Nov 23, 2016

RhoDeo 1647 Aetix

Hello,

Today's artist is a very busy body who has produced 40 something in albums in the 39 years he's been on the scene, clearly the man doesn't need any extra stimulus and i suppose he ain't someone to chill out with. He's an Liverpudlian musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as part of London's pub rock scene in the early 1970s and later became associated with the first wave of the British punk and new wave movement that emerged in the mid-to-late 1970s. His critically acclaimed debut album, My Aim Is True, was released in 1977......N'Joy

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Declan Patrick Aloysius McManus alias Elvis Costello started out in a pubrock vain in a band called Flip City from 1974 through early 1976. Around this time, MacManus adopted the stage name D.P. Costello. After successfully landing a demo at Stiff records. His manager at Stiff, Jake Riviera, suggested a name change, to Elvis Costello. Costello's first album, My Aim Is True (1977), was a moderate commercial success with Costello appearing on the cover in his trademark oversize glasses, bearing a striking resemblance to a menacing Buddy Holly. Originally marketed as a punk artist, as the term new wave was applied to the first post-punk bands, Costello was classified as new wave for a time. The same year, Costello recruited his own permanent band, The Attractions, consisting of Steve Nieve (born Steve Nason; piano), Bruce Thomas (bass guitar), and Pete Thomas (unrelated to Bruce Thomas; drums). He released his first major hit single, "Watching The Detectives" . This Year's Model, Costello's first album recorded with the Attractions, was released in the spring of 1978. A rawer, harder-rocking record than My Aim Is True, it was also a bigger hit, the following year, Armed Forces was a more musically diverse album than either of his previous records. It was another hit, "Oliver's Army," the first single from the album, reached number two in Britain. In the summer of 1979, Costello produced the self-titled debut album by the Specials. In February of 1980, the soul-influenced Get Happy!!  the first record released on Riviera's new record label, F-Beat. Costello and the Attractions released Trust in early 1981; it was his fifth album in a row produced by Nick Lowe.

Jumping 22 very active years (19 albums) to 2003, when Costello returned with North, a collection of classically styled pop songs pitched halfway between Gershwin and Sondheim. The next year, he collaborated with his new wife, Diana Krall, on her first collection of original material, The Girl in the Other Room. That fall, Costello released two albums of original material: a classical work entitled Il Sogno and the concept album The Delivery Man, a rock & roll record cut with the Imposters. My Flame Burns Blue from 2006 was a live album with Costello fronting the 52-piece jazz orchestra the Metropole Orkest. On the album, classic Costello songs with new orchestral arrangements appeared alongside new compositions and a performance of the entire Il Sogno. The River in Reverse, a collaboration with R&B legend Allen Toussaint, arrived in 2006, followed by Momofuku, another effort credited to Elvis Costello & the Imposters, in 2008. That same year, Costello teamed up with veteran producer T-Bone Burnett for a series of recording sessions, the results of which were compiled into Secret, Profane & Sugar Cane and readied for release in early 2009. The pair also recorded a second album, National Ransom, which appeared the following year. In 2011 Costello & the Imposters released The Return Of The Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!!, which was recorded live over a two-day stint at the Wiltern in Los Angeles.

Over his career, Costello's musical eclecticism has distinguished his records and have shown him to be one of the most innovative, influential, and best songwriters who supports his fiercely literate lyrics with richly diverse music.


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Elvis Costello coproduced this 1986 album with roots-rock maestro T-Bone Burnett, creating a deeply personal and affecting series of songs that shade beautifully between folk and country. Stripping away much of the excess that cluttered Punch the Clock and Goodbye Cruel World, Elvis Costello returned to his folk-rock and pub rock roots with King of America, creating one of his most affecting and personal records. Costello literally took on the album as a return to roots, billing himself by his given name Declan MacManus and replacing the Attractions with a bunch of L.A. session men (although his old band appears on one cut), who give the album a rootsy but sleek veneer that sounds remarkably charged after the polished affectations of his Langer/Winstanley productions. And not only does the music sound alive, but so do his songs, arguably his best overall set since Trust. Working inside the limits of country, folk, and blues, Costello writes literate, introspective tales of loss, heartbreak, and America that are surprisingly moving -- he rarely got better than "Brilliant Mistake," "Glitter Gulch," "American Without Tears," "Big Light," and "Indoor Fireworks." What separates King of America from the underrated Almost Blue is that Costello's country now sounds lived-in and worn, bringing a new emotional depth to the music, and that helps make it one of his masterpieces.



