His Spike album was the first I really connected with and ever since I collected ALL of his work.

I was drawn to him because he did a duet with The Eurythmics, which I loved. Then I heard Chewing Gum and I was addicted.

Not even realising how unbelievably kewl all his other work is...

So; HEI HO ELVIS COSTELLO!

HUEY LOVES YA!

I never got into him. I love the cover he did for that movie with Julia Roberts. Guess he's another artist to check out

E.C. is the MAN! I think he lives here in Seattle, now (with his wife, Diana Krall) cause he's spotted all over town.

I'm still playing this one: (the cd and the Video)






...
[Edited 4/10/06 10:22am]

paligap said:

I love this album - it was criminally overlooked on its release.

I don't have whole lots of his stuff, but I am for sure a fan. I saw him in concert a few years ago and it was amazing!

I'm a fan

I've always liked Elvis and "Spike" is a great album but I think the one after ("Mighty Like A Rose") was stronger. And now that a special edition of "The Juliet Letters" is out, I gotta get that!

HamsterHuey said:

Thought Costello went into tailspin with Spike - with the exception of Brutal Youth, the first Attractions reunion album. Everything he made prior to Spike is worth checking out.

My top 5 favourites are:

Blood & Chocolate
King of America
Imperial Bedroom
This Year's Model
Armed Forces


Then ....

Get Happy
My Aim Is True
Almost Blue
Trust
Punch the Clock

Finally ...

Brutal Youth
All This Useless Beauty
Goodbye Cruel World - Costello considers this the woprst album he ever made; it's not, by a long stretch.

All this Useless Beauty is my favorite. I only know it from the Rhino reissue, but it has the best and most varied songs, imo. Do any of you know if "Complicated Shadows" is based on the film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance? It's something I've always wondered because the lyrics seem to hint that it is.

Besides that, I love:
Armed Forces
My Aim is True
Trust

But I own all of 'em.

MartyMcFly said:

Excellent collection but I think it's out of print. I know he released a two disc collection a few years back (I think it was right before he went into a period of making non-pop music) but I'm not sure if it includes all those songs. His Warner Bros years collection is great even if people think he kind of lost his touch then.

VinnyM27 said:

The Very Best of(w/green cover) used to be an import, but it's now available in the U.S. Mine(which is the import version) has all of his hits up to and including "She" from Notting Hill. Otherwise, there are two hits collctions which split up his songs by record label.

I remember dancing to Watching The Detectives with my mom, when I was SIX! Stupid I forgot, we had the single.

My mom loved that track.

Anybody reading this thread who is thinking of maybe getting into EC would do well to seek out "I Want You" off Blood and Chocolate and love his genius.

I'm a huge Elvis fan. I also got into him around Spike.

I just bought the remastered Get Happy with 30 song bonus disc.

My favorites in approximate order are:

My Aim Is True
Armed Forces
Get Happy
Imperial Bedroom
King of America

This Year's Model
Blood & Chocolate
Brutal Youth
Mighty Like A Rose
The Delivery Man

Spike
The Juliet Letters
Punch The Clock
Trust
Goodbye Cruel World

Taking Liberties
Out of Our Idiot
When I Was Cruel
All This Useless Beauty
Almost Blue

I haven't heard:
North
Painted By Memory

So in otherwords, there's not really a bad Elvis Costello record, though some are much better than others.

NDRU said:

Actually, North is a bad Elvis cd. Bad, bad, bad. Painted by Memory is pretty good, although I haven't listened to it in awhile.

u2prnce said:

What I heard about North didn't interest me. Isn't it slow piano/voice stuff?

NDRU said:

Yeah. I just didn't hear any real songs on it. Pretty weak, imo. I couldn't remember a single song on it after listening to it a couple of times.

