The last Elvis Costello album you really cared about

Elvis Costello is one of my favorite artists of all time. Most people would agree the his "classic era" is from My Aim is True to Blood and Chocolate, but after 86 to me his output is spotty. to me my favorite post 86 are Brutal Youth, When I Was Cruel, and Momofuku. I was curious to find out what is the last EC album you really cared about.

 

I love ElCo, but anything after All this Useless Beauty is just a bore to me. Fortunately I pretty much love every single song he wrote before that, so that leaves me with something like 456 lps worth of tunes to cherish.

 

Momofuku but I haven't listened to it in a couple years. I also liked Delivery Man and Cruel but I would have to go back to King Of America for something I really care about and I don't even like ALL of that.

 

The classic era for me is My Aim Is True to Imperial Bedroom. Punch The Clock and Goodbye Cruel World were two non-classics in a row. I like to think of Almost Blue as a side project.

 

Yeah, for me Momofuku is the last album of his that I really enjoyed. I feel like Brutal Youth is his best album since Blood and Chocolate though.

 

Vastly underrated album, IMO. The other one is not, but the songs are great.

 

Wise Up Ghost.

 

loved everything up to and including punch the clock. waned after that till "painted from memory"

worship the bacharach collaboration, "painted from memory".
thought the collaboration with "the roots" was of excellent quality too so i am anxiously awaiting the new one coming soon.

 

I would say Get Happy, although I think Armed Forces is his classic album.

 

I have every Elvis Costello album. My last beginning to end favorite is The River In Reverse (I'm also a big Allen Toussaint fan).

I personally put The River In Reverse and When I Was Cruel up there with most of his 1977-1986 albums.

 

BRUTAL YOUTH is the only post-Columbia album that gets listens anymore. I don't think he's terribly effective singing non-rock for an entire album.

 

Punch The Clock. I saw Elvis several times on his first U.S. tour and became a huge fan. Saw him many many times in the following years. The tour with Rockpile and Mink DeVille. Epic shows including the 1981 New Year's Eve show in NYC. Some fabulous shows on the Imperial Bedroom tour. But Goodbye Cruel World ended his winning streak for me and nothing after that came close to his work up until then.

Bruce Thomas was / is a tremendous bass player. A key part of the band. Greatly missed.

 

Even though I own a few of the later albums, Spike was probably the last one I care for as an entire album.

 

MIGHTY LIKE A ROSE. Elvis's later career vexes me. Maybe it's me and not him. But even when he returns to modes of his I always loved---scrappy rock, emotional americana, baroque arty song---in the past 25 years and I can't necessarily insist "oh he's doing this whole different thing I never liked"---I just never like it anymore. It just doesn't work. I wish I understood why. I think in some respects an attempt on his part to me more straightforward and less twisted, more classicist, in his lyric writing has something to do with it. But I can't bear listening to anything since MIGHTY straight through with any pleasure. (I have not heard all of them, though likely 80 percent of them)

Even something like CRUEL WORLD which seems objectively "worse" than say SUGARCANE or WHEN I WAS CRUEL, I'd prefer to sit down and listen to CRUEL WORLD.

 

I would say King of America. But truthfully, every Elvis Costello album since then has been worth a listen and all of them contain at least a couple of gems.

 

Blood And Chocolate for me. Although Spike held my attention for awhile.

 

I've got everything (multiple CD releases, and even vinyl of some!) from My Aim Is True through Punch The Clock (skipping Almost Blue). I probably should give some of the other stuff a whirl, given I love the stuff I have.

 

Unlike earlier days when every album contained more than a couple of gems!

 

Mighty Like A Rose

 

Momofuku. That album is classic Costello to me.

 

I, for one, care a great deal about the album rumored for release in Autumn 2018.

 

Hm. Well, true confession: All This Useless Beauty was at the last one I felt I had a strong relationship with.
But I certainly don't mind when Painted from Memory tracks or When I Was Cruel tracks turn up on my playlists. It may be that I just haven't given these albums the chance as albums. And I sometimes think of picking Momofuku.

 

Imperial Bedroom was my last, remember it well, but I recall caring so deeply about the first albums that I have to answer the question with Taking Liberties and Get Happy, whichever came latest in 1980... Armed Forces/This Year's Model/Get Happy -- those were hard to top. Not to mention the debut record -- an absolute revelation for the dawn of the New Wave period.

 

Really, I haven't heard anything about a new Elvis Costello album. I'm so excited about this news!