Guest Gamengiri2002 Report post Posted December 31, 2002 The question is: What stuff of his should I be looking for? I know there are a few Costello fans on the board (mostly the same as the VU fans which leads me to believe Costello might be enjoyable to me) and maybe they'll point me in the right direction. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Incandenza Report post Posted December 31, 2002 I heard someone call so I ran as fast as I could. I'll let someone else point out individual songs (there are too many good ones for me to single out), but as far as albums go, the best places to start are: This Year's Model Imperial Bedroom Blood & Chocolate I'll begrudgingly add My Aim is True; I don't like it, but most people do. You might also want to consider one of the two Best of's circulating. The Rhino one is friggin' huge (it covers two discs, and contains all the highlights from 1977-1999), though the single disc out-of-print Ryko version may be more managable. As for the rest of Costello's out-of-print albums, the only one I can vouch for is Trust, which is excellent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kinetic Report post Posted December 31, 2002 I echo that sentiment and urge you to buy Get Happy! when it's re-released by Rhino in a few months. It is, in my opinion, the best work Costello's done. But as for what you can actually find in any store right now, buy the albums that Incandenza mentioned OR, like he also said, pick up a best of comp. That's what I did and it gave me a better idea of which periods of his fairly daunting career would be of most interest to me. Or you, in this case. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Edwin MacPhisto Report post Posted December 31, 2002 I think you should absolutely start with This Year's Model. It's the best slice-of-Costello full album in the collection, and what got me into Mr. McManus. The best-of is great for getting a whole career overview, but I think TYM does the introduction business even better, and in the frame of a wonderfully cohesive album too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Youth N Asia Report post Posted December 31, 2002 My Aim Is True Get Happy Armed Forces This Year's Model Those are ALL must own albums Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kinetic Report post Posted December 31, 2002 Do not, however, under any circumstances purchase Almost Blue. You might see it in a used CD stored for $6 and think "Boy, what a deal!" You'll be wrong. It is, undoubtedly, one of the most excruciating slabs of absolutely intolerable garbage ever released by a good musician. Find the one salvagable track ("Good Year For The Roses") somewhere else and avoid this album at all costs. It will haunt your CD collection like the ghost of an angry Native American until everything else therein in devalued by exposure to it alone. Listening to it will corrode your speakers or headphones, in addition to robbing you of valuable time and forcing you to answer any number of existential questions. You'll wonder about the sort of god that would allow such a monstrosity to be produced. You'll curse yourself for purchasing it and the store for selling it to you. I cannot stress this enough: Do not buy Almost Blue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Incandenza Report post Posted December 31, 2002 The only used Costello discs I ever find are from his Warner period (I do have a dusty vinyl copy of Trust, however), which, with the exception of The Juliet Letters, have since been reissued by Rhino. I'm thinking of picking up Letters, by the way. Given what it is, I have my doubts that I'll enjoy it, so used might be the best way to go. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kinetic Report post Posted December 31, 2002 I've found used copies of Spike and Mighty Like A Rose, in addition to my prized vinyl copy of Armed Forces. The only Costello I ever bought used was the aforementioned Almost Blue, King of America, and the best-of comp from the Warner years. I've actually been incredibly fortunate in finding his stuff from the Ryko reissues, which may lack the extra disc of outtakes but more than makes up for it in affordability. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Incandenza Report post Posted December 31, 2002 I think Spike and Mighty Like a Rose are used record store staples, particularly the latter one. I can't say I blame anyone for wanting to get rid of either record, but I'm too much of a collector to part with 'em. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Edwin MacPhisto Report post Posted December 31, 2002 My local CD store has a copy of Get Happy....for $25. I'll take my cheapo Armed Forces reissue, thank you very much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Incandenza Report post Posted December 31, 2002 $25? It's probably an import. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kinetic Report post Posted December 31, 2002 Fuck a duck! I'd definitely wait for the reissue of Get Happy!. It's good, but it ain't worth $25. But, yeah, as much as I'd enjoy jettisoning Almost Blue, I just can't bring myself to part with an album by any musician that I enjoy more often than not. I am looking to get rid of this fucking Cibo Mato album, though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest y2jailbait Report post Posted December 31, 2002 Sway away from "When I Was Cruel." That was his latest album. Its not horrible, its just not really representitive of why Costello is so good. "My Aim is True" is one of better debut album's someone can start off with, so i'd recommend that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Incandenza Report post Posted December 31, 2002 Ah, I forgot to endorse When I Was Cruel! A couple of filler tracks, but one of the better releases of 2002. In fact, out of all the music I was fortunate to hear in the year which is now coming to close, I can only think of eight albums I liked more. Hmm.