Extreme Honey: The Very Best Of The Warner Bros. Years

Elvis Costello | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 22, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino
• ASIN: B002JCYSRI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,902 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

There are few things in the world as dependable, year after year, as the quality of Elvis Costello's music. He's neither as biting nor as rocking as he once was--and he's not always brilliant--but even in his third decade Costello is consistently good. The Warner Bros. years constitute a series of albums beginning with 1989's Spike through 1996's All This Useless Beauty, and Extreme Honey collects notable tracks from five albums. With the inclusion of a hit ("Veronica"), a rarity ("My Dark Life" with Brian Eno), and a never- before-released track, this doesn't encapsulate Costello's earlier brilliance, but it is a good summation of the best of the rest. --Roni Sarig

Product Description

Elvis Costello's tenure with Warner Brother's records marks some of the most diverse musical offerings of his career, from the impossibly catchy 'Veronica' (his biggest U.S. hit) to the dark and sober 'So Like Candy.' This collection compiles his mature songwriting and stellar recordings from his Warner Brothers era.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Honeyfied. Extremely Honeyfied., November 14, 2003

By 

Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Extreme Honey: The Best Of The Warner Bros. Years (Audio CD)

Elvis: The Warner Years.

He managed to crank out 6 albums of unnerving diversity (even for his fans) during his tenure at the home of Bugs Bunny. From the angry Elvis we all love of "Brutal Youth" to the chamber music experiments of "The Juliet Letters" to his pondering thoughtfulness of "All This Useless Beauty," Elvis took on so many tangents that I am sure his label could only scratch their collective heads and wonder (not to mention withhold "Kojak Variety" for five years).

Since confounding our expectations has always been a hallmark of getting a new EC record, "Extreme Honey" is given the responsibility of collecting the better of those discs. It does so fairly well, and throws in a haunting new song, "The Bridge I Burned," which even features a semi-rapped part. The X-Files obscurity with Brian Eno, "My Dark Life," is better. In Eno's usual minimalist but spooky manner, "My Dark Life" is the kind of song you would have expected from the X-Files. That is said as a compliment.

"Extreme Honey" also provides proof that Elvis still has his moments of genius. "I Want To Vanish" is the obvious precursor to his collaborations with Burt Bacharach. "The Other Side Of Summer" has a deceptively cynical lyric riding a wave of Beach Boys harmony. "Veronica" and "So Like Candy" gave some spunk to a moribund Paul McCartney. "Hurry Down Doomsday" roars with all the weirdness that "The Birds Will Still be Singing" carried on the lopsided opposite of the scale. "Tramp The Dirt Down" is probably the angriest song Elvis has ever written, with one of the most gorgeous arrangements. And if you want the blood and guts Elvis, "13 Steps Lead Down" has all the snarling ferocity of his earliest work.

I won't bemoan the lack of a few personal favorites (Elvis does that for us in the liner notes). I will say a wish a track or two from "Kojak Variety" had snuck in, though. What "Extreme Honey" does present us with is that, even in his third decade, Elvis Costello remains one of the premiere songwriters of our times. Worth the price if you don't already have the originals.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Extreme Honey - Elvis Costello, December 25, 1999

By 

gregory l davies (Bel Air, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Extreme Honey: The Best Of The Warner Bros. Years (Audio CD)

For those who knew and loved Elvis C. in the early years with the Attractions, this CD will probably disappoint. It's altogether too dark and moody, but it does show the range and diversity of EC. There are some good rockers reminiscent of the Attraction years: 13 Steps Lead Down, Veronica, The other Side of Summer, and Kinder Murder. It's good for those who want a more complete collection without making the investment in the more recent CDs. If this is the "best" of the Warner Bros. years, the CDs must ahve been largely forgetable. For my money, I'm sticking by all the stuff he did with the Attractions--you still can't beat My Aim is True, Armed Forces, and Get Happy--Classic Elvis!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've never given 5 stars to anything, July 27, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Extreme Honey: The Best Of The Warner Bros. Years (Audio CD)

I've written tons of reviews on amazon, but not a one has gotten 5 stars. Except this one. I know it's not a true album, but there are so many good songs on this record, it's ridiculous. Every time I turn around, I find a new favorite. Right now, it's "Couldn't Call It Unexpected #4", but every song on this record is amazing. From the deeply personal "Bridge I Burned" (you can almost hear him bleeding), to the happy-go-lucky melody and depressing lyrics of "The Other Side of Summer", to "Veronica" (which has a certain Beatle's name written all over it), to the mystery of "My Dark Life" to the shrug of the shoulders at relationships that is "All the Rage" to the deathbed wish of "The Birds Will Still Be Singing" to the noise of "13 Steps Lead Down". This record is a must for anyone who can appreciate inventive, clever, new, different, and eclectic songwriting. Costello is simply unparallelled in the late 20th century as a pop songwriter. (And if pop is this eclectic, what is "pop", anyway? And who cares?)