ALBUMS: KIng of America (1986); Imperial Bedroom (1982); Get Happy (1980); Armed Forces (1978)
MVC RATING: King 4.0/$$$$; Imperial 4.5/$$$$; Get Happy 4.0/$$$$; Armed Forces, 4.5/$$$$
I may have mentioned this before but Elvis Costello substantially opened my world to another kind of music. The Beatles first moved something inside and paved the way for this growing interest, or love, of music.
Because of the Beatles I found the Rolling Stones, the Who, CCR, Clapton, etc. Other paths, including my Dad’s records, led me to Louis Armstrong, jazz, and later different paths led me to Motown, Stax, Johnny Cash, the 11-year-old Michael Jackson, and so on. My Mom, I remember liked folk music, such as Peter Paul and Mary, and some Top 40 off the car radio in the 1970s. I actually remember singing along with mom and siblings to How Do You Do as we were driving. That song you may remember is one I have declared the Best Worst Song of all time.
By high school I was listening to mixed-tape cassettes I made, painstakingly, often on a theme. “Soft Rock” or “Hard Rock” or Best of Southern Rock” or, and this is true, I had one mixed tape called “Eclectic Mix.” As you can see my imagination was boundless. Not. My Eclectic Mix probably consisted of country rock and folk, a Rolling Stones song and a Dylan cover. With maybe an Al Green song. (No, that would be saved for my “Love songs” tape.)
But when I was in my last year of high school — “78 is great”– I somehow came across Costello. I actually had a store-bought tape of Costello’s debut and arguably his best — but that’s a big argument. “My Aim Is True’ was not radical in that it was busting new barriers, like the Beatles or the Clash for that matter.
This is melodic, angry, catchy and highly literate pop and rock coming out at a time when punk was making a lot of noise. I didn’t really get the Sex Pistols’ appeal beyond screaming about being pissed off. Now Costello was pissed in a literate and often amusing way.
While we, HS seniors, were playing air guitar to Stairway to Heaven, Dream On, Free Bird and Frampton Comes Alive, along comes a guy bold enough to steal the King’s name. Wearing thick black ugly glasses, mind you. Damn.
As a songwriter he’s near genius.
But it was like nothing I had heard; I couldn’t get enough. Besides the cassette, I bought five albums over time of Costello. One, This Year’s Model, is missing from my collection, and it may have been the best. But the four (above) that I still have are 
excellent. And they are all different, even though marked with his distinctive vocals and artful lyrics. (Last thing, whomever I lent This Year’s Model to, just leave it on my porch, no questions asked. Come to think of it I’m missing a number of albums over the years, such as Bob Marley’s Natty Dread, and Deep Purple Made in Japan which had Highway Star and a scorching performance by Ritchie Blackmore. As usual, I digress).
Back to Costello, listen to these songs in video. The ‘Detectives’ video is, if you hang with it through the opening loud distortion, a pretty remarkable live performance of a clever song.
Memorable line: ‘I don’t know how much more of this I can take;
She’s filing her nails while they are dragging the lake.’
Counting down my 678 vinyl records before I die of brain disease.