Login
If the two-disc The Best of Elvis Costello proves anything over and over again, it is this: Elvis Costello is an absolute musical genius, unafraid to experiment within any genre or to tackle any varied emotion he can think of. The sequencing is problematic, but at two-discs worth of material, practically all of it pulled from his days with the Attractions (who are still his best backing band), is an absolute pleasure to listen to. It never feels over-bloated, unwelcome or like it’s about to slag. This is the Elvis Costello compilation to get.
When Elvis Costello first debuted with My Aim Is True he came across as much of a snarling punk as Sid Vicious, he just didn’t come armed with safety pins and beats that clubbed you over the head. He was literate, viciously funny, acidic, wordy and complicated. But his songs sounded deceptively bouncy, vibrant even. “Oliver’s Army” sounds like a particularly joyous piece of punk-pop fluff, until you dig into the lyrics and notice the references to South African apartheid. “Radio, Radio” hasn’t gained a pound or lost one single drop of venom since its original release date, that is both high praise (for Costello) and a damning observation (for, what else?, radio programming).
But he didn’t stick to just punk aggression; he could mutant reggae as well as the Clash or the Police. “Watching the Detectives” and “(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea” bounce along on the white reggae grooves that were so popular at the time, but they subversively go darker and hit harder than a song like “Message in a Bottle.” Costello is also known as one of the greatest of New Wavers – songs like “Veronica,” “Tokyo Storm Warning” and “Accidents Will Happen” are genre defining masterpieces. The keyboards in “Accidents Will Happen” alone launched a handful of imitators. Yet even these three genres weren’t enough to hold him down – pop standards, country and a handful of vaguely soulful, slightly R&B songs are thrown in for good measure.
Was Elvis Costello more of a punk or a New Waver? It doesn’t matter, and this collection isn’t set up to sway the argument one way or another. This is a display of a living legend’s greatest accomplishments. I would have changed the sequencing to chronological order and avoided the eight song stretch of ballads that closes the set out that way. I would have also dropped “My Funny Valentine” for “The Only Flame in Town” or “Shabby Doll,” one of his most underrated masterpieces. But these tiny problems aside this set is a great summary and introduction to the musical genius that is Elvis Costello. DOWNLOAD: “Watching the Detectives,” “Radio, Radio,” “I Want You,” “Tokyo Storm Warning”
