Tag Archives: King of America

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Song of the Day #6,303: ‘Poisoned Rose’ – Elvis Costello

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1986…

#3 – King of America – Elvis Costello

Last week I noted that Blood & Chocolate was one of two great albums Elvis Costello released in 1986. The other, King of America, might be the best thing he’s ever done.

Costello has had a prolific and wide-ranging career, dipping his toe in every conceivable genre and teaming up with a laundry list of unlikely collaborators. But I’ll be boring and say the early to mid-80s remains the high point of his impressive catalog. My three favorite Castello albums — Get Happy!!, Imperial Bedroom, and this one — all came out during that span.

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Song of the Day #4,006: ‘The Big Light’ – Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello’s 1986 album King of America blended Country and Americana flavors with his brand of brainy singer-songwriter rock, resulting in one of his greatest achievements.

Among confessional ballads and geo-political explorations, Costello dropped in a few fun rave-ups, including today’s SOTD, ‘The Big Light.’

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Song of the Day #2,046: ‘Indoor Fireworks’ – Elvis Costello

kingofThe Random iTunes Fairy got cute today, serving up a second helping of Elvis Costello after yesterday’s belly-aching about not finding enough time to listen to all of his music.

She even went straight to one my favorite Costello albums, the sublime King of America, zeroing in on one of its signature sad ballads.

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Song of the Day #1,539: ‘Lovable’ – Elvis Costello

I’ve been simultaneously dreading and eagerly anticipating the chance to discuss Elvis Costello as part of the genome project.

Costello is basically a genome all to himself. It’s hard to think of a genre he hasn’t at least dabbled in, a musical inspiration he hasn’t explored on record.

Chamber music fans can claim him thanks to his work with the Brodsky Quartet. He’s a hero to the adult contemporary set thanks to his collaborations with Burt Bacharach and Sofie Van Otter, not to mention his marriage to Diana Krall.

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Song of the Day #1,399: ‘Brilliant Mistake’ – Elvis Costello

Best Albums of the 80s – #6
King of America – Elvis Costello (1986)

ELvis Costello’s King of America was the second album I received from my sister and her future husband for my high school graduation (the first, you may recall, was Michael Penn’s March).

Talk about a gift that kept on giving.

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