The Boy Named If

The record is described as having "urgent, immediate songs with bright melodies, guitar solos that sting and a quick step to the rhythm". Costello himself says that the album is a collection of thirteen snapshots "That take us from the last days of a bewildered boyhood to that mortifying moment when you are told to stop acting like a child - which for most men (and perhaps a few gals too) can be any time in the next fifty years".

Costello goes on to explain the album's title. "The full title of this record is 'The Boy Named If (And Other Children's Stories).' 'IF,' is a nickname for your imaginary friend; your secret self, the one who knows everything you deny, the one you blame for the shattered crockery and the hearts you break, even your own".