Elvis Costello

The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years [DIGIPACK]
$13.98
Undeniably great music, but energy literally peters out to slow, maudlin that about pitched me into catatonia. Perhaps I prefer only first 5 years.

The Costello Show: Live at the El Mocambo
$14.99
Every Elvis fan should have this one, to know what those early shows were like. My only complaint: why is this listed under "The Costello Show"--a moniker that didn't appear for a decade or more after this recording?

This Year's Model
$13.98
Someone else may have mentioned this already, but if not, I think many have overlooked a most important component of the genesis and passion of this album. Let me see if memory serves...

As I recall, this album was indeed the boom following the lit fuse dynamite of the first album, but where did all the intensity come from? Very much like Frank Sinatra's masterpiece recording In the Wee Small Hours, which was born of a broken heart, This Year's Model was the result of the breakup of Elvis' love affair with famed international model Bebe Buell. The cover says it all and it's right there staring you in the face.

Frank nearly lost his mind over the breakup with Eva Gardner, the absolute one and only love of his life. The pain and misery he felt drove him to a level of intensity and passion in his delivery and arrangements never before heard from the Chairman of the Board.

Like Frank before him, Elvis too suffered deeply when Bebe chose her career over him - just listen to the words of Lipstick Vogue. Most of the album was a love lost song to Bebe. It stands out in my mind as truly one of the great albums to come out of the '80's and remains one of my very favorites.

Get Happy!!
$13.98
Get Happy by Elvis & the Attractions is up there with Abbey Road as one of the greatest rock albums ever made, from the first cut to the last. Incredible wordplay floating in a stew of crunchy, tight, sparkling rockin' new wave rhythm country & ska. This one album contains enough golden nuggets to make careers for 4 or 5 lesser artists. I listened to it constantly 25 years ago - it's just as stunning today.