halphillips:

(Despite my enthusiastic Elvis Costello fandom, I do not like this song very much.)

I’ll admit this: I like this song just fine, though I probably enjoy all the other “poppy-sounding” songs on Punch The Clock a lot more (“The Greatest Thing”, “Mouth Almighty”, “The Element Within Her”, etc…)

Of the two 80s-sounding Costello songs that were overt— one could even say desperate— attempts to have a “hit single” I actually prefer the next year’s “The Only Flame In Town” despite its dated sounds. I just think it’s a better song, and I dislike EC’s attempts to “salvage” the song by reinventing it as a slow, soulful ballad. It’s a clever pop song with a saxophone blaring away and harmonies by Daryl Hall, and that’s how it works best.

(Source: iamachilles)