The final instalment of the "records I got from a hold-all that Gunnar found in his attic" series is this Elvis Costello compilation. I vaguely remember Hugh having an Elvis Costello record when we were living in Cardiff, but whether that was before or after I picked up this album I don't know. Whilst I'm certain I'd heard Costello's songs on the radio at many points throughout my life (my mum even has a few songs on 7" in the box of records my parents have from their teenage years), the first time I remember consciously listening to him was, strangely, on the Woodstock '99 double cd. The first cd was a who's-who of late 90's, American (and Bush) nu-metal and hard rock. My friend Johnny had a copy and I borrowed it from him, before picking up my own copy some years later on eBay. The second cd was a very strange mix of things, including Elvis Costello singing Alison from the infamous event. It didn't blow me away, but did stick with me.
I don't know what I was expecting from this best-of when I took it home, but I wasn't expecting the opening run of Watching the Detectives, Oliver's Army and Alison to be quite so huge. I've listened to a lot of music over the years that is very far from pop music, but sometimes there's no denying that some pop songs are just really, really great songs. That is true of the opening trilogy here. Oliver's Army was a really unexpected highlight for me, with its upbeat piano in spite of the lyrical matter. It's hard to look past the now-controversial dropping of the n-word though. Pump it Up and I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down) are great too. There are moments that are unexpected in other ways too - Pill and Soap is quite bleak and Good Year for the Roses is calm and lovely. Generally though, the second half is much weaker than the first, but there are a lot of songs crammed onto these two sides of vinyl. I eventually bought a Costello best-of on cd so I could play these songs more easily. I definitely didn't expect to enjoy it quite so much when I picked it out of that gross hold-all of records.
Format: 12", gatefold
Tracks: 18
Cost: free second hand
Bought: Gunnar's attic
When: 25/03/09
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
