Elvis Costello: Classic or Dud

I had to look up the lyrics to “Black and White World” this morning and was musing about Costello’s hubris leading to Get Happy! I used to DJ in college for KTRU in Houston, and we had this DJ named Justin who I knew who was very geeky about alternative rock (from what I remember his favorite band was Television). At one point I listened to a brief interview he did with Costello backstage in Houston (which would have been before my time, because our policy when I was there was very crust punk no major label ever goes on our playlist, although we still had a library of older more mainstream stuff). Justin starts breathlessly gushing about The Bevis Frond to Costello, and Costello says something like “Oh, I haven’t heard of them, they must be new.” Justin replies, “No, its an English guy who’s about your age.” Costello’s reply: “He must not be very good then if I haven’t heard of him.” I get that the kid was annoying you, but really, Declan?

(Speaking of KTRU, I once had the privilege of having the entire membership of Spoon apologize to me for putting on what they thought was a bad show, I guess because they thought I was the station manager. No, they put on a great set that opened with a cover of “I Can’t Stand It” by the Velvets, which six people saw in a muddy field in Houston in 1997 because our station manager, who shall remain nameless, didn’t promote the gig at all. It was an all-day festival we were putting on, and he also forgot to get lights for the stage. There was a big to do about procuring them the day of because the headliners of the show would be playing at night, which would be why he wasn’t there to be wrongly apologized to instead.)

Black & White World is my favorite tune on the whole album. Always thought it was some "real life is never as good as the fantasy" trip.

I recently watched the Live Stiffs tour documentary and he's very nearly absent from it. He's there, and he performs, but he's clearly out of place.

New wife and child? Unease (at that point) with road debauchery? Maybe the filmmakers wanted him to look like the mysterious proto-grownup. Someone makes a joke about Joe Loss and gets quickly shut down.

Is that where Ian Dury and Costello are competing to be the stars of the tour and Larry Wallis et al are competing to see who can get most pissed?

Man, the songs, arrangements and performances of those first six or 7 albums - in five years! - are just so creative and incredible.

That is a fair assessment. My basic path is as follows:

My Aim Is True - classic
This Year's Model - very good
Armed Forces - great but uneven
Get Happy - great but uneven
Trust - great but uneven
Almost Blue - classic
Imperial Bedroom - classic but overreaches in a few places
Punch the Clock - classic

(We don't discuss Goodbye Cruel World)

King of America - classic
Blood & Chocolate - very good
Spike - great but uneven

(Then I snooze for a while)

All This Useless Beauty - classic
Kojak Variety - very good

(Then I just can't anymore. River of Dud. North is the dullest record I ever bought on purpose.)

Hmm, I'd say:

My Aim is True: Classic but uneven
This Year's Model: Classic
Armed Forces: Mostly classic
Trust: Mostly classic
Get Happy: Not uneven but just short of classic
Almost Blue: outlier
Imperial Bedroom: Uneven but classic
Trust: Classic but uneven
Punch the Clock: Pretty consistent but not classic
King of America: Classic but uneven
Blood and Chocolate: Mostly classic
Spike: solid/uneven
various b-sides collections: by definition uneven, but pretty great
most everything else: mostly uneven but sometimes pretty good
North and beyond: good if you only listen to music promoted by NPR

Im verrry close to josh on the shape of the curve, but my drop off starts after punch the clock- i always wonder if i just ran out of fucks to give, so...good enuf. I mean i’ve had several others since ptc but so uneven for me and just not special as collections or works.

Id bump up imperial bedroom, to me it is a stone cold classick

KOA has garbage: Eisenhower Blues, The Poisoned Rose, Glitter Gulch, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.

The way I think of it is, those first albums are sooooo good, the playing and arrangements and most of the songs and all, that ... what more do I want? Just an incredible run with the Attractions. I can't imagine anyone staying that good for much longer.

I don't like Glitter Gulch (It's EC's Lily Rosemary & the Jack of Hearts, which I also don't like), but I like Poisoned Rose and Don't Let Me...

I generally agree about the drop-off in quality and consistency but I love ATUB.

Side 1 of Trust remains his high point for me.

Side 2 of This Year's Model, man

"Black and White World" from Get Happy

Even when the songs aren't at their absolute best the performances are never less than a total joy. I could listen to the Attractions tune.

I had a weird experience with Elvis because I listened to Spike and the Brodsky Quartet records first - I used to love "Let Him Dangle", of all songs - before I moved to the earlier, better stuff.

I like every record up to and including "Useless Beauty", with the exception of Kojak Variety, which, in retrospect, is the real preview of Elvis's terrible 2000s - not the Brodsky record, which I don't mind at all. Kojak has all the bad qualities - weird song choice, charmlessness, oversinging and boring guitar playing - of his late 90s/2000s work. And then "When I was Cruel" is the first back-to-basics Elvis record that's a complete failure. (It's so hard to listen to! And boring!)

Imperial Bedroom remains the classic for me - the only one I still want to listen to beginning to end without cherry-picking. And King of America sounds really drab to me these days.

