# Help me get started with Elvis Costello **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [June 6, 2024, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572 "2024-06-06T23:31:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572/21 "2024-06-07T22:12:31Z")
Elvis Costello is an astoundingly good songwriter. I like all that great early stuff most everyone here has been recommending and a goodly portion of his excursions into different genres over the past few decades but let me recommend a wonderful album from 2022: “A Boy Named If” [Magnificent Hurt](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s-K2_sFBos) from that album ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572/22 "2024-06-07T22:26:04Z")
And how about this thing of beauty from his 2020 album “Hello Clockface”: [Byline](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVeAk72JHbg) ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572/23 "2024-06-08T00:17:05Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > es! I’d say everything up to and including _Imperial Bedroom_ (1982). Then he released a couple of clunky albums but came back strong with _King of America_ and _Blood & Chocolate_ (both 1986). However, since then, nothing from Elvis has made an impression on me. > [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Add me to the Old Costello list. I’m surprised to read these … IMO his output from the 90s and early 2000s is as good as anything he’s ever done! Specifically: - Brutal Youth (1994) - All This Useless Beauty (1996) - When I Was Cruel (2002) I’d urge a (re-)listen to those! ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572/24 "2024-06-08T09:23:11Z")
@Askance, you know what – I’ll give those discs another spin! Also, I did kinda like the sound of _Momofuku_ (2008). On a related note… I’d urge any EC fan here who hasn’t already listened to **Graham Parker** to give him a try! He never got as much attention as Elvis, but the music, lyrics, and attitude are all Costello-adjacent. (And his debut album actually came out a year before EC’s.) Graham Parker’s first six studio albums are all great, but the best is _Squeezing Out Sparks_ (1979). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fa7pxphgmjQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Don't Get Excited") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa7pxphgmjQ) ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572/25 "2024-06-08T12:21:16Z")
And it just so happens that I’m going to see Nick Lowe next weekend in Hartford. Nick produced EC’s first five albums, as well as two of Graham Parker’s albums (but not _Squeezing Out Sparks_). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572/26 "2024-06-08T14:34:17Z")
This older “Elvis Costello Appreciation Thread” should be of interest: > [@Elvis Costello Appreciation Thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-appreciation-thread/396564): > > Seems to me the Dope would have some EC fans… So - let’s appreciate Elvis! 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 interest… ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2024, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572/27 "2024-06-09T02:19:58Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > Graham Parker’s first six studio albums are all great, but the best is _Squeezing Out Sparks_ (1979). Yes! Yes! Yes! Another lp I nearly wore out back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572/28 "2024-06-09T02:50:52Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > I think Blood and Chocolate is a fantastic album. Perhaps my favorite of his. It still shows a lot of the raw-edged punk sound. Mine as well. I particularly like the extended version with all the extra material, Unlike many artists, I find EC’s extended reissues of his classic material all very worth listening to. From solo acoustic versions, to live cuts, to b-sides, most of it is pretty good stuff. For those who like early but not late EC, I found 2002’s [When I was Cruel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_I_Was_Cruel) to be a pretty good throwback to the style of his earlier albums. Well worth a listen for Costello fans at least. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2024, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572/29 "2024-06-09T03:12:15Z")
Trivia tidbit: Elvis’ early backing band Clover featured singer and harmonica player Huey Lewis. And speaking of EC backing bands, I always thought Attraction’s bassist Bruce Thomas was their secret weapon. Great player…I loved the way he would smack the butt of his bass against his stack to put a little emphasis on the end of some songs. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2024, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572/30 "2024-06-11T01:51:17Z")
I’m not his biggest fan, but _ **Shipbuilding** _ is an anti-war song, written and produced during the Falklands war. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l\_aLSsjZMr8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_aLSsjZMr8/) ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2024, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572/31 "2024-06-11T04:43:26Z")
Bruce’s line on “This Year’s Girl” is quite impressive. There are several YT videos of other bass players playing the song and it is quite fascinating to see it played in close-up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-get-started-with-elvis-costello/1002572.md?page=1)