Even though I know these posts are written to get people's goat, I gotta
defend Elvis.  I was introduced to his music when my older brother brought
"My Aim Is True" home from college.  A year later I heard "This Year's
Model" on our family vacation and I was hooked. continuing in order: "Armed
Forces", "Get Happy" & "Trust" were all okay, but didn't blow me away at the
time. (I've since grown to like AF & GH a lot...but not Trust as a whole).
"Almost Blue" introduced me to Gram Parsons, so it holds a place in my
heart.  
"Imperial Bedroom" is one of my Top 10 of all-time.  "Punch The Clock" has
many moments, but the sum is weaker than the parts.  "Goodbye Cruel World"
was a mess until the Ryko reissue added all those great bonus tracks.  Then
came the incredible 1-2 punch of "King Of America" (another all-time Top 10
lister) and "Blood & Chocolate"...Followed by the 1-2 disappointment of
"Spike" & "Mighty Like A Rose" - which combine for one good album thanks to
CD Burners.  "Juliet Letters" is over my head/out of my range...but someday
it might serve a similar purpose as "Almost Blue" and turn me onto chamber
music.  
"Brutal Youth" wasn't the 'return of the angry young man' that it was
heralded as, but it makes a great companion piece to "Blood & Chocolate" -
More of an older man looking back on his youthful follies.  On "Kojak
Variety" he looks back even farther to his childhood when his dad was a big
band singer.  "All This Useless Beauty" probably wouldn't stand up so much
on it's own, but the releases surrounding it (the 4 singles in 4 weeks,
Costello & Nieve live box) make it memorable and it's a nice companion to
the "Bespoke" compilation that came out later. I trust (pun intended) that
"Painted From Memory", "For The Stars" & "North" will unveil themselves to
me over the years.  2002 brought one of the best albums of his career with
"When I Was Cruel", combining classic Costello with (at times) trance beats.
Maybe I cut him more slack than I would someone who I'm less of a fan...I
surely wouldn't buy anyone else's output multiple times (LP, CD, Ryko CD,
Rhino CD).  But my main point is, like anyone with a 25+ year career, Elvis'
output has it's peaks and valleys.  To me, it doesn't have much to do with
'where I came in' (unless it's because I've been there since the 1st - even
though I can hardly listen to "My Aim Is True" anymore), or 'expectations',
since I'm watching for a curveball 
- My personal highlights would be: 
1982 Imperial Bedroom
1986 King Of America
1978 This Year's Model
1986 Blood & Chocolate
2002 When I Was Cruel
1994 Brutal Youth
1996 All This Useless Beauty
So although his output has become less prolific and more adventurous, I
don't think it has dropped in quality.

Next: My defense of The Stones catalog from 1966 to 1981.
Dan FrankE
[Between The Buttons; Flowers; Some Girls; Let It Bleed; 
           Exile; Tattoo You; Aftermath, Emotional Rescue]


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