2002, It's been a good year for Elvis!

"When I Was Cruel," (Universal), Elvis Costello. Arguably the finest songwriter on the planet, Costello's "When I Was Cruel" is his most cohesive and complete album since 1986's "Blood and Chocolate." The 15 songs showcase Costello at his best: witty, scathing and incisive.
from www.pittsburghlive.com

While Eminem was the top artist, the most written-about sound was garage rock, thanks to the rise of the Strokes, the White Stripes, the Hives and the Vines. However, none of these newcomers became big sellers. Nor have any of them demonstrated the kind of indelible and deep personality that would suggest staying power like that showed in the 1970s by, say, Elvis Costello and Tom Waits -- both of whom released exceptional, return-to-form albums in 2002.
from www.startribune.com

Elvis Costello and the Imposters. June 23. Harbor Center, Portsmouth. Costello's long absence from Hampton Roads ended on a summer night filled with many of the songwriter's best songs. On "Less Than Zero," "Watching the Detectives," "Shipbuilding" and "I Want You" he displayed the intensity of an angry young man along with the soul of a mature artist.
from www.dailypress.com

ELVIS COSTELLO: `WHEN I WAS CRUEL' (Island) ElvisCostello finally puts his rocker's hat back on, not to pretend he's young - he starts out singing about World War II, vinyl and middle age - but to rekindle the snap, twang and suspense of his 1970's band. The lean, lunging music is matched to gimlet-eyed observations about the countless varieties of betrayal. (EC came in as no. 9 on the list)
from www.nytimes.com

(Under the NOHAIR section) The rapidly receding Elvis Costello delivered a deadly double blow this year. His album When I Was Cruel and the July shows at the Enmore Theatre were loud, assertive, exciting rock'n'roll.
from www.smh.com.au

Elvis Costello, June 2, Fillmore - The hard-rocking Elvis has returned to the building with a devastating set that both reinforced his genius to longtime fans and probably shocked a few younger folks who may not have realized just how cool a 47-year-old with thick black-rimmed glasses can be. Costello tore through a catalog of old hits (sometimes at double speed), but really hit his stride on new classics, including the very ska and very funny "Spooky Girlfriend."
from www.denverpost.com

Best live perfomances; (among these) Elvis Costello at the Midland Theater, 2002
from www.kansascity.com

"When I Was Cruel," Elvis Costello (Island). What a great year for Elvis fans. We got a clutch of expanded reissues of his older albums, with demos and alternate versions that shined new light on the greatness of 1982's "Imperial Bedroom" in particular. In Portland, at least, we got two breathtaking concerts that reaffirmed his stature as perhaps the most prolific, skillful and daring singer-songwriter of the past few decades.
But best of all, we got "When I Was Cruel," his most focused and consistent album in many years. Crackling with brilliantly acerbic lyrics and inventive arrangements, it has a nervy energy that recalls the early classic "This Year's Model." But it has the variety that reflects a career of stylistic experimentation, too, from the power-pop slam of the wonderfully titled "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution)" to the classic melodicism of "My Little Blue R1 Window," the soul/dub groove of "Alibi" and the anxious noise of "Daddy Can I Turn This?" and "Dissolve."
from www.oregonlive.com

WHEN I WAS CRUEL Elvis Costello (Island) Revenge of the veterans, part 1: Reuniting with former members of the Attractions and revisiting the jarring sound of his youth, Costello risks turning himself into a nostalgia item. Instead, he gives us his most stinging one-two punch since the first Bush presidency. Packed with bristling spews, noir soundscapes, and cutting autobiographical sketches that reveal a man grappling with the onset of middle age, this is like a greatest-hits album of songs we've never heard before.
from Entertaintment Weekly

Thanks to John Foyle