Customer Reviews

The Very Best of Elvis Costello

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have owned quite a number of Elvis Costello anthology albums. The first was back in the late 80's, a "Greatest Hits" LP put out by CBS/Columbia. In 91 I purchased "Girls, Girls, Girls" a triple CD collection, & recently found a budget priced cassette called "Extreme Honey: the Best of the Warner Bros. Years". Each of these had songs I liked, but often contained more that I didn't.

Now I have purchased "The Very Best of Elvis Costello" & for once I can say this album absolutely lives up to it's title! In 2 CD's we have an overview of the extraordinary career of one of the most prolific & multi-faceted songwriters of our time. It's wonderful! Everything is here, from the chilling "Watching the Detectives" & supersonic "Lipstick Vogue" of the early albums thru the jazz & country-tinged experiments of the late 80's up to his latest collaborations with the Brodsky Quartet & Burt Bacharach. There isn't a single song that tempts me to hit the "forward" button on my CD player.

Curiously, Rhino has opted to put the material in a non-sequential order. Most greatest hits collections start with the earliest songs, working their way up to the latest. "The Very Best of..." was organized by someone who had their mind on creating an emotional mood rather than a history of the artist. Although normally I prefer the time-line approach, in this casse it works quite well. If you want to hear the developement of Costello's song-writing, Rhino has included original release dates in the credits so that you can sequence your own order. Other than song titles & lists of musicians, this is about all the information you will discover inside the jewel case. This is about the only weakness I can find to this package. Personally I would have preferred some type of liner notes included.

If you only own 1 Elvis Costello album, make it "The Very Best of..." . I guarantee you won't regret it!

This is an exceptional album, it may be the best compilation disk I have ever heard, over it's two disks it:

1. Provides an excellant cross section of Elvis' career
2. Keeps the listener interested by the mix of sounds
3. Doesn't have a "clunker"
4. Provides something hard to find elsewhere ("She")
5. Does not give everything away, there are omissions here that make me go back to the original albums

As an introduction to Elvis or for the obsessed fan, this album is essential.

Out of Declan (Elvis) McManus' several greatest hits packages, this one is the best. While the single disc entries are good, you just can't contain Elvis's library of music to one cd. Brains, style & energy - this is Elvis. Whether his lyrics discuss political views, relationships or they're just plain cynical observations - you know Elvis will sing about it smartly. Sure, the hits are wonderful, but the real gems lie in some of those obscure album tracks. Disc 1 in this collection concentrates on many of the radio friendly songs (Alison, Watching The Detectives, Oliver's Army, Pump It Up, Radio Radio, Everday I Write The Book) that Elvis & the Attractions stamped out in the late 70's and 80's. Although I enjoy all of Elvis' work, I was a major fan of his at the beginning of his career (My Aim Is True, Armed Forces, This Year's Model). While this package disregards chronologic order, the song selections of Elvis & the Attractions and his solo career are well placed. Disc 2, in my opinion, leans toward the more recent & obscure tunes (the best being Big Tears, Pills & Soap, Indoor Firworks & High Fidelity). It's quite evident that his style has changed since 1977's "My Aim Is True". His career has covered the spectrum - New wave, punk, pop and rock. Hard to believe that prior to "Elvis & The Attractions" - this boy was playing country rock in the band "Flip City". There are at least 3 "greatest hits" packages now by Elvis Costello. This one is easily the best to date, and the most complete.

Costello is one of the absolute all time greats in 20th century music. (thus the 5 stars) I cannot say you should buy this album when their is a much better substitute. It will cost a bit more but it is very much worth it: Buy The Best of Elvis costello and the attractions (a different one, not this one). And buy The best of Elvis Costello (Extreme Honey). They both contain many must-have gems that are sadly overlooked on this newer addition to the Macmanus Canon.

Sure, Costello burst onto the music scene in 1977 when the punk/new wave scene was emerging and songs like "Welcome to the Working Week" and "Less Than Zero" from his debut certainly seemed to fit the genre. But on that same debut was the gorgeous "Alison," which proved Costello to be one of pop music's best songwriters. Over the next twenty years (and as many albums), Costello shows time and again why he should be mentioned in the same breath as Lennon-McCartney, Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon as one of pop music's most accomplished songwriters. This 42-track, 90-minute-plus collection is a great place to find that out for yourself. While Costello hasn't put out an essential album since 1982's Imperial Bedroom (and 24 of this collection's tracks come from his 1977-82 period), there is much to enjoy here from his later work as well. The only downside to this collection is Rhino's surprisingly uninformative 16-page booklet. Fully half of the booklet is a repeat of the cover photo--just done in different colors. There are no liner notes or commentary from Costello, just a list of songs and a discography. But the music is all first-rate, and this is an inexpensive way to upgrade your vinyl collection (like me) or to start your collection. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I am a 16 year old teenager and I pretty much let music run my life. Everything I do or come in contact with has something to do with music. I listen to many different types of music from Bill Evans Trio to Metallica to George Clinton. Recently I began to become interested in Elvis Costello. After hearing many of his songs I decided to purchase this best-of. This is a great introduction to Costello's body of work and gives a true feeling of how Costello evolved during his career. This double-disc includes many of my favorite songs including Veronica, Watching the Detectives, and Lipstick Vogue. It also has introduced me to many more favorites. I recommend this cd to anyone interested in discovering an incredible songwriter or remembering an old favorite.

When I say skimpy, I am not referring to the music. At 42 songs over two discs, this is a great disc to cart along in the car or on an air flight when you want to shut out the noisy passenger next to you. What it does skimp on is the details. Oddly enough, the Elvis Costello album reissues are so packed with notes and annotations, that the inclusion of little more than a discography and the general song info/credits is a major disappointment. The double "Girls Girls Girls" had more information in fewer pages and some interesting pictures. (And, oddly enough, more songs!)

Does Elvis really hate "The Only Flame In Town?" It is one of his few brushes with mainstream radio play and it was left off both "Girls Girls Girls" and this set. As for the new songs, frankly, his recording of "That Day Is Done" does NOT make me want to forget Paul McCartney's version. The soundtrack single from "Notting Hill," "She," sounds like he recorded it on a lunch break. So while I heartily recommend this to those that haven't stored up all of EC's vast output, if you have most of these already you can burn your own favorite mix and probably like it even more.

In one of her last interviews, the late movie critic Pauline Kael expressed her admiration for Elvis Costello.
It's not hard to see why. Elvis Costello's music often reminds me of Jean-Luc Godard's earlier movies
(which Kael also admired); romantic, skeptical, political, philosophical all at the same time.

There's an intelligence to Costello's music and lyrics that has always lifted him above most other rock performers.
After 25 years, the song 'Alison' can still give me goosebumps.

This is an improvement on "The Best of Elvis Costello" with all of his greatest hits, plus some of the more obscure tracks from "Get Happy" and other Costello CDs that true Costello fans will love to have. If you truly want "the best of" then this is it.

What DECADE was for Neil Young, THE VERY BEST OF ELVIS COSTELLO is for E.C. While it is representative of a longer span of time, T.V.B.O.E.C. leaves very few gaps in Costello's long and varied career. It covers the huge range of musical styles that influenced Elvis and that he incorporated so engagingly: reggae, punk, country/western, pop, Mersey, ska, classical, and Frank Sinatra-type music (whatever that is called). Listening to some of the older tunes, like "Watching the Detectives" (one of my favorites) and "Pump It Up" reminded me of how impressed I had been by this guy's singular sound and individuality during an era of copy-cat punk/new wave bands. And the newer tunes just seem like a logical procession of this man's songwriting ability. This cd is well-worth having in your collection.