Even after two hours on stage, Costello left his Capitol fans reeling off lists of personal favourites he had not managed to fit into the set.
It is a mark of the man's prolific songwriting talent that the wealth of material he has to choose from, which dates back to the heady days of New Wave, through country time in Nashville and up to the present, allows him to pick and choose the hits he performs.
They say he has to be in the mood to give a good performance and last Saturday Elvis certainly was.
As an album, Imperial Bedroom falls short of Trust and Get Happy for quality, but on a live stage, with the pick of all albums to comprise a set, two of the tracks make worthwhile additions.
The crowd was treated when he broke with tradition and sang "Alison," still the best ballad he ever wrote, but the atmosphere was predominantly boisterous, a mood maintained by "Watching the Detectives," "Radio, Radio" and the unashamedly commercial "Oliver's Army."
Two encores lasted four or five songs apiece and Elvis seemed to revel in the lively Capitol climate.
Support came from Glasgow band the Bluebells — a break par excellence for them — and they received generous applause for a sterling opening sequence. Look out for a single by them in the next two weeks.
But the night belonged to Elvis and his talented band the Attractions. In case anyone did not notice, my list of songs not sung was topped by "Red Shoes" and "I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea." I gave up after that, it would have taken too long.
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