Elvis Costello thread

[TGI Jef]

If anyone is worth a thread, it is this guy. Yes, he gets a lot of credit for being a great songwriter and artist, but not nearly as much as he should.

In my opinion, Elvis Costello belongs on the Mount Rushmore (albeit expanded) of modern pop music with Dylan, Young, Bowie, Springsteen, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones.

This guy was 23 years old when he released his first record My Aim Is True. 24 and 25 when he released This Year's Model and Armed Forces, respectively.

These are some of the greatest rock records of all time. His ear for melody and his lyrical sense of humor make him one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Even his recent records such as The Delivery Man and Momofuku are outstanding.

Bottom line - you need to check this guy out if you haven't. You need to check him out again even if you already have. He is worth devoting several months out of your lifetime to at the very least.

I have listened to only his records it seems for about the past 2 weeks, and I am better off for it.

Records to check out:
My Aim Is True
This Year's Model
Armed Forces
Imperial Bedroom

some of my favorite Elvis Costello tracks:

"Welcome To The Working Week"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e1TZ9Sin4o

"Blame It On Cain"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Pv7yeJJXU

"The Beat"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xoc5UB8ldo

"This Year's Girl"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLwoh-DYqp8

"Living In Paradise"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrCsTZoGbMw

"Man Out Of Time" (my absolute favorite)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftzOFm1NXwY

[Rocky21]

He's no Graham Parker.

[TGI Jef]

sounding great today

[Barney B]

He's no Graham Parker.

The all-time king of nonsensical rhyme? Mr. "moon, june, spoon" himself?

Bah.

You could stand Elvis' first three albums up against anybody elses' first three for overall quality, IMO. His music was better than Dylan's, and his lyrics were better than the Beatles. Great artist.

[Bang]

I don't want to go to Chelsea..
Elvis had his moments.


the story goes he couldn't get a recording company to listen to him in the early days, so he went to (EMI?) the label's office and played out front with a mini amp strapped to his shoulder til they took him in for an audition


Graham Parker had a few tunes worth hearing, but not many.

~Bang

[Jethrodsp]

Seconded.

Costello's catalogue is so deep you can spend years finding better and better tracks.

Terrific artist.

[Corcaigh]

Elvis Costello is a great songwriter and I've owned all his stuff through the years, starting in the late 70s when he was considered 'punk'. However, having seen him live, both on his own and with people who are more talented musicians and singers than he, his talents in songwriting are a lot greater than his performing skills. :)

A few of my favorites:

Alison
Watching the Detectives
(I don't want to go to) Chelsea
Radio, Radio
Pump It Up
Oliver's Army
I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down

[Barney B]

I saw him in '02 at the Kodak in L.A. Great show. :2cents:

Maybe it was lipsynced? :D

[deejaydana]

I saw him open not too far back for the Police @ the Hollywood Bowl and I think he played every bit as good, if not better, then the headlining band. His early material is certainly classic and just how prolific is the guy? And varied.

His new show that's on IFC (I believe it's that channel) maybe it's Sundance, is really great. You realize how much this guy really knows about ALL of popular music. He's truly a student of music (and his wife's not half bad either).

Some posters mentioned his well known and arguably best cds. I'll mention some that didn't get as much notoriety but are great just the same:

"When I Was Cruel"
"All This Useless Beauty"
"Momofuku"
"The Sweetest Punch"
(all worth a listen)

[Rocky21]

I realize no one is nominating this guy for man of the year but what the guy said about an American icon like Ray Charles is basically unforgivable.

[Jethrodsp]

Momofoku was a recent find for me. Great album.

What did Costello say about Ray Charles?

[Oldskool]

His best stuff this decade has been his more jazzy records.

Pick up North, which came out in 2003.

[Rocky21]

Momofoku was a recent find for me. Great album.

What did Costello say about Ray Charles?It was so disgusting I won't repeat it. My sure to irritate, possibly eye opening op /ed point about Graham Parker and Elvis Costello for those that may care.

