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Nov 5, 2010The album winds up with trace echoes of all eras of Costello, but that's only a reflection of how National Ransom is a masterwork in the traditional sense: he's summoned all his skills to deliver an album that summarizes his world view.
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Nov 2, 2010More than anything, National Ransom reveals that Costello is still a powerhouse writer.
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Nov 2, 2010There's never been an Elvis Costello album like National Ransom, even though nothing about the record is especially new.
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Entertainment WeeklyNov 1, 2010A worthy sequel to last year's similarly Americana-leaning Secret, Profane & Sugarcane. [Nov. 5, 2010, p. 71]
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Nov 11, 2010You'd be hard pressed to find an album as varied as Elvis Costello's National Ransom (his 26th, give or take).
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Nov 4, 2010Over the course of 16 tracks, Costello flexes his stylistic muscles and exercises that famously acerbic wit.
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MojoNov 2, 2010If Elvis Costello's an all-timer it's because he knows what high seriousness is about. [Nov. 2010, p. 103]
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Nov 2, 201033 years deep into his career, Elvis Costello continues to challenge both himself and his audience. If his latest is any indication he'll continue inspiring us well into his twilight years.
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Oct 29, 2010Costello is a seasoned lyricist, clearly a very smart man, and his prose throughout National Ransom is a lustrous testament to that.
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UncutOct 28, 2010With flurries of old-time whimsy, The Beatles gone gothic and vaudevillian storytelling, it's dense and sometimes obscure. [Nov 2010, p.84]
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Nov 17, 2010It's a lot to take in, but his aim is true as always.
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Nov 2, 2010In Costello's infinitely gifted hands, pop music circa 2010 is anything but only rock 'n' roll.
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Oct 29, 2010National Ransom isn't the midlife masterpiece that obsessives have been pining for, but its finer points are worth seeking out, in all their sepia-tinted glory.
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Nov 2, 2010Elvis Costello traffics in so many genres, it must be hard to focus on one. Here, he doesn't.
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Nov 1, 2010At 16 songs, the album can feel disorienting, but it's further proof that for an Englishman, Costello has become an improbable - and invaluable - ambassador of America's overlooked musical past.
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Oct 29, 2010With livelier playing and more memorable tunes, Costello's second straight collaboration with producer T Bone Burnett is a major improvement over last year's ho-hum Secret, Profane & Sugarcane.
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Oct 28, 2010While it's no Costello classic, this repays patience.
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Nov 1, 2010As with many of his releases the last decade, National Ransom is kind of a mess, with enough scattered gems to reward deeper investigation.