Don't believe the hype. If you respect the matured, pop craftsman Elvis as much as the young, aggressive EC, this is a masterpiece. Yes, it is a departure, but the songs are pop music at its finest. "The Other Side of Summer" ranks with "Oliver's Army" as Costello's catchiest, "Harpies Bizarre" and "Georgie and her Rival" are clever pop gems w/great lyrics, and "So Like Candy" and "After the Fall" are two of the most achingly beautiful tunes he's written. But the crowning moment is the closer, "Couldn't Call it Unexpected #4:" maybe EC's best song. The album is worth it for this song alone. Simply gorgeous; only hearing it could do it justice. If you're still upset Elvis stopped writing songs like "Red Shoes" and "Chelsea," go listen to the first three albums, but if you recognize that Elvis Costello is the most gifted songwriter around, this is essential.

First of all, those of you who are looking at this album expecting "Son of This Year's Model" or something to that effect--save yourselves some time and money and just listen to the original. The only place you can find the sound on "This Year's Model" is on that album itself. However, if you're interested in hearing how Elvis Costello has grown and changed as a songwriter and performer over the years, I highly recommend giving this album a listen.

The album's closer, "Couldn't Call It Unexpected #4", is by itself worth the sale price of the album. It's one of those songs that will make you obsess over it and may well be one of the best songs ever written by anybody. In fact, this album in general features some of Costello's best lyrics.

"Mighty Like A Rose" does have just as much bile as TYM, but it's a more mature, refined bile. He's still angry, but instead of targeting vapid models (which is almost too easy, isn't it?), this time his focus is at the same time on a larger scale and more intimate. In songs such as "Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Taking Over)", Costello preaches doom for society at large in his lyrics. However, the sparse, quiet "After The Fall" tells a story of an individual gone wrong with just guitar and bass.

This album is definitely one of the man's most adventurous efforts. If you expect to be spoon-fed everything without having to think about it, save us all the trouble and go buy something else. However, if you're up for the challenge of listening to one of the most poetic albums out there, give this a chance. You won't be sorry.

This was the first E.C. album I bought. Yes, my first. But I guess I'm hooked now for all time. This album is sheer genius. The songs got hooked in my flesh. It's not because of the catchy tunes (which abound), the joy and pain of music-making (which you can't miss if you have ears) or the witty & sharp lyrics (which only no-brainers will neglect). It's because this album has it all. It's because the album might hit you like a hammer dressed up like a rose. Like a double shot of vodka smelling of orange juice. If you think it *IS* orange juice, your brain has corroded beyond recovery.

Listen to it. If you miss it, you only have yourself to blame.

I am always surprised that this album is not better received by Elvis fans. I too was at first turned off by this unusual album, but recently it has become one of my favorites. Songs like "How to be Dumb", "All Grown Up", "Harpies Bizarre", and especially "After the Fall" deserve a reconsideration from his fans. Though the style ranges from the extremes of chaos in "Hurry Down Doomsday" to the tight orchestration in "Couldn't Call it Unexpexted No.2 & No.4", the album's violent contrasts curiously overlap and bond into a delicately crafted whole. Neither the succeeding "Brutal Youth" nor "All this Useless Beauty" match the originality or complexity of this album. Even alongside the much touted "Spike", "Mighty like a Rose" shines because it closes having achieved a beguiling symmetry that largely eludes its predecessor. It is by far the most challenging and engagingly clever of his many great albums.

Usually assumed to be overwritten and overarranged, Mighty like a rose is actually Costello's strongest set of songs, probably since Armed Forces. Songs like After the fall, Couldn't call it unexpected #4 and Sweet pear are some of the most beautifull songs ever written, let alone by him, whilst The other side of summer recalls The Beach Boys, though more veiledly depressing. Overall, although not the most straightforward album in Elvis' cannon it is the most rewarding and several listens later you will be hooked.