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Despite T-Bone Burnett’s warm production, some excellent playing by the best bluegrass players around, and a few keeper cuts, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane falls all too easily into the middle ranks of Elvis Costello’s vast discography.
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He is starting to concern me though, since this is the third album in a row that has left me wallowing in mild to severe disappointment.
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Q MagazineAs confusing or thought-provoking as ever, depending on how far you want to walk down Costello's mazy career path. [Jul 2009, p.118]
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Oh, charm abounds; what the album lacks is direction.
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Like Momofuku, the new record was knocked out quickly, drawing heavily on material left over from other Costello projects, but while the looseness worked for the driving rock ’n’ roll songs on Momofuku, the freeform ballads and back-to-basics roots workouts of Secret mostly fade into Burnett’s tasteful woodwork.
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Self-assurance draws out opening salivation 'Down Among the Wine and Spirits' seemingly longer than its three minutes, and 'Complicated Shadows' follows suit, but anything longer--and almost everything is--stagnates.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 8
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Mixed: 0 out of 8
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Negative: 2 out of 8
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TDGJun 16, 2009
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DrewDJun 7, 2009
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ConorDJun 7, 2009