Friday, June 5, 2015

40 Year Itch: Elvis Costello's Fave 1975 Albums


Elvis Costello in 1975

Flip City : Pay It Back 


    In 1975 the future Elvis Costello was playing around London as D.P. Costello in his pub rock band Flip City . They also recorded various demos that would appear on his early albums. Married with a child, he had high hopes of leaving his computer operating job at an Elizabeth Arden cosmetics factory ( later disparaged as a "vanity factory" in "I'm Not Angry"). 



In 2000 a much more serious and mature Costello put the following 1975 albums into a list he made for Vanity Fair of his 500 Favorite Albums. The song selections are his.


 TONY BENNETT and BILL EVANS: The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album (1975), “Some Other Time.”


 MILES DAVIS and STAN GETZ and LEE KONITZ: Conception (1975), “Ezz-thetic.” 



BOB DYLAN: Blood on the Tracks (1975), “You’re a Big Girl Now” 
                           The Basement Tapes (1975), “Nothing Was Delivered” 
EMMYLOU HARRIS: Elite Hotel (1976), “One of These Days"



JOHN LENNON: Shaved Fish (1975), “Instant Karma!” 
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS:Natty Dread (1975), “Lively Up Yourself.” 
KATE AND ANNA McGARRIGLE: Kate and Anna McGarrigle (1975), “Go Leave.” 


THE METERS: The Best of the Meters (1975), “Cissy Strut.”
 JONI MITCHELL: The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975), “Shades of Scarlet Conquering” 


THE STYLISTICS: The Best of the Stylistics (1975), “People Make the World Go ’Round.” 

4 comments:

  1. I have never seen this 500 list from EC. This will keep me busy for awhile. Biggest surprise has got to be Salt N Pepa.

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  2. ....maybe it's me, but that selection by EC seems a bit false/pretentious.

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  3. The young Elvis was a lot more fun.

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  4. ".........false/pretentious. " Isn't that in the Vanity Fair Mission statement?

    Young Elvis was more fun (and thinner), but then weren't we all?

    Cheers

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