Of the late stuff I seem to remember thinking Momofuku was the least terrible.

And, I would say, his autobigoraphy is fun and he seems like a mensch these days.

When I Was Cruel is really good

I had a weird experience with Elvis because I listened to Spike and the Brodsky Quartet records first - I used to love "Let Him Dangle", of all songs - before I moved to the earlier, better stuff.

Yep. And I loved MLAR in '91.

Some of my favourite Elvis songs on those records - God's Comic, Couldn't Call it Unexpected, Taking My Life in Your Hands...

Brodsky is great singing record - it's the last one before the raspy vibrato nonsense take over

He makes too many long records the last 30 years. When I Was Cruel would have been great with about 20 minutes cut off. Momofuku was a lean 12 songs and excellent. Having said that, all of Brutal Youth justifies the length, but it's (most likely) a one-off of his 50+ minute albums.

I like assorted bits of late (?) Elvis. Some of the Toussaint stuff, Spooky Girlfriend. His book was pretty solid; so was his show. I don't mind him; I just won't follow his every move like I did in 1986.

spike was also my first; i recall rolling stone heralding it as 'his best since . . .' which was weird because while i like it, blood & chocolate and king of america are both better

macca tho

In looking backward I think I have said most of what I want to say already in

Should I decide that I just can't keep up with Mr MacManus?

and the rather more bluntly titled

Elvis Costello: The Exact Moment When This Balding Fat Fucker Jumped The Shark

i've been listening to these a lot lately too for some reason after several years of actively avoiding them. to me the drop off started in earnest at Brutal Youth which is still his last great album to me; and then it's varying degrees of 'ok' to 'no' from there. Punch the Clock used to be one of my least favorites from this period but now I'd think it's about on par with Trust. I mean it has Shipbuilding on it for fucks sake.

Lots of those songs for me blur in a whiz of horn blasts.

I didn't to anything of his for a long time until recently, funny how fascism makes certain things more resonant

listen to

punch the clock has shipbuilding AND pills and soap, hard to beat that

But This Year's Model/Get Happy/Blood and Chocolate will always be my favorites.

also, I think the first costello album I owned (after Spike) was that Girls Girls Girls comp which is a great comp. It flows like an actual album and the variety of records those tracks came from is pretty huge.

PT has "Everyday I Write the Book," "Pills and Soap," "Shipbuilding," and nothing else tbh

Girls Girls Girls comp which is a great comp. It flows like an actual album and the variety of records those tracks came from is pretty huge.

otm -- I love comps that play as a miscellany (album tracks, singles).

let them talk is a good song.

also goodbye cruel world isn't great but it's certainly not terrible. Peace In Our Time, Love Field...those are good songs. I'd take that over National Ransom or Delivery Man or that Roots record any day.

yeah that comp is really good (as are the liner notes iirc)

and yes I like Juliet Letters. I saw him do this live with the Brodsky Quartet and it was one of the better things I've ever seen in 30 years of seeing shows.

also "Couldn't Call it Unexpected" is one of his greatest songs. Ok I'm done

really like his cover of 'days' on the until the end of the world soundtrack too -- seems like the best use of the ribot weird sounds era

I hate the production on Brutal Youth, but it's got some great songs on it. What I really got from the book is that the dude is no mere dilettante, he truly is a wealth of enthusiasm for and knowledge of music that (for better or worse) informs all his records. Also, yeah, one of the few acts whose compilations (hits and b-sides and the like) stand up as albums. Plus, Ryko liner notes are A+. That might be my favorite reissue program of all time. Sound, packaging, bonus tracks, liners, all top notch.

also "Couldn't Call it Unexpected" is one of his greatest songs. Ok I'm done

― akm,

otm

Juliet Letters is really better than it could/should have been, for such an odd idea.

I love his title track here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKXH8CD08yw

Stripped down with Frisell here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_xMZ-_XTJ4

Oh, and really doesn't get enough credit for Almost Blue. The idea of this guy of all people paying tribute to George Jones, Merle Haggard, or Gram Parsons in 1981 (!) was insanely progressive, imo.

those frisell things were good, forgot about those. used to have to pay through the nose for that CD.

All This Useless Beauty - classic

yeah i'm not a costello fan but this is great, esp "the other end of the telescope" and "distorted angel"

I loved that when it came out but it hasn't held my attention in the past 10 years. I should revisit it.

he certainly toured a shitload behind it and did a bunch of duo shows with Steve Nieve (which he bundled up and sold in an overpriced box set)

Walked into an Italian restaurant on Sunday and was surprised to hear This Is Hell playing. Admittedly Elvis was playing in the Playhouse across the road and it was probably just Spotify on random, but still a nice surprise.

After years of never being able to pick a favourite EC album, I think I may have to choose Brutal Youth after all. But like Bowie, no one album comes close in defining him, so there is that.

I personally like the production, clearly a backtracking from the kitchen sink sound of Mighty and Spike and most likely a welcome product of the post-grunge stripped down "BACK TO BASICS" ethos, although I do not believe her ever pushed it as such (thankfully)