One of the most important albums of the 70s. The first time I heard of this musician all I could think was only a looser would name himself Elvis. Boy was I wrong. The name, the hype, the cover that is filled with the words repeated words over and over into a type of filigree in the background "Elvis is King", and the nerve of starting out the album with the line "Now that your picture's in the paper" (obviously referring to himself) and went on to continue in the same song with the line "now the angels want to wear my red shoes" - ("I dare you to knock these oversized glasses off my face, I dare you!") the nerve! The nerve indeed. This was one guy that wanted to smack the world upside the head. This was our first introduction to the witty lyricist Elvis Costello who could manage in one song to be caustic and sweet and above all brilliant. At his best Costello (birth name McManus) carries on the tradition of wordsmith that descended from the great Irish novelists. Although he had yet to have his own band and many were quick to point out what the music flaws of what they saw as a less than perfect backup band I just can't imagine this album without them as their simplicity adds a touch a touch of irony to lyrics which are in and of themselves steeped in irony.
This is an album which must be in every collection.

A muddy masterpiece that announced the arrival of the new king. Busting out of a computer programming office in the basement of a bank in London, armed with wit, cynicism, and a songbook that has never been emptied. All of the gifts that Declan MacManus has shown us since his debut, are on his display here. This album is most well known for "Allison", and, "The Angels (Wanna Wear my Red Shoes), but for my money the most amazing gem is "Less than Zero", and then on top of that there is his most easily recognizable songs: "Watching The Detectives" This was a great Cd when I own the cruddy sounding Columbia version, but now we have the wonderfully remastered Rhino edition. Complete with the original album as well as a 2nd disc with early versions, B-sides, and Outtakes. A must have for anyone who enjoys this wonderful artist.

...because you should be listening to your new Elvis Costello CD, completely wrapped up in its melodic and lyrical inventions.
Every track is profuse with inspiration, as if it were recorded only yesterday, and this has been the case for over twenty five years. If you only have "Best of", then you have lots of catching up to do, because thats only an introduction to his body of work.
When it comes to song craftsmanship and performance, he arrived on the scene with all the bases covered--as is evident in every phrase eloquently spat out. Stylistically, he's one that crosses genres at will, creates new ones, and makes it all work. However stylistically diverse, this is not what makes Costello great. He does not delve deeply into mastering any particular style. His strength undoubtably lies in the "songwriting"--which can be defined in many differnt ways depending upon the person--but in Costello's case its definition lies somewhere between the delivery and the winning combination of word and melody (right where it should be in my opinion).
He's a great inspiration for songwriters. If your interested in the craft of writing at all, he's almost unbeatable in many ways. Melodically and lyrically, he's nailing things to wall, putting them into the right combinations, aquiring the perfect balance, inserting the right catch phrase at the right time--and he does these things over and over again, relentlessly.
He just doesn't "write" a song either, he "works" a song, purging all of his emotions through it. He makes those structures, be they simple or elaborate, come alive with energy and power.

Punk brought us Elvis Costello. It at least opened the door for him and people like him- masters of the 3-minute pop single. Had there been no Ramones, Elvis might have lived in obscurity. So, whatever you think of the late 70s, it's a great era for that reason alone (not to mention countless other great musicians who arrived on the scene at that time as well).

I bought this about 20 years after it was released, and I was slightly familiar with his songs before that- but only slightly. I actually bought "This Year's Model" the same day. Both of those together served as an excellent intro to Costello, but of the two, I listen to this one more. "TYM" is more punkish in the traditional sense, which works, but here we have some early dabbling in country-rock influences as well. It's a rough and daring album, with a good deal of anger on the surface. But it also reveals Costello's innocent side, on "Mystery Dance" (capturing the angst of teenagerhood quite well) and "The Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes." There are a variety of bonus tracks here, more than on the Ryko version which I own, but I'll bet they're good. You can't go wrong with Costello during this period.

Costello's still making great music today. I've been hearing a track from his latest, "The Delivery Man," on the local alt-rock radio station all month (it's featured) and it is amazing in the way that this early material was too. But I'd start at Costello's first step if you are new to him and get this essential debut.

-HW

Elvis Costello wastes no time assaulting your feelings with his debut album. Each song is an attack on what was, at that time, rock's complacency. Sure, there were other bands playing harder and faster, like the Ramones, or with more sheer bile, like the Sex Pistols, but no one was able to harness the anger and the angst of British, and dare I say it, American youth, quite like Elvis Costello(OK, I'll give you The Clash, but Costello has a bit more sophistication and was not as dominated by one particular sound.) Even today, these songs have lost none of their urgency; the idea of actually putting voice to these raw emotions with such intelligence was truly a rare commodity in the 70's. Listening to the film noir of "Watching the Detectives," or just by finding yourself singing along with the chorus of "I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused," you start to realize that this is one of music's true geniuses. Catch the confusion and frustration on "Mystery Dance." Has anybody portrayed this blend of emotion better than Costello? Without a song even reaching 4 minutes, Costello let's you peak into his world of turbulence, where anger and confusion reign supreme. While I consider this a five star recording and a necessity for anyone who wants their music collection to reflect the finest rock can offer, I can't help but wonder what might have been had it been recorded with The Attractions as opposed to the band Clover. Well, that's next one.