When I Was Cruel

Track listing

1. "45" – 3:33
2. "Spooky Girlfriend" – 4:22
3. "Tear Off Your Own Head " – 3:31
4. "When I Was Cruel No. 2" – 7:06
5. "Soul for Hire" – 3:55
6. "15 Petals" – 4:01
7. "Tart" – 4:03
8. "Dust 2..." – 3:21
9. "Dissolve" – 2:22
10. "Alibi" – 6:42
11. "...Dust" – 3:03
12. "Daddy Can I Turn This?" – 3:41
13. "My Little Blue Window" – 3:10
14. "Episode of Blonde" – 5:01
16. "Radio Silence" – 4:58

    Personnel

• Elvis Costello – vocals, guitars, horn arrangements on 6 11 14, melodica, cymbal, bass, piano, harmonica
• Steve Nieve – organ, pianet, piano, vibraphone, melodica, filters
• Davey Faragher – bass, handclaps
• Pete Thomas – drums, handclaps, percussion, shaker, tambourine

  Additional personnel

• Steven Kennedy – backing vocals on 1 12 13
• Leo Pearson – electric tabla on 3, rhythm processor on 5 8, tambourine, mixing
• Bill Ware – vibraphone on 4
• Ku-umba Frank Lacy – trumpet on 6, flugelhorn on 11 14
• Curtis Fowlkes – trombone on 6 11 14
• Jay Rodriguez – tenor saxophone on 6 11 14
• Roy Nathanson – alto saxophone on 6 11 14

  Trivia

• The song "45" is about being 45 years old, like Costello at the time it was written.
• The idea and title of "Tear Off Your Own Head " came from a set of Engrish-laden dolls in Japan. It appears in the 2003 film The Shape of Things. The Bangles covered it as the title track on their 2003 album, Doll Revolution.
• When the album was released, promotional materials billed it as Costello's "FIRST LOUD ALBUM SINCE 199?".

  Charts