I was a EC fan from the earliest days and managed to see him live at least 5 times in the late 70s and early 80s. For me Imperial Bedroom was my favourite album then and remains so today. It is the one EC album that I listen to still on a regular basis - still finding nuances to delight me. Town Cryer is just an all time classic and such a great closer for the album. If you listen to it stand alone then it’s very good but listening to the whole album start to finish it is an epic closure like the closing soundtrack of a wonderful movie. Thanks for reminding me of how much I love the album and Town Cryer.
Agreed. I rarely just play a song from Imperial Bedroom. It's almost always the whole album. And not just as background music. I play it every July 4 as I kayak down the river, an annual ritual. It's such a studio album, I can't imagine EC playing it in its entirety live, but I do dream of seeing it happen.
Fantastic piece Steve! My opinion of EC is much as your early opinion was and it hasn’t really changed. Not because I’ve done any further investigation of his catalog but more because he was simply consigned to the trash heap of “artists I don’t like”. And that was enough for me to not spend time exploring his music.
But if I’ve learned anything musically over the last four decades it’s that my tastes have changed over time (go figure!) and that artists that I just couldn’t get into in the 80s/90s are worth revisiting. Sometimes my opinion changes and sometimes it doesn’t. But if it doesn’t, then at least it’s become an informed opinion.
So I’ll give your first two EC purchases a listen and see what I think.
BTW, as a mixtape afficionado that’s a damn fine opening track for a new romance!
Thanks Mark. There are some artists that can be discovered at any point in a listener's lifetime and others that are best experienced in the time they arrived into the world. I feel like EC is the former, though because of the vast range of material he's released, it will likely be very up and down for most new admirers. Especially as I age, I find that I gravitate to albums that relate to where I am as an adult more than ones that are more nostalgic. Those are great, too, but I find that's why I struggle with many critically acclaimed young artists. I can appreciate the music, and I can appreciate the sentiment, but I'm not looking to relive my younger years.
Dunno if that makes sense.
Regarding that mix tape, the girl who made it for me also turned me on to Joni Mitchell, but that is fodder for another post one day!
Great stuff; I had a similar experience with Trust; deep bonding to the music, but my new love was the drug they gave me after wisdom tooth surgery. I’m inspired to re-explore Imperial Bedroom! More recent stuff from Elvis I enjoyed: EC and the Imposters, I loved 2022’s The Boy Named If, especially The Difference, Paint the Red Rose Blue, and Magnificent Hurt.
Thanks, Arthur! You will like this story, based on what you write about. I was on a meditation retreat and was really struggling and started to get songs stuck in my head. One of the songs I realized was “from a whisper to a scream” and another I think it was “clubland”. Then, in the middle of one of the meditations, I realized that all the songs that were stuck in my head were from Costello‘s album Trust. It was my subconscious telling me that I needed to “trust“the process.
I've been into EC from This Year's Model on, although there have been ups and downs in our relationship and things have been positively chilly between us since Brutal Youth, the last album of his I spent money on. What a thrill it was to hear him rise to the lofty peaks of Imperial Bedroom! I love every song on it, but Town Cryer is special because it took me so long to realize it was even there. Man Out Of Time is so overwhelming that I had to get it out of my system to appreciate the orchestral majesty of Town Cryer.
Wonderful piece. I was into EC from 1978 or 79 on thanks to my older brother. “Pump it Up” was probably the first song of his I heard. I was wearing EC and Clash t-shirts to school by 81. But nothing could prepare me for Imperial Bedroom. It’s a top ten album for me, the absolute pinnacle of his talent. Pure magic.
Indeed. I go to a river near me every summer and play the album as I kayak down. It's my Imperial Bedroom ritual now. Thanks again for the reminder of his birthday.
I got into EC when I discovered 'I Want You' came out. Such a direct, mesmerising song where you could hear every breath. A huge song for me as a 17-year old. Other than that, he passed me by until 'Painted From Memory' came out which is one of my most listened to albums ever. I look forward to listening to 'Imperial Bedroom'. Never played it.
And as for your other two questions, a girlfriend turned me on to Leonard Cohen who until then I though was dreadful. When I gave him a chance and listened to 'I'm Your Man' which had just come out, I was converted and am now a huge fan.
