the duo's process in an interview with Record Collector in 1995, Costello said that "in the past, we'd never conformed to any great production design.[...] This was the first time we'd taken a formal approach, and to some extent it really worked." With Langer's influence, Costello wrote "more rhythmic songs" than he was used to. Having written the majority of Imperial Bedroom on piano, the producer instructed him to work on guitar to create "more lively material", arguing that he had only become known for "the most cynical and disillusioned songs" that pervaded Imperial Bedroom. This process yielded a pair of "proud and wishful songs" on "Love and Marriage": "The Greatest Thing" and "Let Them All Talk", and a couple about the "Ugly Truth": "Mouth Almighty" and "Charm School". Langer felt the singer could write "incredible pop music", later reflecting: "I think he accepted that that's what we did as producer: [have] hits. He always reacts against what he's done before, so we went for it. We tried to get singles." Other than the Attractions, the sessions employed several outside musicians who helped shape the album's sound. Singers Caron Wheeler and Claudia Fontaine, known as Afrodiziak, contributed backing vocals to several songs, improvising all their parts. The same horn section from the Christmas shows, now dubbed the TKO Horns, were also brought in. Consisting of Big Jim Paterson on trombone, Jeff Blythe on alto saxophone and Paul Speare on tenor saxophone, the horns utilised the sound they had fashioned for their work in Dexys Midnight Runners. To not mimic the sound entirely, Costello added trumpeter Dave Plews to the horns; the latter's prior commitments as a member of Eurythmics' touring band led to his substitution on "The World and His Wife" by Stuart Robson. String arrangements were conducted by David Bedford, Morris Pert contributed percussion, while Chet Baker played a trumpet solo on "Shipbuilding". Although Langer felt the band enjoyed playing with other musicians in the studio, not all of them were convinced. Bruce Thomas later stated: "Those trendy production values. Everything gated together, very bright and shiny. It wasn't our thing, but it worked on a couple of tracks." In later decades, Langer asserted that the production was a mutually creative process: "At certain times I would have control, other times I'd just let him do it, but if he really didn't like something it wouldn't go on, it