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Gamengiri2002 Report post Posted January 1, 2003 Thanks for all the input everyone I picked up Imperial Bedroom Blood & Chocolate This Year's Model My Aim Is True And the kicker, I went to a local music store and in their used bin was a copy of Get Happy for only three bucks! And it's not even damaged. God must be atoning for this last year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kinetic Report post Posted January 2, 2003 Three bucks! I paid three times as much for it. I've never, ever gotten a CD for three dollars. The cheapest I've ever managed to obtain one was $4.50 for a copy of Tori Amos' Little Earthquakes. I've gotten about 25 cents worth of use out of it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Gamengiri2002 Report post Posted January 2, 2003 Ehh it's a cruddy little mom and pop shop owned by old couple who listen to nothing but Hank Williams and Merle Haggard, I doubt they even knew what they had. But whatever benefits me is good business. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kinetic Report post Posted January 2, 2003 That's the best type of place to go to. Better Hank Williams and Merle Haggard than the throbbing dance music that's invariably playing at big chain record stores. Or the fucking emo that I had to endure at CD Warehouse all the time in my former place of residence. In the face of that, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" sounds right nice, I reckon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Edwin MacPhisto Report post Posted January 2, 2003 Three bucks! I paid three times as much for it. I've never, ever gotten a CD for three dollars. The cheapest I've ever managed to obtain one was $4.50 for a copy of Tori Amos' Little Earthquakes. I've gotten about 25 cents worth of use out of it. Boo hiss! I got my copy for $8 and I've nearly worn that thing to dust by now. Cheapest I've gotten a CD for (excluding the $1.99 Money Train soundtrack that makes a simply wonderful birthday present for any true friend) was a used copy of the Afghan Whigs 1965, which I got for $2.98 plus tax. Great frickin' album, great little deal. It's one of the few things in life to which I can actually say "That was the best three dollars I ever spent" and probably be right. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Incandenza Report post Posted January 2, 2003 I paid $5.99 (plus tax) for The Juliet Letters yesterday. I do believe I have never gotten one cheaper. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Gamengiri2002 Report post Posted January 2, 2003 That's the best type of place to go to. Better Hank Williams and Merle Haggard than the throbbing dance music that's invariably playing at big chain record stores. Or the fucking emo that I had to endure at CD Warehouse all the time in my former place of residence. In the face of that, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" sounds right nice, I reckon. In the face of that alternative I've done become the world's biggest merle haggard fan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kinetic Report post Posted January 2, 2003 I consider myself pretty well-versed in music history and I have a memory like a Rolodex when it comes to band names. If I hear it once, it'll be with me forever. But when I go into the $1.99 bins at used record stores, I always immediately think "What is this shit?" There's never anything that I've heard of. I actually think, to correct my earlier statement, that I got a Talk Talk album for $1.99 once. But that is the sole exception to my cheapo bin woes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Incandenza Report post Posted January 2, 2003 I almost got a new copy of an Ass Ponys CD for $4 one time, but never did, for whatever reason. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Incandenza Report post Posted January 4, 2003 CD Warehouse going out of business = gold. For $25, I purchased: Punch the Clock, by Elvis Costello & the Attractions. Yes, this, along with Goodbye Cruel World and Mighty Like a Rose, is considered among the nadir of Mr. Costello's career, but it only cost me a buck, so huzzah. Coat of Many Cupboards, by XTC. A BRAND FUCKING NEW COPY of the 4-disc box set from the pioneering English power pop band ::drools:: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kinetic Report post Posted January 4, 2003 The emo-centric CD Warehouse in Abilene went out of business recently, too. I spent more than $25, but I still got a few decent deals on some shit that I haven't listened to yet. Actually, I got Rubber Soul for $6, so that wasn't too bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Incandenza Report post Posted January 4, 2003 Update! Punch the Clock really does suck. There is not a single song I like on it; at least Mighty Like a Rose had a few good ones. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Edwin MacPhisto Report post Posted January 4, 2003 You don't even like "Every Day I Write The Book"? It's so catchy and generic! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kinetic Report post Posted January 4, 2003 I concur. "Every Day I Write The Book" is a fine little song. It's ever so slightly undone by its production and the girl singers, but the song itself is fine for what it is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Edwin MacPhisto Report post Posted January 4, 2003 Is there actually a "Merseybeat version" of "Every Day I Write The Book" anywhere, or is that just an invention of Nick Hornby? Every time I read High Fidelity and Rob puts it in his top 5 Elvis Costello songs, I go on a little search for it, and never find a damn thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kinetic Report post Posted January 4, 2003 To the best of my knowledge, it exists. If we've learned anything from these Rhino re-releases, it's that Costello takes some sort of perverse pride in recording hundreds of variations on the songs in his canon. I haven't heard it personally, but I'd be none too surprised to see it on a reissue soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
