What Are You Listening To Right Now? #26 NEW!!

...lucky guy!! I'd love to see these things being put together.

 

It looks like this thread has come back around to "Shipbuilding"-- this time, somehow, literally! When we could be diving for pearls.

So I'll return to your Punch the Clock post. That was Costello's brassy album. Not one of my favorites, though it still has good songs, as you'd shown. Here are a few more:
















And this is a demo version of "King Of Thieves," above, with guitar instead of brass:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=r89cmrnQT-A&si=NZKud0X-4rKF4Gkf

 

@bigfella

I think Costello's best album was his 10th, in 1986: "King of America." But that is kind of a downbeat album. His fourth album, from 1980, "Get Happy," is his most easily likeable, IMO, because of the wealth of catchy hooks, and an overall upbeat, energetic feel. Here is a first page of selections, from it. Note that this album uses a lot of keyboard, particularly electric organ:


Secondary Modern




Men Called Uncle




High Fidelity




Temptation




Possession

 

With the exception of Almost Blue & Goodbye Cruel World I love everything from My Aim IsTrue to Spike more or less equally. Incredible songwriting and they all sound great in their own way. A remarkable period of creativity. There is plenty of stuff since then I like, but that 12ish year period is unbeatable.

 

@bigfella , Continued: Page 2 of offerings from Elvis Costello's "Get Happy:"

Opportunity



New Amsterdam



I Stand Accused



Riot Act



Motel Matches

 

That seems unusual, to me, since there is a good bit of variety between his different albums (as I had suggested, just between King of America and Get Happy). After King of America, Costello kind of disappeared, except for his hit, from Spike, "Veronica"-- which had impressed & infected me, with its passion. I picked up his 1991 cassette, Mighty like A Rose, in a discount bin, and it was awful (other than "So Like Candy").

But you had cut your full endorsement short of that. How about sharing what you think of as his top cuts from Blood and Chocolate, & Spike (the two albums that followed King..., prior to Mighty...).

"Almost Blue," Costello's country album, I don't care for, either, other than the song,
"Hot Burrito #1 (I'm Your Toy)."




But do you like Costello's country song, "Different Finger?" on his album Trust?




Here is a live recording of "I'm Your Toy," but I think the Royal Orchestra detracts from its Country flavor:





Funny that you except Goodbye Cruel World from your praise, as this is one of my favorites (after King of America, and Get Happy). Can you explain what it is about that album, that leaves you nonplussed? It has "The Only Flame In Town," "The Comedians," "The Great Unknown," "Room With No Number," "Inch By Inch," and "Love Field," to mention some of what I think of, as its good songs. And you prefer Imperial Bedroom?

 

I have VERY eclectic tastes in music, so I find the variety of those albums a plus rather than a minus. I like that he was able to shift styles so regularly and make it work. Mighty Like a Rose was a major letdown and the start of a less consistent period.

Blood & Chocolate has a lot of good tracks, but my favourites are:



....and



I once saw him do an incredible version of this last one live. Riveting.

I love just about every track on Spike. There is a great variety of styles and the tunes & lyrics are brilliant. I loved 'Veronica' because it was my grandmother's name. Sadly the dementia of the song's subject also happened to my grandmother, so the song is even more special to me now.

'Let Him Dangle' is a great political song about a real life unjust hanging (the guy who was hung was in police custody when the murder happened, but he was still hanged):



A great piano ballad:



I loved the jazz feel of this, plus the clever lyrics:



I could honestly put most of the album. Worth a re-listen if you haven't heard it for a while - songs about Maggie Thatcher, Princess Diana & all manner of topics.

I don't mind his coutry stuff, but I think it is weak compared to his other work. Some good songs, but too few.

 

I don't hate the album, but I don't think it was as good as the others. There were some solid songs, but the production let them down. Many of them sounded better as demo tracks. I do still like some songs, but its not a great album to me.

Imperial Bedroom kicks ass. Great songs, great production. Starts with a classic and contains 'Almost Blue', one of the best tracks he ever wrote, though the Chet Baker version is better (he wrote it for Chet).







Baker died within months of this recording. You can feel the weight of his life in that voice. A great song eliciting a great performance.

 

...evening all...

 

sorry but just adding some......been playing an old Todd Rundgren album...well Utopia but who's counting....anyway....in true Rundgren fashion these need volume.....so they're best played at ramming speed....

 

Happy 77th to one of the best and most underrated rock guitarists in the last 50 years
Martin Barre

and one of the most magnificent guitar solos in history

 

Not bad. It's creatively, well constructed. I personally couldn't connect much with the singer's voice, though. While this is definitely not a style that I typically listen to, or that is very familiar to me, the song reminded me of this old school tune, by Ronny James Dio (the video is lame, but other cuts used either too long of an intro, or omitted it, altogether):





Let me fill out the post with a couple of others, in the same general musical category:










And let's return to Dio, to end on a classic:

 

HAPPY 61ST Kirk Hammett

 

Happy 76th to Joe Walsh

 

a day late-same birthday as Joe walsh

Gail Ann Dorsey: Happy Birthday

 

I've always loved that song. Even if this cover wasn't as intense as the version with Freddie Mercury-- what do want? It's still a good cover.

You must own a calendar, with all the musicians' birthdays. I had actually not been familiar with the name, Gail Ann Dorsey.

 

no calendar-these pop up on my facebook page.

 

forty years ago, I was in law school. One of our favorite professors was a hard core Ted Kennedy fan-to the point of having been a delegate for him in 80 when he sought to wrest the nomination from Jimmy Carter. One of my friends was a punk rock guru and on November 20, 1983 he went to several of us and said "Give me ten bucks" it will be worth it. we did. He went to the Village in NYC and did some shopping. So Tuesday morning 10 AM 11/22/83 we sat in the front row of the class all wearing DEAD KENNEDY's t-shirts Tom had bought in NYC. After about 40 minutes, the professor checked his calendar and looked squarely at the instigator and said-Tom-YOU *******!! and started laughing.

 

We need more songs, about Pol Pot.

My favorite line:
It's Holiday, in Cambodia--
don't forget to pack a wife!