Sulky Girl
"Sulky Girl" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Warner Bros. | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Elvis Costello | |||
Producer(s) | Mitchell Froom | |||
Elvis Costello singles chronology | ||||
|
"Sulky Girl" is a song written and performed by new wave musician Elvis Costello that was first released on his 1994 album Brutal Youth. The song was one of those on the album that featured Costello performing with his longtime backing band the Attractions, who reunited during the course of the album's recording. As such, Costello singled out the song as an instance of the band's ability to play loudly and aggressively.
"Sulky Girl" was released as the first single from Brutal Youth in 1994 and became Costello's highest charting UK single in eleven years, although Costello chalked up this success to successful promotion by
Background
Costello wrote "Sulky Girl" shortly after a one-day writing spree by Costello where he composed six of the songs that would appear on the Brutal Youth album.[1][2]
The track was one of the songs on Brutal Youth that featured Costello's reunited backing band the Attractions. Costello later named "13 Steps Lead Down" and "Sulky Girl" as "reminders that [the Attractions] could also be a pretty great rock and roll band".[2] Recalling the sessions in a 1994 interview, he stated:
We hit the end of the chorus, and it was just roaring. Everybody was taking it as far as they could. It was the first time we'd played anything hard since coming back. Mitchell Froom came out of the control room, and it looked like what he'd heard had parted his hair. This band can plaster you against the back wall when it wants to.[3]
Release
"Sulky Girl" was released as the first single from Brutal Youth in the UK. The B-side is "
The single reached number 22 in the UK, the highest charting Costello single there since "Pills and Soap" in 1983. Despite this, Costello did not view the single as an organic hit and credited it to record company promotion: "'Sulky Girl' they'd managed to chart and we'd gone on
The song has since appeared on an EP of the same name as well as on the compilation albums Extreme Honey and The Very Best of Elvis Costello.
Critical reception
"Sulky Girl" saw positive reception from music writers upon its release. In a column for
Retrospectively, Jeremy Allen of
Charts
Chart (1994) | Peak position |
---|---|
22 |
References
Citations
- ^ Thomson 2006.
- ^ a b Brutal Youth (Liner notes). Elvis Costello. 2002.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Moon, Tom (March 8, 1994). "Elvis Costello looks back". Philadelphia Inquirer: E1–E6.
- ^ Mason, Stewart. "Elvis Costello - Sulky Girl". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ Leblond, Philippe (April 1994). "Brutal Youth". Rock & Folk. 320.
- ^ Doggett, Peter (October 1995). "Elvis Costello: The Record Collector Interview, Part 2". Record Collector. 194.
- ^ Leiby, Richard (June 18, 1994). "Elvis lives! A trip with the angry '70s rocker through the Ohio of his soul". Washington Post.
- ^ Dulli, Greg; Stubbs, David (1994-02-26). "Singles: Mr. Digable (aka Greg Dulli of Afghan Whigs) and Mr. Agreeable". Melody Maker: 29.
- ^ O'Connor, Rob (24 March 1994). "Brutal Youth". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ Milano, Brett (March 1994). "Elvis Costello: A Brutal Youth". CD Review: 12–13.
- ^ Brennan, Patrick (March 9, 1994). "Sulky Girl". Hot Press.
- ^ Allen, Jeremy. "Elvis Costello: 10 of the best". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ^ Breznican, Anthony. "Disappearing Ink: A tribute to Elvis Costello's 'Brutal Youth,' released 21 years ago". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ Stewart, Gary; Gorman, David. "The Elvis Costello Song of the Week: Sulky Girls & The Men Who Stalk Them". Trunkworthy. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ Wawzenek, Bryan (16 September 2016). "Elvis Costello Albums Ranked in Order of Awesomeness". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ Prado, Ryan J. (23 May 2014). "The 20 Best Songs By Elvis Costello". Paste. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
Sources
- Thomson, Graeme (2006). Complicated Shadows: The Life and Music of Elvis Costello. Canongate U.S. ISBN 978-1841957968.