Trust

Trust, his fifth studio album, finds Costello moving closer to the pinched sophistication that would occasionally subsume his intelligent directness over the following years. But save for a couple of weak numbers, it offers the best of both worlds, with the Attractions lending heft to the cunning and well-observed "Clubland," "Watch Your Step," and "New Lace Sleeves." Rykodisc's reissue includes "Sad About Girls," a cut from the Costello-less band's own Mad About the Wrong Boy, among its nine bonus tracks. --Rickey Wright