He is the best lyricist of the past 30 years, IMHO. His experimentation with different musical styles is more controversial; I think that it sometimes works (his jazzy work with the Metropole Orkest) and sometimes doesn’t (The Juliet Letters is an interesting idea, but it just doesn’t come off).
What’s your:
Favourite album?
Favourite song?
Favourite cover?
Anyone ever seen him live? Met him? Have any other interesting Elvis-related things they wish to share?
My favourite album today is probably Get Happy! My favourite song changes all the time, at this precise moment it might be ‘High Fidelity’ but ‘Veronica’ is always a strong contender, as is ‘New Lace Sleeves’. Favourite cover would have to be '(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding’ which is not even frequently recognised as a cover.
I adore him. I saw him a couple years ago and loved every second of it. I like so many of his songs, but I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Alison. And Pump It Up.
I have all of Elvis’ catalogue except for a couple of recent issues. The 2CD deluxe editions from England, with all the bonus material. That’s how much I like Elvis Costello.
Favorite album: Hard to choose. Today, it’s “Spike.”
Favorite song: Pills And Soap
Favorite cover: Leave My Kitten Alone
I haven’t seen or met him, but my boss has. There’s a picture of them together, taken in the control room back when he was the program director of a big rock station somewhere. What I didn’t know was that Elvis is a really tall guy!
I got to see him on the “When I Was Cruel” tour a few years ago. Soooo good, I wish I had seen more performances. He’s quite funny.
My preferences change all the time too. Right now, I guess the favorite album is Blood and Chocolate but the one I’m listening to most is The Delivery Man (I didn’t like it much on the first few listens, but I’m really digging it now). And “Imagination (is a Powerful Deceiver)” is my favorite song at the moment. Or my eternal favorite “I Want You.” I was going to list other favorite songs, but the list is too long. I think my favorite cover is “I Threw It All Away.”
Gee, I really narrowed it down, didn’t I? Now I have to go change my music selection. I loves me some Elvis!
My favorite album vaccilates between This Year’s Model and Get Happy!!. My favorite song is either “Watching The Detectives” or “No Action” (or “I Hope You’re Happy Now” or “Beyond Belief” or…); “(What’s So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” is my favorite cover (and much better than the original Brinsley Schwarz version).
I’ve seen him live 3 or 4 times; once with just Steve Nieve, the rest with a band. I think his work’s been spotty since the 80s (Spike), but he’s always got a few decent songs per album.
Me too! I saw him in Philadelphia on this tour – he played for two and a half hours, and it ranks in the top three concerts I’ve attended.
I’d have to say my favorite album is “Brutal Youth,” because it was my introduction to the man and “You Tripped at Every Step” remains my favorite Costello song.
There are quite a few artists for whom or with whom Elvis has written songs or otherwise collaborated. You might want to track those down.
Oh, and as for my answers:
(1) Favorite album: Punch the Clock was my introduction to Mr. Costello, and so I have a soft spot for it, but I might go with Imperial Bedroom. Or Armed Forces. Or…
(2) Favorite song: Off the top of my head, “Veronica.” This might change if I really sat down and thought about it.
(3) Favorite cover: Song by someone else that Elvis covered, or song by Elvis that someone else covered? Either would be an interesting question, but I don’t have an answer.
The only Nick Lowe song I know is ‘Cruel to Be Kind’ but I like it - I’ll definitely check him out.
For cover I meant song written by someone else that Elvis sang, but the opposite is good too - anyone know of any good covers of Elvis originals? I am suspicious of the ‘tribute’ album on iTunes.
I am so envious of all you lucky ones who have seen him in concert - I wonder when (if?) he will next be on tour.
So what does the Dope think on the eternal question of ‘early’ vs ‘late’ Elvis? I personally think he has produced consistently good work, including his most recent few albums, aside from his ‘classical’ attempts - but I’m no classical music fan, really. I think ‘This Year’s Model’ and ‘Spike’ and ‘When I Was Cruel’ are all very worthy contributions, from very different periods.
I’ve just had a look at the photo, and while he’s not exactly a skyscraper, my boss is 5’8’’ and he comes up to Elvis’ ear. In comparison to the two other people in the photo, he looks quite tall and pretty wide-shouldered and solidly built. I had the impression that he was kinda short and wiry, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Nick Lowe’s first 2 albums are awesome - unfortunately, they’re hard to find on CD (at least in the U.S.), but they are available from his website. You could always get Basher: The Best of Nick Lowe for a good introduction. He produced a lot of Costello’s early albums (and also wrote “Peace, Love & Understanding”).
He’s touring soon (in the U.S., at least) - he’s coming to my town (San Francisco) on May 3rd.
I think later Elvis is pretty weak, for the most part - his strongest album since Spike has probably been When I Was Cruel, and even that’s not up to his '77-'89 material. There are good/great songs scattered among his later work, but most of his albums for the past 15 years have had a lot of filler (Mighty Like A Rose was his nadir, IMHO, unless you count The Juliet Letters, which I don’t).
I love EC’s stuff - I am partial to Watching the Detectives (the lingering organ note at the end of the chorus is one of my favorite moments in music) and Pump it Up (we play it in my band and watch the crowd pop).
In terms of Nick Lowe - you should really get Rockpile’s CD, Seconds of Pleasure. Just wonderful.
The Elvis playlist in my iPod is titled E.C. for me, see?
Favorite album: Get Happy!!, with honorable mentions for Imperial Bedroom, Brutal Youth, When I Was Cruel, hell, just about all of them.
Favorite song: no way to choose. Nope, can’t do it.
Favorite cover: “I Stand Accused.” His version of “Let’s Misbehave” in that Cole Porter biopic (the title escapes me at the moment even though I own the DVD) is also very cool.
Saw him live a couple of times in the Imperial Bedroom/Punch the Clock period.
Did you guys know that EC put out a single of “Pills And Soap” as by “The Imposter”? It’s apparently mega-scarce, as I haven’t seen another one, nor even a listing for it in catalogues. There are different mixes on each side, which have since been reissued on the deluxe “Punch The Clock” set.
And now that I think of it, John Wesley Harding: on some of his earlier albums, in particular, he’s reminiscent of Elvis Costello (and is backed up by some of the Attractions).