It's been almost 15 years since Elvis came out with Imperial Bedroom. Although it may seem like a transition album between his new wave/punk persona and his less successful, more experimental albums to follow, this is where he puts it all together. I've always felt that songwriters have peaks and valleys. Some have only one peak and try to live off it forever. One only has to look at the solo careers of the Beatle to understand that they were at their peak while they were in their 20s and early 30s. McCartney could never understand why he couldn't write another "Yesterday" or "Hey Jude". But he couldn't. And I don't think Elvis will ever match the inspired excellence of this album. From beginning to end, it commands your attention, shifting between quirky, catchy jingles, to unpredictible and moody melodies. It has a certain "Sgt. Pepper" sound to it. I've picked up every Elvis album since in the faint hope that he might repeat or! surpass Imperial Bedroom and prove that he didn't peak in 1982. Although each album has something comparable with Imperial Bedroom, nothing compares to the sum of the parts of what I can easily say is his greatest album.

When this album came out in 1982, it was a sonic, lyrical, and musical revelation for Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Time has not diminished it. Geoff Emerick's elegant production affords the Attractions a chance to truly demonstrate their amazing musical chops: Pete Thomas's exquisite, never overdone drumming; bassist Bruce Thomas melodically galavanting "up the thin bits" a la Macca; and king of the keyboard jungle Steve Nieve flexing his musical muscle with tantalizing orchestral arrangements. This was also the first Elvis album to print the lyrics, but without punctuation or traditional spacing. In hindsight, this made the sleeve--yes, we're talking vinyl here--an unplugged interactive experience. This always was the best-sounding Costello album, but Rykodisc's version betters the Columbia and Demon editions in that regard AND adds no less than nine bonus tracks of b-sides, demos, and unreleased songs. Without a doubt the finest and most musically well-rounded album this quartet ever made. That's not a slight to all their other fine albums, but this was their Pepper. They finally had the time and budget to make what they wanted, and they came through with flying colors. Let's just hope the world doesn't forget about Imperial Bedroom. Anyway, it will always be our little secret treasure.

This is up with Sgt. Pepper's, Pet Sounds, Oddysey And Oracle, Revolver and possibly a very few more as totally on another level. Like all of Costello's works,you need to listen to this sublime, sophisticated masteriece several times to realize how unique it all is. before jumping to any hasty, premature conclusions. Every song is TNT..iT'S ALL HERE FOLKS........

Before this album, his songs were a bit rash; Afterwards, they've been a bit resigned. Here, his adult passivity meets his youthful imperviousness in an explosion of emotional openness and intricacy. "I'm a little down with a lifetime to go," he sings without a trace of bitterness in "Town Cryer". It's much more a testament of unrequited love than a complaint of hopelessness. There is very little blame dealt out in this ultimately optimistic album. The harshness and occasional violence it evokes are less a condemnation of any villain than than they are a defense of the precious soul of love. All speculation of motives aside, i favor this album over his others because of the varied arrangements. Steve Nieve's keyboard playing alone, is enough to blow your mind, but add to that Bruce Thomas' consummate bass playing as it ranges from the frightening ("Shabby Doll") to the ebullient ("The Loved Ones") to the wide-eyed and intrepid ("Tears Before Bedtime"),to the loftily contrapuntal ("Human Hands"), and the unstoppably bitter-sweet ("Man Out Of Time"), grooving all the way, and you've got a priceless jam session above all else. Meanwhile, Elvis' singing positivily burns with brave and tender fullness, while his guitar playing is at a relatively advanced level, phrasing his chords into sparce sycopations, tasteful arpeggios, and stunning fills, and his songwriting as a whole reaches new heights of genius. The great Pete Thomas' whole-hearted drumming through the many expansive transitions and changes is nothing short of wonderful. Boasting more talent than any other 4 bandmembers I can imagine, EC and the Attractions could only err to the side of overwhelming our senses. Perhaps what prevents this happening is the consistently inventive use of fresh sounds and unusual structural devices. Witness the attenuated rubatto bridges in "Pidgin English", the florid harpsichord (recorded backward AND forward!) on "You Little Fool," the desperate spears of violins on "Town Cryer", the disembodied hardcore intro and outro to "Man Out Of Time", and the intricately crafted backing vocals throughout. No facile chord progressions or song structures make their way onto Imperial Bedroom, however meaningfully EC may use them on other albums. But on the slower songs, i think the style might be described as "tin pan alley," in that the narrative voice is somewhat de-personalized and in that a perfectly innocent listener is assumed. It sounds to me like Elvis is in love. I'm talking good love; the kind of love that gives you superhuman power even when it hurts you. I could go on.

As most Elvisophiles know, Rhino recently purchased Mr. Costello's catalogue (including the Warner Brothers stuff) and are re-releasing each title with a bonus Disc. While Rykodisc did a masterful job at the Columbia titles a few years ago, by the look of Rhino's first three re-releases (My Aim, Spike and Useless Beauty), they are taking EC's discs to a new and expanded level. The thing about Imperial Bedroom is it is so completely luxurious and the songs FIT togther like they were all written in a single day session. Listen to the first five cuts (Beyond Belief, Tears Before Bedtime, Shabby Doll, The Long Honeymoon, and Man Out Of Time) and feel the way Beatle fans feel about the medly at the end of Abbey Road. EC was hitting his stride, frantically releasing at least an album a year until this Opus. After Imperial Bedroom, he hit commercial success with the silly Punch The Clock and "Everyday I Write The Book"; and while his artistic integrity never waned, he never again hit the same peak as this gorgeous mountain of a masterpiece. If you get a chance to buy the vinyl, do so if only to get the inner sleave with all the lyrics writtentogethersothatlikethesongonewordflowsneatlyintotheother.