye Cruel World, was his first (and by my count, still only) outright dog.
I’ve posted this quote before but it’s a good one, so I’ll post it again. In his liner notes for a re-release of this album, Costello wrote, “Congratulations! You just bought the worst album of my career.”
Funny to think that such an album warranted a re-release in the first place. Actually, like most of Costello’s albums, it’s been released more than a few times with varying selections of bonus tracks and liner notes. It’s nearly impossible, and certainly expensive, to be an Elvis Costello completist.
In the liner notes of a reissued CD of Goodbye Cruel World, Elvis Costello starts off with this encouraging sentiment: “Congratulations! You just bought the worst album of my career.”
Meet Me In Montauk 