Goodbye Cruel World

Costello calls this his worst record, but while its ticky-tocky "modern" (1984) production often smothers the music, Goodbye Cruel World does contain some great songs, notably the ballads "Home Truth" and "Love Field" and the anti-Reagan protest "Peace in Our Time." Rykodisc's CD is a necessity for at least two reasons: bonus tracks of Charles Brown's "Get Yourself Another Fool" and Richard Thompson's "Withered and Died," the latter not listed on the packaging. --Rickey Wright