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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Almost great, January 10, 2008
Costello's country excursion works well because of the quality material he chose. His voice is suited to the genre and the Attractions give it all they've got, supported by some expert Nashville musicians like John McFee on lead and pedal steel guitars, and Tommy Miller on violin.
The fast paced Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used To Do) sounds more like early rock 'n roll than country to me, whilst Sweet Dreams is done with feeling and lots of soul. Success is a gently lilting ballad with lovely piano.
My favourites are the buoyant Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down, the moving Colour Of The Blues, this slow version of Too Far Gone, and especially the poignant Good Year For The Roses, a brilliant interpretation.
Costello's country excursion reminds me of another highly successful country album by a UK artist, Marianne Faithfull's very authentic Faithless (also available as Dreamin' My Dreams). Almost Blue obviously won't appeal to all Elvis Costello fans, but I find it a pleasure to listen to.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How Come You Treat Me Like a Worn Out Shoe?, April 29, 2009
It's funny to see how ALMOST BLUE still divides Costello fans after all these years. I remember seeing a documentary produced for British TV (Melvyn Bragg's "The South Bank Show") that chronicled Costello and the Attractions' Nashville adventures. Producer Billy Sherrill, after displaying a lot of initial skepticism, responded to Elvis' pumped-up version of "Why Don't You Love Me Like You Used to Do?" with a reaction like -- "Now we're getting somewhere! That's why I took on this project!" (Elvis meanwhile had confessed to the cameras how nervous he was about going into the studio and letting Sherrill hear what he and the gang had done to the track.) Detractors aside, ALMOST BLUE holds up as a classic collection of country covers -- packed with more drinking and heartbreak than most pasty punk rockers could endure -- and the first of many (mostly) successful musical digressions in Costello's illustrious career.
Standout tracks: "Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do?"), "I'm Your Toy," "Brown to Blue," "A Good Year for the Roses," "How Much I Lied."
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the album that got me into Elvis, September 9, 2007
I did not appreciate Elvis' earlier albums prior to "Almost Blue." Being a lover of many different musical genres, especially true country music, I love this album and consider it one of my all-time favorites. I loved it so much in fact, that after hearing this album, I later went back and rediscovered Elvis including the earlier albums that I had not appreciated at the time. Subsequently, I have come to view EC as one the greatest songs stylists of all time, not to mention his brilliant writing. This album, of course, concentrates on his song styling, and as such is a wonderful album, and just one example among many that show the sheer genius of Elvis Costello and the depth of his musical knowledge and abilities. This is truly a great album, despite what is written by other reviewers here. My opinion is coming from one that has thousands upon thousands of albums, and has been an active listener of many styles of music for over 50 years.
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~ Elvis Costello
~ Elvis Costello
~ Elvis Costello
~ Elvis Costello
~ Elvis Costello
by Elvis Costello & The Attractions 
