Tag Archives: Elvis Costello

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Song of the Day #995: ‘I Felt the Chill Before the Winter Came’ – Elvis Costello

Just a year after Momofuku, Elvis Costello returned with a modest acoustic collection. 2009’s Secret, Profane & Sugarcane was recorded in Nashville with T Bone Burnett, and was Costello’s first totally acoustic album since King of America.

Call this one King of Americana. Costello tours the old American songbook, trying his hand at country blues and bluegrass, and his affection for these styles shines through every note. This album is a grower… it’s the opposite of hook-heavy, and some of its songs meander a little too much for repeated listening. But I admire what he’s doing here and at the very least, it’s a beautiful sounding album.

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Song of the Day #989: ‘Song With Rose’ – Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello has collaborated with a boatload of artists over the years. He’s written songs with Paul McCartney, Aimee Mann, Burt Bacharach and Loretta Lynn, to name a few. A few years back, he wrote a song with Kris Kristofferson and Rosanne Cash and the trio planned to cut an album together, though that didn’t come to pass (at least not yet).

I like that an artist as prolific and excellent as Costello makes the time to write with other musicians. He clearly doesn’t need to do it. His muse is on speed, he could write original material from now until the day he dies. But he must get something out of these collaborations — even if it’s just the pleasure of sharing a room with somebody whose work he admires.

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Song of the Dy #988: ‘Flutter & Wow’ – Elvis Costello

Despite his forays into jazz and easy listening, every so often Elvis Costello returns to his roots and puts out a good old-fashioned rock-n-roll record. Such was the case with 2008’s Momofuku, his follow-up to the jazz collaboration The River in Reverse.

Named after the inventor of ramen instant noodles, the album was assembled in six days almost on a whim. Costello had been working with Jenny Lewis on her next album, Acid Tongue, when he decided to bring the same players (including two of The Attractions and Ms. Lewis herself) into the studio to cut a batch of songs he’d recently written.

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Song of the Day #985: ‘You Little Fool’ – Elvis Costello

More Elvis Costello?? I’m sure those of you tiring of the Elvis Costello weekends won’t welcome this mid-week appearance by Mr. MacManus. To hell with ya! I can’t list my favorite albums without giving a nod to 1982’s Imperial Bedroom.

But as I’ve written about the album extensively on this blog already, I won’t clutter the tubes with a further exploration of its greatness.

Instead, I’ll let Costello make that argument for me with ‘You Little Fool,’ the album’s penultimate track. This has long been a favorite of mine, both on this album and in Costello’s catalog in general.

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Song of the Day #982: ‘Ascension Day’ – Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint

I admit, I’m not as familiar with The River in Reverse as I’d like to be. I guess that’s because half of it is a covers album and the other half is a collaboration with an artist I don’t know well.

But the few times I’ve listened to the record, I’ve always liked what I’ve heard. It’s funny… I’m bothered when I like an album too much to write it off but not enough to really learn it. Albums like this live in a musical purgatory.

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