Tag Archives: Punch the Clock

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Song of the Day #884: ‘Shipbuilding’ – Elvis Costello

Keeping up his breakneck streak, Elvis Costello released his seventh album in as many years in 1983. Punch the Clock was a departure from the baroque pop of Imperial Bedroom and Costello’s most commercial-sounding album to date.

Punch the Clock was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, a pair of Brits I’ve seen described as “hit-makers,” though I don’t recognize any of the so-called hits they produced. They brought a high-gloss sheen to Costello’s tunes, including a jaunty brass section and a pair of girl-group backing vocalists known as Afrodiziak.

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Song of the Day #248: ‘Mouth Almighty’ – Elvis Costello

punchclockPunch the Clock is the first Elvis Costello album that feels like a step back. As a followup to Imperial Bedroom, this collection of mostly lightweight pop songs was rather anticlimactic.

Most confounding is the production, polished and packaged, complete with girl-group backing vocals. Whether this was Costello’s direction or a record label suggestion, I don’t know, but it feels wrong.

That said, the album does contain some great songwriting. ‘Shipbuilding’ is one of Elvis’ most gorgeous ballads, ‘Pills and Soap’ is an offbeat trippy treat and hit single ‘Everyday I Write the Book’ is an unabashed delight that benefits from the glossy production.

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