It’s often hard to explain why one story gets national press and another doesn’t. Or why one artist is beloved and another is not. One such head scratcher in rock is how folks embrace a guy like Elvis Costello and hardly know about a guy like Graham Parker. The critics love Elvis Costello. They love his glasses, love his name, they love his haircut, they love to think his songs have more meaning than they do. (Didn’t someone once say the critics love Costello because he looks like them?) It’s like he’s pretending to be clever. I hate that they played a song about his grandmother over and over again on the radio. I hate that he recorded with Burt Bacharach. (Talk about losing your street cred.) OK, I liked My Aim Is True but guess who backed up Elvis Costello on that album? The Attractions? No. Huey Lewis and the News. Did you like Watching the Detectives? Graham Parker’s band plays on that one.

With great album tracks like Passion is No Ordinary Word, Discovering Japan and the catchy as Hell Local Girls, Squeezing Out Sparks is song for song Graham Parker at his sarcastic, seething best. Graham Parker has 2 records in Rolling Stones top 100 albums and on both he is backed by The Rumour. I have heard the Rumour compared to the Band. You know…highly respected, but commercially unsuccessful bar band hooks up with great lyricist / singer / songwriter to produce some incredible music together. I’m not saying GP is Bob Dylan…I’m just sayin’.

Parker and Costello’s first albums came out in ’76 and ’77. They are both British. Hell, their first few records were done with the same producer Nick Lowe. While Costello lucked out with Stiff Records, Parker had label problems and consequently promotional trouble going from Mercury to Arista to Elektra to RCA to Capitol and Atlantic. (Mercury Poisoning is second only to E.M.I. by the Pistols as far as big middle fingers to record companies go.) Both were mistaken for punks. People thought Costello was an angry young man. But it was more like he was constipated or was late for tea or something. As you read this, Graham Parker is still ****ing angry.

Sometimes people will categorize early Elvis Costello and Graham Parker as pub rockers. We call them bar bands in America. I know Graham Parker was in a better bar band than Elvis Costello because I never drank to excess and launched puke in a bar at a Elvis Costello show but I sure did at a Graham Parker gig in the early 90’s.

For every real rocker that never gets his due, there is a ****in’ poser like Elvis Costello there to take the bows and fool the masses. But if you pay attention, you may find that history is proving me right. While GP is still cranking out vital, meaningful music like Your Country and Songs of No Consequence, Costello is performing classical music and recording effete piano lounge music. Let’s put it this way, I’d rather listen to Graham parker’s Howlin’ Wind right now more than any song in the entire Costello canon.

[TGI Jef]

if you believe graham parker never got his due, thats one thing. but...

"there is a ****in’ poser like Elvis Costello there to take the bows and fool the masses"

???

the guy is bar none one of the top songwriters of all time, lyrically and melodically.

consider me fooled.

i dont care about street cred. i dont mind if his lyrics mean nothing. in fact i read an interview with Jeff Tweedy recently where he stated that when he writes lyrics, he is more concerned with how they sound within the melody than their actual meaning. i would say that Costello was a master of that as well.

and i like graham parker - i really, really do. but when i think of songwriters that just seemingly can just piss a classic melody at any time, i think of Paul and John, and then Elvis Costello right below them.

Costello also is a very intricate songwriter as well. his melodies and chord progressions are often simply shocking.

not arguing against your graham parker opinion at all - again, great artist. but i feel bad for anyone who cant appreciate Elvis Costello too.

[Rocky21]

and i like graham parker - i really, really do. but when i think of songwriters that just seemingly can just piss a classic melody at any time, i think of Paul and John, and then Elvis Costello right below them.

Costello also is a very intricate songwriter as well. his melodies and chord progressions are often simply shocking.

not arguing against your graham parker opinion at all - again, great artist. but i feel bad for anyone who cant appreciate Elvis Costello too.I hear ya bro. Artists like Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Graham Parker, etc. are often compared to each other. I just think it's odd that one is revered as a God and the others are after thoughts. Speaking of Gods, I just can't get past what EC said about Ray Charles.

[TGI Jef]

good point, and the Ray Charles thing is a bit much to get over at times.

Joe Jackson strikes me as the weakest of the 3 names you mentioned, though. the first record is amazing. just monumentally underrated in the grand scheme of rock and roll, but his reocrds after that dont strike me in the same fashion.