I'm English and saw a town cryer at a village fete/fair once in the 80s I think.And yes, he was ringing a bell proclaiming 'Oyez Oyez'. Though it was definitely more of a novelty, though it did get everyone's attention. I guess the internet is now the world's town cryer.
Thanks, Jason! I suppose you are right about the internet being the world's town cryer. Or maybe world's town whiner. I had a similar late awakening to Leonard Cohen, though more of a self-discovery situation. Or perhaps I was more open-minded at that point.
"I Want You" is certainly a top-10 song for sure. The emotional turmoil is thick in every sung word. Have you heard/seen Fiona Apple's duet version?
I had to laugh when you described the cassette. I remember making mixtapes on that very brand!
I never got into the Indigo Girls myself, but an upstairs neighbor liked to blast them when her roommates weren't there. I ended up moving out because of it!
The thing about EC, he is a remarkably adept, almost gymnastic, singer with his own and others' tunes. Not many can handle Bacharach. His collab with Burt has produced some sublime songs.
Really enjoyed this piece, took me back to the cassette years when you couldn't find the darn song and wore out certain parts of the tape until they broke.
Thanks, Ellen. As I wrote, I was late to hop on the EC bandwagon, but once I did jump on, I've been a front row passenger ever since. He is a fantastic interpreter -- especially of his own songs! I have seen him perform many of the same songs at least a half-dozen times and they were arranged differently at each show. I still have a dual cassette deck, and it's hooked up to my computer, where I can digitize through Audacity. I keep meaning to digitally archive my mixes and rare tape recordings....maybe when I retire....
Yeah, I think most of EC's fans appreciate how he mixes it up (or Pumps it Up!). But in a way, he does appeal to the folks who want him to play the hits; he just does it his own way.
Re, the tape deck...I have USB turntable that has RCA inputs, so I connect my deck to the turntable and then it's connected to my computer via USB! I love when newish tech pairs with old tech, as it's very rare to find.
Like you I wasn't a big fan of Costello in his early years. Unlike you, no one ever turned me on to him! As such, he's a bit elusive to me. I know a smattering of his songs but I don't think I've ever listened to one of his albums in full. Maybe it's time!
He's an artist that many people either love or don't care for. I don't think hate plays into it. He's dabbled in dozens of genres, so it's hard to say which album to suggest. I do love Imperial Bedroom. It's the most lush of anything he'd done up to that point. But I love a dozen of his albums. I probably play his 1989 album Spike more than any other. And his collaborations with Allen Touissant and Burt Bacharach are sublime. And then his more punk-adjacent album This Year's Model is another favorite. Then there is his country album Almost Blue. He hasn't put out a polka album though. At least not yet.
I've been a huge Costello fan since the earliest days, although I have to admit that I lean towards his early albums, with the later ones hitting me hit and miss.
I was lucky enough to meet him twice. Once, when I was doing stand-up, I opened for him one night during the tour when he had the spinning wheel that he would use to decide which song to play next. The downside of that night was that the audience didn't know there was going to be an opening act. So when the lights went up and I was standing here...well, it didn't go well.
The second time I met him was at a dive bar in Chicago called "Bucket Of Suds." Costello had been at the local alt rock station doing an interview, and I received a frantic call from a friend to meet him at a nearby bar. Costello was there, along with his then-girlfriend, a couple of radio station people and a half-dozen old drunk Polish guys.
My favorite memory of that day was when Costello left, a by-then kinda drunk DJ stood on a chair and screamed "Ladies and Gentleman, Elvis has left the building!" Which confused the hell out of the Polish guys.
Ha! Great stories! I saw him on one of his spin the wheel shows (probably 10 or 12 years ago) and it was great. No opening act! Yeah that's a rough gig. And to be able to live out a dream and be able to legit call out "Elvis has left the building" is probably even more iconic than meeting him!
I was a EC fan from the earliest days and managed to see him live at least 5 times in the late 70s and early 80s. For me Imperial Bedroom was my favourite album then and remains so today. It is the one EC album that I listen to still on a regular basis - still finding nuances to delight me. Town Cryer is just an all time classic and such a great closer for the album. If you listen to it stand alone then it’s very good but listening to the whole album start to finish it is an epic closure like the closing soundtrack of a wonderful movie. Thanks for reminding me of how much I love the album and Town Cryer.
