My Aim is True

[Guest gthureson]

Bringing it back to Costello:

 

My Aim Is True: Solid effort. You can tell his band is session guys. They are competent, sometimes quite good, but honestly, they sound like guys just going through the motions. A good album I can still listen to quite often, but not my favorite. Buy it.

 

This Year's Model: You can hear the difference in a very similar set of songs (less country influence though) with the Attractions behind him. The album just jumps out at you. Lots of classic singles, and it holds together as an album quite well. Easily one of the best. Buy it.

 

Armed Forces: Didn't like this one for a long time. Listened to it again awhile ago, and I've changed my mind. A couple songs more than it needed, but still a good album. Buy it.

 

Get Happy!: An effort to prove he could write good songs at a frenetic pace. The album rolls along, providing quality entertainment, but honestly not having much to say. However, 'Imposter' and 'Possession' are two of my favorite EC tracks ever. A nice little rock and roll album though.

 

Almost Blue: I've avoided this one. No comment. Skip it.

 

Imperial Bedroom: Uneven, but worth owning. Buy it.

 

Punch the Clock: There are good songs underneath that production. Problem is, I hate the production on it. Download it.

 

King of America: Great album. A departure from the Attractions stuff. Buy It.

 

Blood and Chocolate: One of my favorites. And it features three six minutes singles. Probably not the best commerical choices for single releases, but great songs. Almost a classic. Buy it.

 

Spike: I keep meaning to pick up the Rhino reissue, but haven't yet. Don't like it enough to make it a priority. Download it.

 

Mighty Like A Rose: Again, haven't had the urge to get it. But I've listened to most of it. Pretty solid album. Download it.

 

Girls, Girls, Girls: If you want a compilation, this is the one to get. Excellent overview that runs up until about 1991. Covers multiple labels, unlike the Warner ones. Buy it.

 

The Juliet Letters: I really like this album with the Brodsky Quartet. The arrangements aren't for everybody though. I suggest downloading a few songs, then deciding it you want to buy it. Download or Buy It. Depending on your tastes.

 

Brutal Youth: Not as high on this album as I was when I first bought it. Still very good, but something is missing on it. Tension with the Attractions produced a certain urgentness on 'Blood and Chocolate'. It creates a certain apathy on this one. Still worth buying though, for the tracks where everything clicks. Buy It.

 

Kojak Variety/Burt Bacharach stuff: Eh. Never checked it out much. Heard good things about them though. Your choice. I suggest Download It.

 

All This Useless Beauty: Find this album and buy it. Kill if you must. It's truly a mood album. When you are in the right mood, this will sound like the best album ever put out. Other times, its 'merely' quite excellent. Buy It.

 

When I Was Cruel: Maybe overproduced. Pretty good though. Buy It.

[Guest Incandenza]

When I Was Cruel is a very solid album. I wouldn't call it overproduced--that label belongs to Spike--though Costello could've stood cutting a couple of tracks. My suggestion would be losing the pair of "Dust 2..." and "...Dust," which, regardless of how many times I've listened to the album, I can never remember what they sound like afterwards.

 

Enough of that negativity. The experimental stuff works better for E.C. than it has in the past (see "Spooky Girlfriend" and "When I Was Cruel No. 2"), and I love "Tear Off Your Own Head," the title track, "15 Petals" and "Tart." Good stuff and worth picking up.

[Guest gthureson]

Almost forgot about:

 

Trust: Some people are iffy on this one, I'm not. It's a good album. Perhaps more melancholy than angry like the Attractions stuff up until point. But tracks like 'Watch Your Step', 'Clubland', 'White Knuckles', and 'You'll Never Be a Man' make it a keeper. Buy It.