When I Was Cruel (studio album) by Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello bestography
When I Was Cruel is ranked 6th best out of 37 albums by Elvis Costello on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Elvis Costello is This Year's Model which is ranked number 313 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 5,812.
Upcoming concerts
Listen to When I Was Cruel on YouTube
When I Was Cruel track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
When I Was Cruel rankings
Latest 20 charts that this album appears in:
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!
When I Was Cruel collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 37 members
When I Was Cruel ratings
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 69 ratings for this album.
Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
04/05/2024 17:55 | BoxFL | 2,384 | 51/100 | |
12/21/2023 02:44 | spigelwii | 347 | 85/100 | |
10/03/2023 12:42 | fabm0 | 5,976 | 59/100 | |
04/16/2023 12:13 | MW19704U | 6,954 | 59/100 | |
02/17/2023 23:59 | craab | 642 | 78/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album has a Bayesian average rating of 71.8/100, a mean average of 70.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 71.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 12.7.
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating
When I Was Cruel favourites
Showing all 5 members who have added this album as a favourite
When I Was Cruel comments
Showing all 6 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
I couldn't get interested in this album when it came out. Returning to it decades later, I am pleasantly surprised. It actually makes more sense to me now after hearing Wise Up Ghost where I think he really perfected the ideas that were nascent on this record. Seeing it as his first experiment in the electronic and spoken word elements that he later develops more, gives the record a context that makes me like it more. Doll Revolution is an amazing track. The Bangles did a great cover of it.
There's some songs here that bring EC back to his glory days. The title track, for instance, is one of his most indelible songs in years, and the somewhat Tom Waits-y Episode of Blonde is also fantastic. Yes, there are some weak moments, but the man is to be commended for the attempt to try a different sound out, adding elements of electronica to his rock sound, creating a ghostly atmosphere that often works very well with the songs. It's also great to see EC back with his frequent collaborators Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve on drums and keys respectively. The former Attractions are joined by Davey Faragher on bass, to form The Imposters, who are still Costello's backing band to this day. This album is not up to the standard of his early work, but this is merely a testament to the quality of that initial run. This would be considered a very strong album in most other discographies, and is the culmination of all the experiments of the '90s.
Un disco che avevo abbastanza apprezzato all'epoca, ascoltato e poi quasi del tutto dimenticato. Oltre a "45" ricordavo un altro paio di canzoni: poca roba, insomma, ma l'album in realtà è un buon prodotto, sulla media dei lavori di Costello e pure un poco di più, ispirato e ben confezionato.
A good Elvis Costello album. Obviously not up to the genius of his late seventies/early eighties records. Still, when I was cruel, has some good songs, especially the title track. One of thing I don't like though is Costello now using those pretentious arty one word song titles that some 'alternative' bands seem to think is essential, surely Costello is above this. Having said that, good songs in, episode of blonde, alibi, and, 45. Not Costello's best, but good to know he's far from finished.
This was the first Costello album I bought in nearly ten years. It was getting good reviews at the time and I was ready to love again. It's one of his most rocking sounds but I dunno, again there's just nothing that really stands out.
Not his best album after all, but 'Episode Of Blonde' is one song for eternity
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment
Your feedback for When I Was Cruel
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.