I love Elvis. Costello that is. The ultimate nerd boy doing his stylistic take-off on Buddy Holly -- suits and skinny ties, horned rimmed glasses and plenty of punk attitude. Hyper-literate songs with well-crafted, witty lyrics pulsating to a punky, poppy beat.
On May 1st, Hip-O/Universal
Music Enterprises will release The Best Of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years and Rock And Roll Music a
rock-themed collection of hits, key album tracks, b-sides and previously
unreleased rarities. On the same day, the digital premiere of Elvis Costello's first 11 original albums will be available for download exclusively on the
iTunes Music Store (www.itunes.com) 30 days before they are made available to all online partners. The
albums will also be released in their original versions as digipaks with
booklets and obie sleeves.
In a world where pre-fab pop tarts sing repetitive and shallow "oh baby baby" lyrics, Costello is a welcome change.
"Oh, I said "I'm so happy I could die."
She said "Drop dead," then left with another guy.
That's what you get if you go chasing after vengeance.
Ever since you got me punctured this has been my sentence."
- (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
22 songs are featured on The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years including Red Shoes, Alison ("I don't know if you were loving somebody, I only know it isn't mine..."), Watching the Detectives, Pump it Up, Oliver's Army and (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding. Rock and Roll Music also features 22 songs--some of them duplications from The First 10 Years, but mostly additional hits such as Miracle Man, Girls Talk and the demo version of Welcome to the Working Week. The collection is notably missing one of my all time favorite songs, (You're Not) The Only Flame in Town, but otherwise should make die-hard Elvis fans (Costello, that is) very happy.
The releases come in conjunction with Costello & the Imposters
ten city tour
presented by Visa Signature®, spanning from the House of Blues in Los
Angeles to the Nokia Theatre in New York City. The tour kicks off on
May 2,
2007, with performances throughout the month. For tickets and
information
about Visa Signature benefits associated with the tour please visit
www.hob.com/visasignature .
Visa Signature Tour Dates:
Wed May 2 House of Blues West Hollywood, CA
Thu May 3 Warfield San Francisco, CA
Sun May 6 The Filmore Denver, CO
Tue May 8 The Myth Minneapolis, MN
Wed May 9 House of Blues Chicago, IL
Fri May 11 The State Theatre Detroit, MI
Tue May 15 Avalon Boston, MA
Wed May 16 Nokia New York, NY
Fri May 18 9:30 Washington, DC
Sat May 19 Electric Factory Philadelphia, PA
While this may not be a comprehensive collection of Elvis Costello's work, as the man would say himself:
"Even in a perfect world where everyone was equal, I'd still own the film rights and be working on the sequel." - Everyday I Write the Book
Rock on, Elvis--rock on!!!