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Almost Blue, Costello's semi-controversial country album of 1981, was, he explains in helpful sleevenotes, first proposed as a set of melancholy cover versions — a sidetrack-cum-chill-out period in Nashville after the mixed reception to Trust. Produced by a less than enthusiastic Billy Sherrill, its exact point eluded most of us, although it arguably turned many others on to the genre from which it drew. Expanded with live stuff (including the memorable "Psycho"), plus a few Nashville outtakes, to a 23-track CD, it's a little too good to class as a career blip, particularly on the husky-voiced weepies "Sweet Dreams," "Good Year For The Roses" and Gram Parsons's "Hot Burrito No. 2" (re-titled "I'm Your Toy").
Imperial Bedroom (1982) is, for many, Costello's masterpiece. Rich in musical styles, baroque, Beatlesque and unstoppable, its elaborate — often orchestrated — arrangements ("...And In Every Home," "Town Cryer") made it the most endlessly rewarding of all Costello's albums, It also seemed to possess a staggering number of words, about 800 on "Beyond Belief" alone. It was a sumptuous, layered album-with masterful contributions from Steve Nieve — and Costello has added to its sense of importance with lengthy, charming sleevenotes. Nine additional tracks (including the title track, actually written afterwards) flesh it out to a truly inspirational, 78-minute re-issue package.
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