Wow, I don't feel that way about "North" at all. I think it's an absolutely gorgeous album, and the songs are very much there. It's just that it has to be absorbed as an album two or three times before it hits you. It's very subtle, and it requires a lot of attention from the listener. But once it grabs you, it never lets go. I find it to be the most beautiful album in his catalog (though not his best all around).

u2prnce said:

I wanted that album but didn't buy it right away, so it's been one I had on my wish list for a while....guess I should avoid it, though. Thanks.

VinnyM27 said:

You're gonna listen to me?? I picked All this Useless Beauty as one of my favorites and no one here rates that album. lol I think the bonus discs in the Rhino re-issues are really cool, too. Great liner notes by Elvis on all of the re-issues. I didn't really know about Elvis until a few years ago and the liner notes really helped me catch up on his history.

It would be great if Prince had re-issues that were quality like these...

u2prnce said:

I remember I got pretty into The Juliet Letters and I talked to some girl who said when she thought of Elvis, she thought of Pump It Up, and she just found the Juliet Letters to be annoying.

Elvis is kind of like Prince in that respect. After the first few albums you don't know quite what to expect from him. Some fans like that and some don't. So I wouldn't count out North. Same with Goodbye Cruel World. It's a great album (as Shapeshifter said), just not very representative of his style for the most part. It's very slick & pop.

Like you said, I wish Prince was more like Elvis with respect to the reissues. When you're re-buying albums you know well, it's pretty nice that they're remastered with great liner notes, and have whole other discs of music!

Spike is an amazing album. Deep Dark Truthful Mirror is sublime. Allen Toussaint is incredible on that tune. Pads, Paws & Claws is another of my favorites on that disc.

The personnel on that album is incredible, as well. Among others:

* Paul McCartney
* T-Bone Burnett
* The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
* Chrissie Hynde
* Jim Keltner
* Roger McGuinn
* Benmont Tench
* Allen Toussaint
* T–Bone Wolk





In fact, Spike may be the last Costello album that I truly loved. I appreciate his subsequent work, but I don't own it.

I am looking forward to the new one, tho.

Stax said:

All you said makes sense. It's still my fave album cuz it is the album that made me fall in love with his music.
Before Spike I knew of him, but thought he made weird music. Then i found out he did all these different styles and started collecting.

But Spike... Spike is FUNKY. Chewing Gum... I blow that outa my speakers loud ALWAYS. And I love Elvis for superbly using the instrument Prince once admitted disliking; the trombone.

TAKE THAT CHEWING GUM OUTA YOUR EARS!

HamsterHuey said:

The horn arangements on Spike are cool.

Blood and Chocolate (the 2 toughest stains to get out) will always be my favorite Costello...for sentimental reasons - it was my first album of his and I just happened to get it after being dumped - and because there's a timelessness to the recording of the album. Nothing about the production gives away the year this album was recorded. Considering all this, it was very tough to transition to Spike! ...but I've learned to appreciate it over time.

Though Costello wouldn't be the first singer/songwriter to go a little batty with new music styles (it almost seems inevitable), I think he's done this with a lot more integrity than others. Albums like The Juliet Letters or Painted From Memory sound as though he's committed to what he's doing. I might not always want to follow him to those places, but it seems like he gets a lot of support from new fans.

I'm just happy that in spite of this he can turn out some great pop/rock albums like All This Useless Beauty or The Delivery Man...he doesn't seem to have lost his edge with age.

PeteZarustica said:

The Delivery Man reminds me a lot of Blood & Chocolate. For a couple of years (after Brutal Youth) I wasn't feeling Elvis' new stuff. It's never bad, it felt like he was maybe forcing good material rather than being inspired.

But Delivery Man brings back some of the inspired melody & hooks that I wasn't hearing in When I was Cruel & All This Useless Beauty. Plus I like the production.

jackmitz said:

Here? I hadn't heard, but that would be welcome...

When he was promoting 'When I was Cruel', he performed an in-store at Easy Street...my gal and I were pretty lucky - someone snuck us in the back door while he was performing his sound check. Here we were, standing 10 feet away from greatness trying to look like we belonged there...

Yeah! I've seen him at the QFC on Pike and Broadway a few times....