Agreed. I rarely just play a song from Imperial Bedroom. It's almost always the whole album. And not just as background music. I play it every July 4 as I kayak down the river, an annual ritual. It's such a studio album, I can't imagine EC playing it in its entirety live, but I do dream of seeing it happen.
Fantastic piece Steve! My opinion of EC is much as your early opinion was and it hasn’t really changed. Not because I’ve done any further investigation of his catalog but more because he was simply consigned to the trash heap of “artists I don’t like”. And that was enough for me to not spend time exploring his music.
But if I’ve learned anything musically over the last four decades it’s that my tastes have changed over time (go figure!) and that artists that I just couldn’t get into in the 80s/90s are worth revisiting. Sometimes my opinion changes and sometimes it doesn’t. But if it doesn’t, then at least it’s become an informed opinion.
So I’ll give your first two EC purchases a listen and see what I think.
BTW, as a mixtape afficionado that’s a damn fine opening track for a new romance!
Thanks Mark. There are some artists that can be discovered at any point in a listener's lifetime and others that are best experienced in the time they arrived into the world. I feel like EC is the former, though because of the vast range of material he's released, it will likely be very up and down for most new admirers. Especially as I age, I find that I gravitate to albums that relate to where I am as an adult more than ones that are more nostalgic. Those are great, too, but I find that's why I struggle with many critically acclaimed young artists. I can appreciate the music, and I can appreciate the sentiment, but I'm not looking to relive my younger years.
Dunno if that makes sense.
Regarding that mix tape, the girl who made it for me also turned me on to Joni Mitchell, but that is fodder for another post one day!
Great stuff; I had a similar experience with Trust; deep bonding to the music, but my new love was the drug they gave me after wisdom tooth surgery. I’m inspired to re-explore Imperial Bedroom! More recent stuff from Elvis I enjoyed: EC and the Imposters, I loved 2022’s The Boy Named If, especially The Difference, Paint the Red Rose Blue, and Magnificent Hurt.
Thanks, Arthur! You will like this story, based on what you write about. I was on a meditation retreat and was really struggling and started to get songs stuck in my head. One of the songs I realized was “from a whisper to a scream” and another I think it was “clubland”. Then, in the middle of one of the meditations, I realized that all the songs that were stuck in my head were from Costello‘s album Trust. It was my subconscious telling me that I needed to “trust“the process.
That is super cool! Nothing like getting an ear worm during an extended retreat, LOL!
Thanks!
I've been into EC from This Year's Model on, although there have been ups and downs in our relationship and things have been positively chilly between us since Brutal Youth, the last album of his I spent money on. What a thrill it was to hear him rise to the lofty peaks of Imperial Bedroom! I love every song on it, but Town Cryer is special because it took me so long to realize it was even there. Man Out Of Time is so overwhelming that I had to get it out of my system to appreciate the orchestral majesty of Town Cryer.
Wonderful piece. I was into EC from 1978 or 79 on thanks to my older brother. “Pump it Up” was probably the first song of his I heard. I was wearing EC and Clash t-shirts to school by 81. But nothing could prepare me for Imperial Bedroom. It’s a top ten album for me, the absolute pinnacle of his talent. Pure magic.
Indeed. I go to a river near me every summer and play the album as I kayak down. It's my Imperial Bedroom ritual now. Thanks again for the reminder of his birthday.
I got into EC when I discovered 'I Want You' came out. Such a direct, mesmerising song where you could hear every breath. A huge song for me as a 17-year old. Other than that, he passed me by until 'Painted From Memory' came out which is one of my most listened to albums ever. I look forward to listening to 'Imperial Bedroom'. Never played it.
And as for your other two questions, a girlfriend turned me on to Leonard Cohen who until then I though was dreadful. When I gave him a chance and listened to 'I'm Your Man' which had just come out, I was converted and am now a huge fan.
I'm English and saw a town cryer at a village fete/fair once in the 80s I think.And yes, he was ringing a bell proclaiming 'Oyez Oyez'. Though it was definitely more of a novelty, though it did get everyone's attention. I guess the internet is now the world's town cryer.
