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Elvis Costello has come a long way since “My Aim Is True” in 1977. Then he was the archetypal angry young man, pouring out songs of revenge, self-hatred and guilt, and taking the image onto stage with him. Anyone lucky enough to catch his live show in the first year after he signed with Stiff was treated to a breathless exhibition of violent rock and roll, often lasting no more than 40 minutes but of such an intensity that it left his audiences exhausted.
Since then, subdued by a couple of unfortunate twists in his personal life which were the direct result of his quick rise to stardom, Costello has matured, so that by the end of 1981 he could be found on stage with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, recording in Nashville, or turning out exquisite ballads ideally suited for Frank Sinatra. Along the way, he was become established as perhaps the most consistent pop songwriter in Britain today, with a loyal following sufficient to take his every release straight into the charts.
At times he has moved too far away from the pop mainstream to rival the sales of Duran Duran or Kajagoogoo; but unlike most of his contemporaries he seems to be building a long term career, conducted on his own terms, which should see him still at the top of his profession when the rest of the New Wave is just an entry In the rock encyclopedias.
His personal involvement with his record company ever since he left Stiff in 1978 has enabled him to keep a strict control over the way in which his material has been released, so that there have been none of the quick buck greatest hits albums or glut of singles from any one LP which many artists have had to suffer. Almost every one of his singles contains material not previously released on album; almost all of his LPs check in at more than forty minutes of music; and his determination not to be swayed by commercial considerations has meant that even his most esoteric recordings have been released.
For every “Oliver's Army” or “Watching The Detectives” which has made the Top Twenty, Elvis has released a “New Amsterdam” or “Man Out Of Time”, songs which although not instant successes have to be rated by many as amongst the most significant of the past six years.
This month we have complied a complete listing of all Costello’s U.K. releases, together with notes which detail their American equivalents, together with information about reissues, compilations and promos – the last category containing at least one item (“A Conversation With Elvis Costello”) that ranks with the best of his work. Where singles have been issued with picture sleeves, values have been given for records with and without their covers. All prices refer to the original release of each item, with its original packaging – which occasionally, as with the “This Year's Model” and “Get Happy” albums, involves covers and record labels which are not printed correctly. Values have been listed for the most notable promotional items, and a rough rule-of-thumb guide for the rest is around £15 for a U.S. 12” promo, and £6 for a U.K. 7” issue.
SINGLES
Stiff BUY 11 LESS THAN ZERO/ RADIO SWEETHEART (March 1977; PS)
Produced by Nick Lowe, Elvis’ first single failed to make the charts, despite a live promotion campaign from Stiff. The A-aide reappeared (in a remixed form) on the “My Aim Is True” as well as on the “A Bunch Of Stiff Records” compilation the following month and the 1st
“ Heroes And Cowards” album (Stiff SEWL 1000). The flipside was remixed for the Greatest Stiffs” compilation later in 1977, and reappeared on the “ Ten Bloody Marys” cassette in Britain and the “Taking Liberties” album in America.
Stiff BUY 14 ALISON/WELCOME TO THE WORKING WEEK (May 1977; PS)
Another Lowe-produced flop, which to date has been Costello’s most covered song — notably by Linda Ronstadt on her “Living In The USA” album. (Ronstadt also covered a clutch of Elvis songs on the “ Mad Love” LP In 1980). “Alison” was remixed with an added synth string section for American single release, appearing three times as an A side: Columbia 3-106. backed by a live version of “Miracle Man”; 3-10705, with “Watching The Detectives”; and a Hall of Fame single, 13-33401, coupled with “Accidents Will Happen”. Both songs came from the “My Aim Is True” LP.
Stiff BUY 15 RED SHOES/MYSTERY DANCE (July 1977) £2.
The only Costello single to date issued without a picture sleeve completed a trio of chart non-contenders. Again, both songs were from “My Aim Is True”, with “Mystery Dance” joining “Alison” on the “Heroes And Cowards” compilation.
Stiff BUY 20 WATCHING THE DETECTIVES/BLAME IT ON CAIN/MYSTERY DANCE (October 1977, No. 15;PS) £5/gl.75
“Detectives”, Costello’s first chart entry, appeared in at least three different sleeves a colour picture cover, a plain Stiff sleeve and the now very rare (worth about £8) telephone directory cover, which consisted of a chunk of the London phonebook with the Stiff Records number highlighted. The single was also issued on a promo (BUY200J), which coupled long and short versions of the A-side, while some promos also apparently had different takes of the live songs on the flipside. Excerpts from “Detectives”, “Allson” and “Red Shoes” appeared on a Stiff promo single (FREEB 2), together with parts of nine other Stiff releases, linked by Les Prior.
That single now sells for about £15. Finally, all four Stiff singles were repackaged twice: once as an Elvis Costello four pack (GRAB 3), and again as part of a boxed set of singles BUY 11 to BUY 20. This was issued in a first pressing of 5000 copies in a brown box, and then made available indefinitely. Later pressings carry the words “Made In England” on the labels. The “Detectives” single was reproduced intact in America, as Columbia 1-10896.
Radar ADA 3 (I DON’T WANT TO GO TO) CHELSEA/YOU BELONG TO ME
(March 1978, No. 16;PS) £4/gl,75
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