I became a huge fan early on, starting with My Aim Is True. Elvis could do no wrong, I thought, even though he strayed more than most. I ate up Imperial Bedroom, Almost Blue, Kojak Variety, and Painted from Memory (all of these veered significantly).
Even most of his lesser albums held sparks of genius: Brutal Youth (Sulky Girl), Punch the Clock (Love Went Mad), Goodbye Cruel World (Inch by Inch).
But not everything, I came to learn, was golden. Try as I might, I can’t abide Juliet Letters, North, or the stuff with Anne Sofie von Otter.
The bottom line is that I appreciate the innovation and the evolution. As wonderful as My Aim is True is, I cringe at the thought of 35 years of variations of Alison and Watching the Detectives.
mmm
I bought EC’s first three albums around the time of Imperial Bedroom’s release, then Punch The Clock through King of America, back-filling the four I skipped in the middle after already having my doubts about Spike and what followed shortly after. Looking back, I wholeheartedly agree with your appreciation of the progression.
Other artists that I had gravitated toward as a young’un, on the other hand, had released material in the 80’s that sullied their back catalog for me so much that it took years to regain any appreciation; the aforementioned Synchronicity, The Cars’ Panorama, ELO’s Discovery (1979 actually), Billy Joel’s The Nylon Curtain, and Squeeze’s Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti come to mind.
When Neil Young released Reactor and Trans an eyebrow was raised, but once Everybody’s Rockin’ came out a year later, faith was restored. Similarly, Talking Heads looked like they were headed down the dustbin for me with Little Creatures, but I thought their last two releases before they broke up were strong.
I really did try to embrace whatever 80’s bands that I liked, but it was an exhaustive sifting effort, and I inevitably dug further into blues and older music for more heartfelt songwriting.
I feel I must take myself to task; von Otter’s version of the Beatles’ For No One is magnificent (although Elvis’ thumbprint on the recording is subtle).
mmm
I’m inclined to agree, though generally I don’t like the results when opera stars stray from their genre.
Speaking of Costello and people straying from their genres, I was pleasantly surprised by his contribution to 1994’s The Glory of Gershwin tribute album: “But Not For Me.” It probably shouldn’t be very surprising, given that his wife is Diana Krall, but I was happy to hear both (a) the verse, and (b) that his style – particularly his phrasing – fits the song well.
Goo Goo Dolls were one of my favorite bands until they because the go-to movie soundtrack band.
I stopped buying their albums after A Boy Named Goo. I’ve downloaded selected tracks since then, but only ones with Robby Takac on lead vocals – he’s about a million times the rock singer that John Rzeznik tries to be.
Most likely. I’m in it for the sound I like. I usually don’t even know who performs the song. The only time I will is when I keep encountering a bunch of songs I like by the same artist.
But, honestly, for a musician, listening (rather than playing) music doesn’t play nearly as big part of my life as you’d expect. You’d expect it to be more, not less than most people. More often than not, I’m listening to music because I want to play it.
I dumped Queensryche after Q2K and Sign of the Times. It wasn’t that they changed their sound; it’s that their new sound was awful. Same thing happened with Stabbing Westward and their self-titled album (though it was only like their fourth).