Elvis Costello & The Imposters – The Delivery Man

excellent excellent excellent excellent excellent excellent excellent excellent excellent excellent

This isn't a critique of the pressing, rather it's a comment on a specific song - There's A Story In Your Voice, with Lucinda Williams guesting on vocals.
First off, I am a Lucinda fan. Lonely Girls is pure genius, lyrics and music. That said, there's something about her vocal performance on this track that just doesn't work.
Trying too hard? Possibly. Whatever the intention, her vocals come across way over the top, cartoonish actually. The subject matter is not something alien to her, and neither is the emotion needed to deliver it. All that's required here is for Lucinda to be...Lucinda.

Sound wise this pressing is fantastic, however, there may be some pressing issues to be aware of. Firstly, my copy has a significant amount of non-fill on the opening tracks of both side B and C. Also, there is a part of the inner sleeve that affixed itself to the disk on A1. So I would say buy with caution, and try to get a non-sealed copy if you really want one.

“The Delivery Man” really plays out like a delightful cocktail made by mixing aspects of “Almost Blue,” “Imperial Bedroom” and “Blood + Chocolate” into a blender and hitting “purée.” It is almost a country music album, yet one far from the bloodless exercise that “Almost Blue” was. The country songs here were connected to the artist and validated by his participation in their creation. It made all of the difference in the world. It also has the often restrained elegance of “Imperial Bedroom” as applied to classic pop in numbers like the title track or “The Name Of This Thing is Not Love.” Finally, the ghost of “Uncomplicated” from “Blood + Chocolate” came home to roost on the three most intense and energetic tracks here. The gestalt of it all has succeeded in flooring me in a way that I really have not been floored with a Costello album in long decades. “Blood + Chocolate” is the last one I rate as a classic and I’m thinking that this one is better written than that one.

What an amazingly good pressing. The sound is warm and full, with a deep soundstage. This is also the quietest vinyl I've ever heard. I don't know if this is due at all to the clear vinyl, but if so then press everything on it.

This Japanese cd has 2 bonus tracks not on the US version : "She's Pulling Out The Pin" and "The Monkey"