The Very Best Of Elvis Costello And The Attractions

Amazon.com In 1977, Elvis burst out of the gate with a series of poison pen letters set to music. It was wordy, angry, and as catchy as a cold. And the man was prolific; he kept writing and recording like a man possessed, bringing forth a stream of great songs that showed not only an encyclopedic knowledge of music, but also a passion for it. From "Alison" to "Everyday I Write the Book" it was almost impossible to fault what he was doing, and even harder to select a few songs as better than the others. This best-of, which cuts off in 1986 with the Blood and Chocolate album, attempts that impossibility, and does a very good job of it. As good an introduction as there'll ever be. --Chris Nickson Product description 22 track compilation from 1994 issued by Rykodisc. From the Label The Elvis Costello album to have if you can only have one! Jam-packed with twenty two of the master's best loved songs, hand-picked by the artist himself. Drawing from every album from MY AIM IS TRUE to BLOOD & CHOCOLATE, this set features not only the big hits that we couldn't possibly leave out ("Watching the Detectives," "Alison," "What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding" and the rest); but essential, couldn't-be-missed album tracks like "I Want You," "Shipbuilding," and "Man Out of Time." The most thorough single-CD Costello collection available. A staggering eleven albums were made in the first nine years of Costello's career, beginning with MY AIM IS TRUE in 1978. Most of them featured the Attractions, who've been widely hailed as one of the greatest rock combos ever, able to absorb pop, soul and country. Costello's songwriting made use of all that and more, starting with the stripped-down songwriting of MY AIM IS TRUE, moving through the blazing punk outbursts of THIS YEAR'S MODEL and ARMED FORCES, taking a soulful turn on GET HAPPY!!, hitting Nashville on ALMOST BLUE, exploring more ornate song structures on TRUST and IMPERIAL BEDROOM, then turning to glossier pop on PUNCH THE CLOCK and GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD, then revisiting country and punk with new perspectives on KING OF AMERICA, and BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE. In their new expanded Rykodisc editions, the albums in this extraordinary catalogue cumulatively contain nearly 200 tracks, of which Costello personally hand-picked 22 of the greatest for THE VERY BEST OF ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS. Elvis & The Attractions (Steve Nieve on keyboards, Bruce Thomas on bass, and Pete Thomas on drums) reunited in 1994 for BRUTAL YOUTH, their first album together in eight years. On their summer tour of '94, the band played songs which may be found on THE VERY BEST OF..., re-acquainting audiences all over the world with such timeless classics as "Alison," "Watching the Detectives," "Radio, Radio," "Clubland" and "Everyday I Write the Book."
ASIN: B0000009VO
VSKU: DBV.B0000009VO.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Elvis Costello
Binding: Audio CD