I really enjoyed your article, Steve.
Thanks, Jason! I suppose you are right about the internet being the world's town cryer. Or maybe world's town whiner. I had a similar late awakening to Leonard Cohen, though more of a self-discovery situation. Or perhaps I was more open-minded at that point.
"I Want You" is certainly a top-10 song for sure. The emotional turmoil is thick in every sung word. Have you heard/seen Fiona Apple's duet version?
https://youtu.be/S-Cop0aIBAQ?si=NHSVwbxgFK6VwpzA
That's such a great record and song. Fitting that your introduction to EC was via a doomed romance. Nice work!
I had to laugh when you described the cassette. I remember making mixtapes on that very brand!
I never got into the Indigo Girls myself, but an upstairs neighbor liked to blast them when her roommates weren't there. I ended up moving out because of it!
The thing about EC, he is a remarkably adept, almost gymnastic, singer with his own and others' tunes. Not many can handle Bacharach. His collab with Burt has produced some sublime songs.
Really enjoyed this piece, took me back to the cassette years when you couldn't find the darn song and wore out certain parts of the tape until they broke.
Thanks, Ellen. As I wrote, I was late to hop on the EC bandwagon, but once I did jump on, I've been a front row passenger ever since. He is a fantastic interpreter -- especially of his own songs! I have seen him perform many of the same songs at least a half-dozen times and they were arranged differently at each show. I still have a dual cassette deck, and it's hooked up to my computer, where I can digitize through Audacity. I keep meaning to digitally archive my mixes and rare tape recordings....maybe when I retire....
I didn't know you could do that with a tape recorder!
Interesting that he ignores fans' desire for sameness and keeps changing things up to stay engaged. It's admirable.
Yeah, I think most of EC's fans appreciate how he mixes it up (or Pumps it Up!). But in a way, he does appeal to the folks who want him to play the hits; he just does it his own way.
Re, the tape deck...I have USB turntable that has RCA inputs, so I connect my deck to the turntable and then it's connected to my computer via USB! I love when newish tech pairs with old tech, as it's very rare to find.
Watching The Detectives was my first ever single. Like all youse here, it’s his early stuff that’s for me. Blood And Chocolate FTW.
Thanks, Trey. Blood and Chocolate is a fave for me too. It really holds up over the decades.
Like you I wasn't a big fan of Costello in his early years. Unlike you, no one ever turned me on to him! As such, he's a bit elusive to me. I know a smattering of his songs but I don't think I've ever listened to one of his albums in full. Maybe it's time!
He's an artist that many people either love or don't care for. I don't think hate plays into it. He's dabbled in dozens of genres, so it's hard to say which album to suggest. I do love Imperial Bedroom. It's the most lush of anything he'd done up to that point. But I love a dozen of his albums. I probably play his 1989 album Spike more than any other. And his collaborations with Allen Touissant and Burt Bacharach are sublime. And then his more punk-adjacent album This Year's Model is another favorite. Then there is his country album Almost Blue. He hasn't put out a polka album though. At least not yet.
I've been a huge Costello fan since the earliest days, although I have to admit that I lean towards his early albums, with the later ones hitting me hit and miss.
I was lucky enough to meet him twice. Once, when I was doing stand-up, I opened for him one night during the tour when he had the spinning wheel that he would use to decide which song to play next. The downside of that night was that the audience didn't know there was going to be an opening act. So when the lights went up and I was standing here...well, it didn't go well.
The second time I met him was at a dive bar in Chicago called "Bucket Of Suds." Costello had been at the local alt rock station doing an interview, and I received a frantic call from a friend to meet him at a nearby bar. Costello was there, along with his then-girlfriend, a couple of radio station people and a half-dozen old drunk Polish guys.
My favorite memory of that day was when Costello left, a by-then kinda drunk DJ stood on a chair and screamed "Ladies and Gentleman, Elvis has left the building!" Which confused the hell out of the Polish guys.
Ha! Great stories! I saw him on one of his spin the wheel shows (probably 10 or 12 years ago) and it was great. No opening act! Yeah that's a rough gig. And to be able to live out a dream and be able to legit call out "Elvis has left the building" is probably even more iconic than meeting him!