To me, part of the beauty of the Crimes of Paris is that I find some of its appeal in that I think of it as much as just a really long chorus , although my preferred version is the alternate version on disc 2 of the Rhino. Next Time Round (that bridge rocks!) seems a bit Armed Forces-like to me and I like it. Not the biggest BAC fan here but it includes some personal favorites like the above and I Hope You're Happy Now. Ha, that "single version" from Out of Our Idiot of Blue Chair has a very "80's" pop or new wave vibe to it. It's kind of silly but it's more fun than the lp version. The lp version fits fits with the kind of songs he was writing like with Paris and Hope You're Happy.
I think "B&C", "Spike", "Mighty Like a Rose" and "Brutal Youth" are all terrific albums, and they have all been "in rotation" since the day I got them. I'd add "Juliet Letters" to that list as well. "Couldn't Call It Unexpected" is my favorite Costello song. While the early albums are of course great, "CCIU" was a song he simply would not have been capable of writing in that period.
I actually don't remember if I listened to the last few tracks of Mighty Like A Rose. If I did, I've forgotten them. I have heard many good things about that track. I should relisten.
If you like "angry" more than "young" you should love Mighty Like A Rose. It may very well be his angriest record.
When I Was Cruel was the last album I heard and liked off the bat. The Delivery Man took some time to sink in, but I love that one too. Momofuku might be the last (non-collab) album of his I still listen to. Secret Profane and National Ransom just leave me cold.
I'm just glad to see a thread about an artist whom I truly treasure , other than the Beatles, believe me I worship at their altar too. But it gets to be a bit much when posters are debating how their farts smell. Anyway, back to Elvis. I guess next to the Beatles, he's my favorite artist. What's sad to me, is that the Beatles are universally loved while Elvis is very polarizing. I know quite a few people who detest him and it colors their view of his music. No doubt he's made some very curious career moves, but there is always something redeeming in every one of his releases. I think National Ransom by and large is excellent. I just don't want that to be his last full contribution to his catalog( other than collaborations and tribute albums etc.)
I was thinking the very same thing this morning. Listening to just the first 4 or 5 tracks on MLAR, you've got more than enough angry to go around - "professional liar", "funniest f***er in the world", even a crack at John Lennon.
I may be in the minority, but I think Declan overrates his vocal prowess. Solo he really over sings and I find it excruciating. Give me The Attractions (or the Imposters) any day
I miss either the exuberance of the Attractions or the emotional resonance of King Of America (or hell, maybe the reason I love that is because of the TCB Band). I don't feel either of those on anything post-Blood And Chocolate. I didn't feel any music on Mighty Like A Rose - just lyrics that I didn't really care for. Spike was more musical, but not by much.
Love this article - http://www.trunkworthy.com/the-elvis-costello-song-of-the-week-the-summer-song-from-hell/ Hard to believe the video for "The Other Side Of Summer" used to get regular airplay on MTV when it was released. Elvis, bearded and grinning, riding along the edge of a California cliff with models in tow... " 'The Other Side of Summer' is Entourage directed by David Lynch, peeling back that sun-soaked, hedonistic Hollywood fantasy to expose the crushed dreams, talent and ambition left in its wake."
Mighty Like a Rose often gets dismissed because of the extremely dense production. It's a real kitchen-sink record (though, in my opinion, in a creative and diverse way) and that can be exhausting on the first few listens (I remember a couple of terrible reviews when it was released that amounted to the reviewer huffing and puffing that they were far too busy and important to have to listen to an album more than once to 'get it'). But if you can look beyond that, I think it's his most focussed and impressive collection of songs from that era. My favourite Warners album by far is All This Useless Beauty, which I think is one of the best collections of songs he ever assembled, but it's a grab bag of greatest misses, whereas Mighty Like a Rose is a single, if wayward, body of work.
I agree that WHEN I WAS CRUEL is his last great memorable batch of songs. I also like THE DELIVERY MAN and MOMOFUKU is a return to form for "kick - a!@#" rock out quality!
This thread has inspired me to pull out some EC sets I hadn't listened to for a while. So far I've listened to the Pathways Demos and Live at The Nashville Rooms show from the Hip-O MAIT DE and the Kojak Variety bonus disc. I've just begun the Juliet Letters bonus disc. Such wonderful music.
I really love this song. I thought it should have been a hit single. But it's clear I have no insight into the pop charts.
Ditto. And if I were creating new music this good and the vast majority of the world was ignoring it, I might decide to maintain radio silence from now on too.
My favorite recording that was debuted on the Rhino reissues was almost certainly "Just Another Mystery" which opens the MLAR bonus disc (and towards the end of the disc it reappears as a demo). Can't believe it was cut from the album. I get chills from the concluding lines of the last stanza: "There was a joke but nobody spoke/the graveyard was decidedly odd/all the dead people turned into big trees/like hands pointing fingers at God." Since the neither of the released versions are on YouTube, here's it's live debut. Personal trivia: earlier in the tour, after the first show I requested he play "Just Another Mystery" the following night, that it would fit the "exile" theme of the evening quite well. He seemed genuinely surprised and intrigued by the request but sadly it didn't end up getting played (though I can't complain too much, as he did include another personal rarely played favorite "Deportee" that following evening). I can't help but wonder if I may have planted the seed that resulted in the later live debut of this song. Then again, the venue he played it was so intrinsically relevant to the lyrics of the song it seems far more likely that my whisper in his ear had no impact on it's inclusion. Either way, enjoy:
I love The Delivery Man. It is by far my fave release of his from the past 10 years. I never felt it got it's true recognition.
I like this song quite a bit as well. It seems like this and "Tommy's Coming Home" were two cracks at a similar story. Perhaps he kept "Just Another Mystery" back because he thought Mr. McCartney might be making use of "Tommy's Coming Home" shortly and he didn't want two similarly-themed songs out there? Just a guess. So you've been whispering in Elvis's ear? Do tell! Details please.
He's really accessible to fans after shows. I've got no juicy private gossip. Basically my personal relationship with him seems to be at the point where I'm fairly sure he recognizes me, but he certainly has no idea what my name is. Most of our interactions have been weird and awkward, which was perhaps inevitable after I shared an anecdote with him during our first meeting about a news article I'd read about a medical student who would sing the chorus of "God's Comic" ("Now I'm dead/Now I'm dead/Now I'm dead") while cutting into cadavers. Hey, did you know "Tommy's Coming Home" finally got it's live debut, too? Elvis Costello - Tommy's Coming Home - Carnegie Hall ...
