Elvis Costello: News, Conversation, Analysis, Criticism & Opinion

Okay monkey, speak your mind!

Sadly I can't find an EC rendition on YouTube. But I nominate this to be the theme song for this thread:

 

In the area of news, according to an Amazon listing, there seems to be a new 2CD soundtrack coming out next month to accompany his upcoming memoir.

http://www.amazon.com/Unfaithful-Music-Soundtrack-Album-COSTELLO/dp/B014K8FLTM/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1441243900&sr=8-9&keywords=Elvis Costello

As no track listing is included, it remains an open question if it's just another Greatest Hits compilation (or even an existing one that's been re-titled), or if it will include rarities and/or unreleased material. Or will he fully emulate Bob Dylan and the approach he took with the No Direction Home "soundtrack" that was almost entirely composed of unreleased versions of his most seminal early songs.

 

I sure hope so re some unreleased stuff for the 2 cd set!

 

Frankly, I would be surprised if it doesn't contain a few such tracks however I can see how this memoir could appeal to music buffs, historians, and a few readers as such anyway, and how the two disc set would be a greatest hits compilation for marketing or publicity purposes. Hand in Hand so to speak with the memoir and possibly reclaim a few old fans and maybe even interest a half dozen new ones and then do a straight forward retro like greatest hits tour which actually to my mind would not be a bad idea. I have only seen him in concert a handful of times and none of those concerts were by and large exclusively focused on an all hits or fm radioplay or music video kind of setlist.

 

Kind of think that the "And Disappearing Ink" part of the book title would require "All The Rage" to be on the soundtrack.

 

On that note, "Country Darkness" is the only song of his that comes to mind which includes the word "unfaithful" (Suffer little children/repent, unfaithful maid). Any others?

Many of his songs explore that theme, of course!

 

Elvis Costello is the Stephen Colbert of Rock and Roll.

 

now THIS is the truth!

 

Great idea for a thread! Here's a question which should get some responses rolling in - name some acts/genres you've investigated and enjoyed by first listening to Elvis. I'm (totally) paraphrasing here, but Aimee Mann once said something to the effect of, "Elvis is basically a conduit for good music". I can't count the times I've read an interview with EC, and he'll rattle off some names or albums, and it's led me down a new road. When he gets a sympathetic, like-minded interviewer, reading his responses can be like browsing through a record store.

 

Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... was/is a brilliant show and easily one of the, if not the, greatest music-related shows of all-time.

 

It was definitely Elvis who turned me on to Jesse Winchester.

 

A great cover shot to a great book:
Taking Aim: Unforgettable Rock 'n' Roll Photographs - Graham Nash.

Elvis Costello on tour in Amsterdam, The Netherlands,
1977. Photo by Anton Corbijn.

 

And the finest moment that night (indeed the entire show) was all Jesse. Not often do you see EC left speechless:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uKGWpqnS8E

 

Couldn't agree more!

One great starting point on that end is the article EC's wrote for VanityFair where he assembled a list of his top 500 (!) albums. There is a lifetime of great listening to be found in it (though he severely underestimates the relative value of his own work):

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2000/11/elvis-costello-500-favorite-albums

 

The one thing that sticks with me about Elvis is how he his voice has improved over the years. He seems to have realized, some way down the line, that the voice is an instrument, and he has honed his own into something great. I'm probably way off the wall here, but I get the impression that it's taken a conscious effort for him, and that he's worked hard on it. All to great effect.

Musically he's also just gotten better and better, allowing inlouences to b more prevalent, as though he's happy to be a musician playing music, rather than Elvis Costello playing music, if that makes any sense. For me he's one of the few artists who started out with some monster albums that probably should have defined his career - but somehow he managed to have alter periods that may not tweak the nostalgia bump, but are nonetheless probably better. Such a great artist, even if his last album still leaves me scratching my head.

 

And the follow-up article from 2002 - http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Vanity_Fair,_November_2002

 

If this is the new catch-all thread for Elvis, I'd like to ask this - why is "Watch Your Step" so popular? I like the tune, but it sounds identical to "Secondary Modern" (to the point that it confused my father, who loves his first four albums but hadn't heard much beyond that), and it doesn't really scream 'hit' to me the way "Clubland" does. Again, I love the song, but I don't get why it's singled out as one of the seminal tracks from the album. When I first heard Trust I thought they had accidentally duplicated "Secondary Modern".

 

I'd totally forgotten about that piece. So good. Love the line "dogs fear human tears nearly as much as lightning" and his description of Tom Waits' Alice as a "masterpiece of dark mirrors and frozen earth."

Ever notice this guy has a way with words?

 

I'm basically going to be devoting most of the autumn to reading the new autobiography...again...and again...and...

As an aside, Elton John was so hurt that he wasn't on the 500 best list, that EC made sure to single him out with Tumbleweed Connection in the 2002 piece. I believe they became chummy through Diana Krall, which would explain why their wedding took place at Elton's castle.

 

Agreed and well said!

 

Sometimes I read lyrics but mostly I don't. That math doesn't really add up lol but anyway it's like I have read lyrics before and been like it sounded better to me than when reading it or I thought it was one way that I liked and found it something else I didn't lol so with Country Darkness I imagined hearing "unfaithful knave" which I guess is a double negative? but sounds more bitter to me when sung in the song. Now I know its wrong lol but thats okay as I still love that song.

 

We now have an answer, and it is indeed "some." Not much, though:

Disc: 1
1. Accidents Will Happen
2. Poison Moon
3. Watching The Detectives
4. Oliver's Army
5. Riot Act
6. New Lace Sleeves
7. Man Out Of Time
8. I Want You
9. When I Was Cruel No.2
10. Stranger In The House
11. Beyond Belief
12. Home Truth
13. Indoor Fireworks
14. Shipbuilding
15. Cinco Minutos Con Vos
16. Bedlam
17. Deep Dark Truthful Mirror
18. Ascension Day
19. Red Cotton

Disc: 2
1. Veronica [demo]
2. In The Darkest Place
3. I Want To Vanish
4. My Dark Life
5. The Other Side Of Summer
6. London's Brilliant Parade
7. Ghost Train
8. Suit Of Lights
9. Jimmie Standing In The Rain
10. The Birds Will Still Be Singing
11. Wise Up Ghost
12. Almost Blue
13. All The Rage
14. Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4
15. Alison
16. My Three Sons
17. I'm In The Mood Again
18. April 5th
19. I Can't Turn It Off

 

The unreleased tracks are the last two. "April 5th" is a collaboration with Rosanne Cash and Kris Kristofferson. The other is a very early solo recording that was partially heard in the recent Mystery Dance documentary.

April 5th you can hear on Soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/rosannecash/02-april-5th-with-elvis

 

Although I'm disappointed it's so light on true rarities, I have to tip my hat to this compilation. It looks like a superb overview even if shies away (somewhat) from the hits. Nothing from This Year's Model, remarkably.

 

An eclectic musical collection!