Elvis Costello wasn't in a happy place when he began writing Goodbye Cruel World. His marriage collapsed between the record's start and finish. He was also dealing with what he deems the "dreadful 80s"—a period in which the importance of videos trumped musical merit, the government in his native England engaged in controversial conflicts, and nuclear threats hovered over daily life like a black cloud. What possible good came out of the age? A smart batch of songs that stands up to many of the singer-songwriter's better-known works and an underrated record that now sounds better than ever.

 

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed on 180g LP at RTI, this collectable edition of Goodbye Cruel World joins Mobile Fidelity's acclaimed Costello reissues series in presenting the icon's most vital records in rich, dynamic, three-dimensional analog sound. Akin to many albums from the era, Goodbye Cruel World was hampered by bright, slick textures on the original pressings and digital counterparts. Here, Costello's fare is revealed to possess a warmer, more organic and intimate character. Costello's voice, as well as his band's nimble rhythms and Steve Nieve's R&B-spiked piano, occupy their own spaces amidst a wide, unconstrained soundstage.

 

The improvements rendered by this numbered, limited-edition LP bring significantly new perspective to Costello's mordantly witty songs addressing everything from stark romantic loss to erotic desire. Produced by the hit-making team of Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, Goodbye Cruel World reflects the polish of the day in places but now reveals a deeper soulfulness, grit, and honesty. Such aspects particularly come to fore on multiple tunes featuring saxophonists Gary Barnacle, trombonist Jim Paterson, and percussionist Luis Jardim—the very first guests ever welcomed on an Attractions album. 

 

With added instrumental assistance, Costello and Co. traverse styles ranging from rambunctious new-wave rock ("The Deportees Club") to frisky New Orleans-derived blues ("Sour Milk Cow Blues") to suave, jazzy pop ("The Only Flame In Town"). In the closing "Peace In Our Time," a sobering albeit optimistic song whose verses still apply to contemporary times, Costello crafts the finale to a socio-politically conscious trilogy that began with "Shipbuilding" and "Pills and Soap." It alone is the worth the price of admission to a record that's long deserved a better reputation and, with Mobile Fidelity's reissue, finally gets its just desserts.

 

Bass – Bruce Thomas
Drums – Pete Thomas
Keyboards ] – Maurice Worm
Percussion – Luis Jardim
Producer – Clive Langer And Alan Winstanley
Saxophone – Gary Barnacle
Trombone – Jim Paterson
Vocals, Guitar  – Elvis Costello

 

Elvis Costello Goodbye Cruel World Track Listing:

 

The Only Flame In Town

Home Truth

Room With No Number

Inch By Inch

Worthless Thing

Love Field

I Wanna Be Loved

The Comedians

Joe Porterhouse

Sour Milk Cow Blues

The Great Unknown

The Deportees Club

 

 

GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of MFSL’s founding fathers – Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL’s most heralded past releases.

The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system is comprised of a Studer™ tape machine with customized reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)

First and foremost, we only utilize first generation original master recordings as source material for our releases. We then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system to fully extract the master’s sonic information. Our lacquers are then plated in a specialized process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial play back, but as the disc is played more, a high quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). We further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors’ items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.

As you can imagine, all these efforts involve a tremendous amount of time, technology, cost and effort. The introduction of GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ maintains Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s position as the world’s leading audiophile record label, where a passion for music with extraordinary sound quality matters most.