Elvis Costello - King of America (flac  480mb)

01 Brilliant Mistake 3:45
02 Lovable 2:53
03 Our Little Angel 4:05
04 Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood 3:21
05 Glitter Gulch 3:17
06 Indoor Fireworks 4:10
07 Little Palaces 3:49
08 I'll Wear It Proudly 4:24
09 American Without Tears 4:34
10 Eisenhower Blues 3:46
11 Poisoned Rose 4:06
12 The Big Light 2:33
13 Jack Of All Parades 5:17
14 Suit Of Lights 4:05
15 Sleep Of The Just 3:51
Extended
16 The People's Limousine 3:38
17 They'll Never Take Her Love From Me 3:01
18 Suffering Face 3:08
19 Shoes Without Heels 4:18
20 King Of Confidence 2:46

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Elvis Costello and The Attractions - Live On Broadway, 1986 Bonus (flac  160mb)

01 How You Get Killed Before 2:41
02 The Big Light 2:50
03 It Tears Me Up 3:24
04 The Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line 2:37
05 Your Mind Is On Vacation / Your Funeral And My Trial 5:14
06 That's How You Get Killed Before (Reprise) 7:08

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Elvis Costello returned to the Attractions as quickly as he abandoned them, hiring the band and old producer Nick Lowe to record Blood & Chocolate, his second record in the span of one year. Where King of America was a stripped-down roots rock affair, Blood & Chocolate is a return to the harder rock of This Year's Model. Occasionally, there are hints of country and folk, but the majority of the album is straight-ahead rock & roll: the opener, "Uncomplicated," only has two chords. The main difference between the reunion and the Attractions' earlier work is the tone -- This Year's Model was tense and out of control, whereas Blood & Chocolate is controlled viciousness. "Tokyo Storm Warning," "I Hope You're Happy Now," and "I Want You" are the nastiest songs he has ever recorded, both lyrically and musically -- Costello snarls the lyrics and the Attractions bash out the chords. Blood & Chocolate doesn't retain that high level of energy throughout the record, however, and loses momentum toward the end of the album. Still, it's a lively and frequently compelling reunion, even if it is a rather mean-spirited one.



Elvis Costello and The Attractions - Blood and Chocolate (flac 273mb)

01 Uncomplicated 3:28
02 I Hope You're Happy Now 3:07
03 Tokyo Storm Warning 6:24
04 Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head 5:07
05 I Want You 6:44
06 Honey, Are You Straight Or Are You Blind? 2:08
07 Blue Chair 3:41
08 Battered Old Bird 5:51
09 Crimes Of Paris 4:19
10 Poor Napoleon 3:23
11 Next Time Around 3:36

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Throughout his career Elvis Costello has always been prolific; thus it was surprising, even given the change in record labels for the US, when he took a whole 20 months between Blood & Chocolate and this follow-up. But the musical growth he exhibits makes the wait worthwhile. This is an ambitious album, with Costello working with multiple collaborators, genres, and sounds. He's feeling expansive, and also more direct than at times in the past. But nothing seems jarring in juxtaposition here--it all flows as one, held together by a distaste for current political and cultural trends. The musical settings range from the stark folk of "Tramp the Dirt Down" to the pop sprightliness of "Veronica" (a collaboration with Paul McCartney that became Costello's first American Top 20 hit) and the New Orleans jazz sound of "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror," featuring the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The lyrics are among his best.



Elvis Costello - Spike (flac 398mb)

01 ...This Town...4:31
02 Let Him Dangle 4:45
03 Deep Dark Truthful Mirror 4:06
04 Veronica 3:09
05 God's Comic 5:31
06 Chewing Gum 3:46
07 Tramp The Dirt Down 5:41
08 Stalin Malone 4:09
09 Satellite 5:44
10 Pads, Paws And Claws 2:56
11 Baby Plays Around 2:46
12 Miss MacBeth 4:23
13 Any King's Shilling 6:06
14 Coal-Train Robberies 3:18
15 Last Boat Leaving 3:31

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rho, could you please repost Spike from Elvis Costello? Thanks, Mike

Anonymous said...

Was I too early? This post is 2 years old. Sorry about that. Mike