The Boy Named If
| The Boy Named If | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Elvis Costello The Boy Named If.jpg | ||||
| Studio album by Elvis Costello and The Imposters | ||||
| Released | 14 January 2022 | |||
| Recorded | 2021 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 51:58 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
|
|||
| Elvis Costello and The Imposters chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Singles from The Boy Named If | ||||
The Boy Named If is the 32nd studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello and The Imposters. The album was released on 14 January 2022 by EMI Records and Capitol Records.[2][3]
The Boy Named If received critical acclaim and is nominated for Best Rock Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.[4]
Contents
Content
The album's first single, "Magnificent Hurt" was released on October 27, 2021. Stereogum's Tom Breihan described the track as a "a straight-up rocker" and compared it to his late 70s work.[5]
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 83/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| American Songwriter | [7] |
| Classic Rock |  [8] |
| Paste | 7.8/10[9] |
| Pitchfork | 7.5/10[10] |
| Slant Magazine | [11] |
The Boy Named If received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 83, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 14 reviews.[6] Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that The Boy Named If was Costello's "purest doses of rock and roll since maybe Blood & Chocolate (1986)".[1]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Elvis Costello.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Farewell, OK" | 2:54 |
| 2. | "The Boy Named If" | 4:24 |
| 3. | "Penelope Halfpenny" | 2:57 |
| 4. | "The Difference" | 3:45 |
| 5. | "What If I Can't Give You Anything But Love?" | 4:03 |
| 6. | "Paint the Red Rose Blue" | 4:46 |
| 7. | "Mistook Me for a Friend" | 4:13 |
| 8. | "My Most Beautiful Mistake" | 4:47 |
| 9. | "Magnificent Hurt" | 3:13 |
| 10. | "The Man You Love to Hate" | 4:53 |
| 11. | "The Death of Magic Thinking" | 3:31 |
| 12. | "Trick Out the Truth" | 4:53 |
| 13. | "Mr. Crescent" | 3:39 |
|
Total length:
|
51:58 | |
Personnel
Musicians
- Elvis Costello – vocals, guitar (all tracks); piano (6)
- Davey Faragher – additional vocals, bass (all tracks); upright bass (12)
- Pete Thomas – drums, percussion
- Steve Nieve – keyboards, piano
- Sebastian Krys – background vocals (3, 4)
- Nicole Atkins – vocals (8)
Technical
- Elvis Costello – production
- Sebastian Krys – production, mixing, engineering
- Brian Lucey – mastering
- Daniel Galindo – engineering
- Ron Taylor – engineering
- Dex Green – recording (8)
Charts
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] | 47 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] | 20 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] | 149 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] | 41 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[16] | 55 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] | 1 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] | 15 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[19] | 6 |
| US Billboard 200[20] | 200 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[21] | 34 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Elvis Costello & the Imposters – The Boy Named If" (in German). Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Elvis Costello & the Imposters – The Boy Named If" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Elvis Costello & the Imposters – The Boy Named If" (in French). Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Elvis Costello & The Imposters – The Boy Named If" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Elvis Costello & the Imposters – The Boy Named If". Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Elvis Costello – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Elvis Costello.
- ↑ "Elvis Costello – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Elvis Costello.
External links
- The Boy Named If at Discogs (list of releases)
