Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Missed Masterpieces: Elvis Costello
Posted By Dan Nailen on October 26, 2010, 9:01 AM
Back in late May of 1978, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, I was 17 years old. Neither my friend nor I owned a car, so we were thumbing our way up to Snowbird. Even though the ski season was over, there was a girl at one of the lodges who would sell us beer even though we were four years from buying it legally.
Eventually, a car with Minnesota plates pulled over to gives us a ride. All the way up the canyon, as the three of us shared a joint, the driver kept compulsively changing radio stations. Finally I couldn’t stand it any more and had to ask him what the deal was. He said, “How come I can’t find a station here that plays Elvis Costello or the Ramones?” I’d heard both names before, but I’d never heard one of their songs, and I was a music guy.
In the late '90s I was browsing through Recycle CD, when my friend Deane, the owner, asked me if I wanted to buy the new re-mastered version of Elvis Costello’s first album. I said, “Nah, I was never a big fan of that '80s New Wave crap.” Deane raised an eyebrow and then educated me on the fact that Costello was NOT synth New Wave. I thought, "What the hell?" and bought it.
I now own and cherish eight Costello albums and have attended two great live shows.
The point of this blog is to expose masterpiece albums that got missed for whatever reason. And I welcome—no, I beg for—feedback, whether or not you agree with my opinions. The more passionate the better.
—Lane Heaps
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