Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How's Your Fathers

AMG Review of Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How's Your Fathers

David Cleary
All Music Guide

This album is the British equivalent of the U.S. B-side and non-album track release Taking Liberties, down to a similar song ordering. Three of these songs, "Clowntime Is Over," "Black and White World," and "Clean Money" (later revised and retitled "Love for Tender") appear in greatly altered versions on Get Happy!! Other numbers, such as the country tune "Stranger in the House," the Motown-sounding song "Getting Mighty Crowded," and the Tin Pan Alley-style number "Just a Memory," anticipate the style experiments of his subsequent albums. Given Elvis Costello's stunningly great songwriting talents, this rarities platter is better than the primary album releases by most bands. This is an excellent record, highly recommended if Taking Liberties is not available. Other review sources state that this album's arrangements are different from those of Taking Liberties, but this reviewer hears no difference here.