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 from that album
And how about this thing of beauty from his 2020 album “Hello Clockface”: Byline
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:
I’d urge a (re-)listen to those!
@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).
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).
This older “Elvis Costello Appreciation Thread” should be of interest:
Yes! Yes! Yes! Another lp I nearly wore out back in the day.
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 to be a pretty good throwback to the style of his earlier albums. Well worth a listen for Costello fans at least.
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.
I’m not his biggest fan, but Shipbuilding is an anti-war song, written and produced during the Falklands war.
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.