Elvis Costello is one of my biggest musical heroes. I remember buying a copy of My Aim Is True back in high school and becoming mesmerized by the diversity and lyrical wordplay. I can't think of another artist who traversed more musical territory, from punk to pop to Americana to country to even scoring an opera, and been more prolific in collaborating and constantly releasing material. It's a catalogue that is almost unmatched and ripe for exploration.
It's hard to pick my 10 favorite songs of his and everyone has their personal preferences. Mine would look like this:
1. You Bowed Down
2. American Without Tears
3. Poisoned Rose
4. Man Out of Time
5. No Hiding Place
6. Accidents Will Happen
7. I Felt the Chill Before the Winter Came
8. Temptation
9. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
10. Town Cryer
As for my five favorite albums:
1. All This Useless Beauty
2. Imperial Bedroom
3. King of America
4. This Year's Model
5. Trust
If you dig back through this blog you can find my review of every Costello album (up through 2009, at least) and it might help as a guide to those wanting to explore his music.
Happy Birthday, Elvis. You gave an introverted teenager with a guitar something to relate to. To this day it's never stopped.
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