I love Elvis!!! I love his restless spirit and the inability to peg him down into one (or ten) categories.
1) Favourite album?
Like that’s even possible. This is hard even by breaking it down by decade because several fight for top positions
70’s: Tie: My Aim Is True / This Year’s Model / Armed Forces
80’s: Tie: Get Happy!! / Spike
90’s: Brutal Youth
00’s: Tie: When I Was Cruel / The Delivery Man
2) Favourite song?
It largely depends on the mood and changes from hour to hour. Right this second, it’s Attractions-era throwback “Monkey to Man” from the Delivery Man. That song scorches! And the video is a load silly fun, too.
3) Favourite cover?
I mainly like MacManus for his songwriting, but I love his rendition of Let’s Misbehave from the movie “De-Lovely.”
Checked him out on iTunes - amusing review says ‘it’s no fault of his that God gave him the same vocal chords as Elvis Costello’.
Thanks for the good recommendations all!
I have to stick up a little bit for Mighty Like A Rose -‘The Other Side of Summer’ is one of my very favourites, and ‘Couldn’t Call It Unexpected No. 4’ is pretty awesome. But as a whole album, it lacks something I think.
It’s telling how few of us are able to pick exact favourites…
I love that song and video! I saw it for the first time up very late one night, around Christmas, in Spain on some ‘TOP 40 VIDEOS’ station on the hotel TV. Surreal, but awesome.
And the rest of the album is very good, too - people who don’t like ‘late’ EC, what do you think of ‘When I Was Cruel’ and ‘The Delivery Man’?
My introduction to radioplay Elvis Costello convinced me that he was a very approachable new wave/punk: loaded lyrics over very simple music. Banging out three chords and being the punk Buddy Holly sounded good.
Then, I began hearing the songs between the singles, and his progression over time, and came to love that there is so much there. He can be subtle or a sledgehammer, and his composition has grown more clever and complex over time. He is a totally unique artist.
I have to admit, I like the gentler songs better, even if the lyrics are that much more bitter: Shipbuilding, Indoor Fireworks, Alison, Brilliant Mistake, Man out of Time.
Unsurprisingly, my favorite cover is another slow sip of cold, bitter coffee: “Good Year for the Roses,” written by Jerry Chesnut, and originally sung by George Jones.
Imperial Bedroom is my favorite album, “I Don’t Want to go to Chelsea” favorite tune.
Imperial Bedroom Has some of the best songwriting, best playing and arrangements as well as great studio production. It flows better than most Costello records IMO
As a tune Chelsea is pure aggression, from a songwriter standpoint it might not be his best tune but from a listener standpoint it is one of his tastiest numbers.
Declan MacManus could do no wrong up through Imperial Bedroom. King of America had some fine moments but after that one I kind of lost interest.
The Attractions were a hell of a band. I miss the Bass playing of Bruce Thomas . The whole band was just amazing! As a Bass player I thought that B. Thomas just made those great albums groove like no one else could.
Favorite collaboration album: Painted From Memory with Burt Bacharach
Artists I got turned on to because of him: Burt Bacharach (I’ve even seen him in concert a few times!) and Nick Lowe (Dig my Mood and The Convincer are masterpieces IMHO)
I’ve seen him in concert at least 4 times, and have only met him in a dream I had once.
And I, personally, could listen to The Juliet Letters 1000 times and never get tired of it- I think it’s a fantastic album.
I second the Nick Lowe catalogue. You can’t really go wrong picking any or all of it. The guy has a wicked sense of humor, too. When David Bowie put out an album called “Low”, Nick put out an EP called “Bowi.”
He did a tour back in '86(?) that featured a big wheel with song titles on it. Audience members got to come up and spin to choose the next song. What a fun show that was…I think they played “Alison” three times that night.
Ah, you can handle it. I really like the “Mule Variations.” There’s some odd stuff, which I dig, but also some very sweet songs, such as “Picture in a Frame” and “Take It With Me.”
I’ve always liked him for his own work, but, really have admired him to coming to the fore withpost Katrina mess in NOLA. He really stepped up to the plate by recording with Allen Toussaint, a New Orleans icon. Costello is not just coming down to NOLA on a benevolent swoop, either; he has been to Mississippi in the past few years to learn and record with many other artists. His presence is always a great boost to the area, recording-wise.
