| Taking Liberties | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | November 1980 (US) | |||
| Recorded | 1977–80 | |||
| Genre | Punk rock, new wave | |||
| Length | 50:45 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe | |||
| Elvis Costello chronology | ||||
| ||||
Taking Liberties is a compilation album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, consisting of tracks not previously released on his albums as released in the United States. It is largely made up of B-sides, but features three previously unreleased recordings. It was released only in the US and Canada; its track listing is very similar to that of the UK release Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How's Your Fathers. The differences are that on the latter, the tracks "Night Rally", "Sunday's Best" and "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" are replaced by "Watching the Detectives", "Radio, Radio" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding".[1]
The sleeve note by Gregg Geller is very nearly a direct lift from the 1958 album A Gene Vincent Record Date, with Costello's name substituted for Vincent's, and song titles being substituted as appropriate.
The LP version features nostalgic Columbia labels. The legend on the Side One label reads "COSTELLO" instead of "COLUMBIA", in a similar fashion to This Year's Model.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [2] |
| Billboard | (unrated)[3] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
| Robert Christgau | (B) link |
- ^ Cohen, Debra Rae (11 December 1980). "Taking Liberties". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
- ^ Deming, Mark. "Taking Liberties – Elvis Costello". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ "Review: Elvis Costello – Taking Liberties" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 40. 4 October 1980. p. 108. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 30 May 2020 – via American Radio History.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Costello, Elvis". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.