Rhino / Wea
2004
Goodbye Cruel World (2004 Edition)
About This Album
Goodbye Cruel World is generally regarded as Elvis Costello's worst album, even by the man himself -- at least it was upon the first expanded reissue of the notorious 1984 belly flop, when he wrote in the liner notes to Rykodisc/Demon's 1995 edition, "Congratulations! You just bought the worst album of my career." When it came time to assemble the double-disc Rhino reissue of Goodbye Cruel World in 2004, he recanted somewhat, claiming that "with the benefit of a little more distance I am able to say that this is probably the worst record that I could have made of a decent bunch of songs." To a certain extent this is spin from rock's greatest spinster and leading wannabe rock critic, but Costello has a point -- the bonus disc here is indeed better than the finished album, cutting closer to the emotional quick of the songs. Which isn't to say that this is as cohesive as the finished album, since it's not: it's a 26-track clearing-house of B-sides, alternate versions, demos, and live tracks, containing nine of the ten bonus tracks from the Ryko issue ("Deportee" being moved to the reissue of King of America) and a grand total of 16 previously unreleased tracks.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9 and 10)

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Disc 2 (try tracks 1,2,3,5,6,7,8 and 11)

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