So sick from a bad summer cold that I am sitting at my desk coughing up a new lunch and so tired I keep on falling to sleep, I figured I would write a random series of Costello single reviews. You know, just a couple of words and a grade, like the old days, before rock nyc took itself so seriously.
1. Alison – This didn’t begin it all for me, “Red Shoes” did. But Ihaven’t been in love with a woman since I heard it that it doesn’t remind me of them! – A+
2. A pleasure to play with a punchline that shares another true aim – A+
3. Veronica – His biggest hit is an intensely easy on the ear about a woman in a home for the aged – C
4. Pump It Up – quite how this became a Sport Arena favor, I can’t say – A+
5. (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding – Nick Lowe winds between satire, parody and sincerity – A
6. She – The Charles Aznavour classic given an entirely credible work out – A
7. Oliver’s Army – That would be Oliver Cromwell in case you were wondering – A+
8. Every Day I Write The Book – One of the cleverest working outs of a metaphor in song – A
9. (I Don’t want to Go To) Chelsea – Around about here the Attractions became a band – A+
10. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes – The first Costello song I ever heard – A+
11. Welcome To The Working Week – First album’s first song – A
12. Radio, Radio – “This is about something you stick in your ear” – A+
13. I’ll Never Fall In Love again – Burt Bacharah cover – A
14. No Action – Perhaps the purest expression of Costelloism from his first two albums – A
15. Less Than Zero – “Calling Mr. Oswald with the Swastika tattoo…” have two conflicting concepts ever been brought together so well – A
16. Accidents will Happen – One of my best concert experiences was sharing the “I knows” with Costello at the Beacon in the mid-1990s – B+
17. Tramp The Dirt Down – Agit-prop take down of Thatcher – C+
18. The Beat – Best song ever written about masturbation – A
19. This Year’s Girl – All this and no surprises? I still use that line – A
20. I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down – Sam and Dave cover – B+
21. Beyond Belief – The most Costello line ever written? “I’ve got a feeling I’m gonna get a lot of grief, once it seemed so appealing now I am beyond belief” – A
22. Miracle man – Those first two albums? Left me with enough aphorisms for a lifetime of broken hearts – A
23. I Want You – His major rethinking of a Lennon song off Abbey Road – C+
24. Blame It On Cain – Government burglars, eh? – A
25. You Belong To Me – His major rethinking of a Rolling Stones classic – A
26 Brilliant Mistake – A major piece of song composition – A+
27. No Dancing – “Oh I know that she has made a fool of him” could be his only important theme – A
28. Little Triggers – The one line that you can’t get away from? “My hand on your hip”.
29. High Fidelity – Off my fave album ever, one mo gin – A+
30. Waiting For The End Of The world – Bluesy last track off the first album – A
31. Shipbuilding – Robert Wyatt wrote the music, an anti-war song – A
32. Clubland – It disappointed me when it was first released but the years have made it more than it first appeared – B+
33. Indoor Fireworks – The end of a marriage? Sometimes fireworks isn’t enough – A+
34. New Lace Sleeves – Bad sex good manners – A
35. Senior Service – Punning on cigarettes and age – B
36. The Other Side Of Summer – Another line I used all the time? “I feel tragic without reason”. Brilliant ecological beach Boys nightmare world – A
37. Deep Dark Truthful Mirror – A great song off a bad album – A
38. Stranger In The House – where Costello begins to figure genre’s matter less when the girl has such wide eyes – A+
39. God’s Comic – To my mind, the worst of his first decade – D
40. God Give Me Strength – Overblown bombast pop – C-
41. Good Year For The Roses – Credible country classic cover – A
42. Two Little Hitlers – last song on the third album lives up to its other name: emotional fascism – A+
43 Toledo – The very best of the Bacharah – Costello compositions – A+
44. 5Gears In Reverse – Off Get Happy!!, this is the most typical song on the album with organ grinding Steve Nieve takeing the lead and Costello’s coked up drunk out’d paranoid rant still carrying the melody! – A-