Metromix: Costello gets 'Cruel'
- Greg Kot's review: "Eerie atmospherics evoke dread, one-chord drones build tension, and Costello sneers, snarls, croons and whispers like a man with unspeakable needs."
- http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/search/mmx-16232_lgcy,1,1989941.story

New Musical Express: When I Was Cruel
- John Mulvey's review. "Through all his dalliances with opera singers, string quartets and Burt Bacharach, Costello has musically obscured most of his bile with the trappings of high art. But as 'When I Was Cruel' proves, he's much better at squeezing
- http://www.nme.com/reviews/elvis-costello/6291

Entertainment Weekly: When I Was Cruel
- David Browne's review: "In a way, 'When I Was Cruel' is a companion to U2's 'All That You Can't Leave Behind' - a late-period return to form by an act that wandered off the path presumably for good." Grade of A.
- http://www.ew.com/ew/article/review/music/0,6115,232334~4~0~wheniwascruel,00.html