Responding to both your “tradeoff” comment and jerm's comment about the press regarding H&O as “goofy white guys doing 'black' music”: I will certainly grant that H&O were hardly considered “cool” by the music press, and I do think Hall always has carried something of a chip on his shoulder over not being hailed as a “major rock artist” so much as a “pop craftsman.” But he wanted that recognition not only for “Sacred Songs” and his side projects but for his H&O work as well. I certainly don't think he believed himself to be writing songs for “housewives and their kids” (ouch!).

All of that said, as I remember it there was a decent amount of rock-crit respect for H&O's (Hall's especially) ability to make a record like “I Can't Go for That” or “One on One” that could climb high up the R&B charts in a post-disco era when crossover in either direction was difficult. And while there was less of a tendency back then (as compared to now) for critics to hail an artist/album/song's quality as “pop,” H&O usually got a decent amount of credit in the press for their success in honing the sound they'd been crafting since the '70s into the hitmaking machine it became in the early '80s.

So, to the extent that Hall was disappointed by his press treatment, he really should have sucked it up and resumed counting his money. Hopefully he's doing that now while waiting for the RnR Hall of Fame to call.

That' s not the first time Hall has been paired up with a member of the rock underground. His first solo album, SACRED SONGS, was produced by the ultra-avant garde, Robert Fripp. It's a great record and highly recommended.

H&O were never considered “cool” by snobby, rock press during their commerical heydey in the 80s. Nowadays, those same critics are realizing how truly great H&O were. Me thinks they are just trying to be ironic, like the rock press tends to do.

I firmly believe that if H&O were black they would be deemed musical geniuses. But since they were goofy white guys doing “black” music, they got written off.

And it's a shame because when it comes to extremely well-crafted pop/soul…no one comes close.

Of course Hall wanted to be seen as more credible and artistically inclined than he was at the time. He still does, although things have leveled off a bit with time. Such was the trade-off in appealing to housewives and their kids. “The Only Flame” is OK kitsch now but it was definitely savaged at the time.

Thus, to make excuses for reviewers being wrong about a song due to the prevailing wisdom of the day is fallacy. When a reviewer listens with open ears they are be better (not always, but better) able to realize that the music is quality and will stand up.

To sum up, if Elvis Costello chooses to make a great album of modern pop as it will still be a great album of pop no matter how shocking or what his motivation.