Brutal Youth

Brutal Youth
Studio album by Elvis Costello and The Attractions
Released	8 March 1994
Recorded	7 December 1992 – 7 February 1994, The Sound Factory, Hollywood, California, United States
Genre	Alternative rock, punk rock, power pop
Length	56:55
Label	Warner Bros. Rhino (3 August 1994 Reissue)
Producer	Mitchell Froom
Elvis Costello and The Attractions chronology
Live at the El Mocambo (1993) Brutal Youth (1994) The Very Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions 1977-86 (1994)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]

Brutal Youth is an album by Elvis Costello released in 1994. This is the first album Costello recorded with his band the Attractions since Blood and Chocolate (1986). The several albums in between were recorded with session musicians. Brutal Youth was the third, and most recent of Costello's albums, to peak at number two in the UK Albums Chart, following on from Armed Forces (1979) and Get Happy!! (1980). To date, no Costello album has reached the number one spot in that listing.^[4]

It was among the six Costello albums featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing

All songs by Declan MacManus unless otherwise indicated.

1. "Pony St." – 3:25
2. "Kinder Murder" – 3:25
3. "13 Steps Lead Down" – 3:16
4. "This Is Hell" – 4:27
5. "Clown Strike" – 4:05
6. "You Tripped at Every Step" – 4:12
7. "Still Too Soon to Know" – 2:19
8. "20% Amnesia" – 3:26
9. "Sulky Girl" – 5:07
10. "London's Brilliant Parade" – 4:23
11. "My Science Fiction Twin" – 4:10
12. "Rocking Horse Road" – 4:03
13. "Just About Glad" – 3:14
14. "All the Rage" – 3:52
15. "Favourite Hour" – 3:31

Bonus disc (2002 Rhino)

1. "Life Shrinks" – 3:37
2. "Favourite Hour" (Church Studios Version) – 3:32
3. "This Is Hell" (Church Studios Version) – 4:10
4. "Idiophone" – 1:58
5. "Abandon Words" – 2:55
6. "Poisoned Letter" – 3:48
7. "A Drunken Man's Praise of Sobriety" (MacManus, William Butler Yeats) – 1:08
8. "Pony St." (Bonaparte Rooms Version) – 3:36
9. "Just About Glad" (Bonaparte Rooms Version) – 3:41
10. "Clown Strike" (Bonaparte Rooms Version) – 4:19
11. "Rocking Horse Road" (Demo) – 3:18
12. "13 Steps Lead Down" (Demo) – 2:07
13. "All the Rage" (Demo) – 3:38
14. "Sulky Girl" (Demo) – 4:31
15. "You Tripped at Every Step" (Church Studios Version) – 3:25

B-sides (available on the 13 Steps Lead Down EP)

1. "We Despise You"
2. "Basement Kiss"
3. "Puppet Girl"

"London's Brilliant Parade (EP)"

• "London's Brilliant Parade"
• "Sweet Dreams"
• "The Loved Ones"
• "From Head to Toe"^[4]

Personnel

• Elvis Costello – guitar, vocals, piano, bass
• Steve Nieve – organ, piano, harmonium
• Bruce Thomas – bass
• Pete Thomas – drums, percussion
• Nick Lowe – bass

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1994	Billboard 200	34
1994	UK Albums Chart	2

Singles and EP

Year	Song	Chart	Position
1994	"13 Steps Lead Down"	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	6
1994	"13 Steps Lead Down"	UK Singles Chart[4]	59
1994	"Sulky Girl"	UK Singles Chart[4]	22
1994	"London's Brilliant Parade (EP)"	UK Singles Chart[4]	48

References

1. Stephen Thomas Erlewine (1994-03-08). "Brutal Youth - Elvis Costello | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
2. "CG: Elvis Costello". Robert Christgau. 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 122–3. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.