If you’re just joining us, check out the About This Project link for details. Basically, I make playlists of all the singles by certain musical artists and then try to order them using the guiding principle “do I like each song more than the last song.” I define “single” in a broad enough way to include any song that was released as a purchasable single in any format in any country; as a promotional single in any country; as a video; or generally any song that I know charted anywhere. My main sources are Wikipedia (mostly reliable) and Discogs (reasonably reliable). I welcome editing feedback since sometimes I favor speed over spelling.
I am reasonably certain I first encountered the music of Elvis Costello in the very early 80’s on the Dr. Demento show – the good doctor played “Mystery Dance” though I’m not 100% sure why. I was sort of aware of him as “that guy who dressed like Buddy Holly” but I previously knew nothing of his music. Fortunately for Mr. Costello (né Declan Patrick MacManus) , appearing on the Dr. Demento show’s playlist was a surefire ticket to legitimacy in my book (see also: Oingo Boingo).
As I slipped further and further into the college music scene, I encountered a ton of Elvis Costello’s music on WXCI. Gradually, I came to realize that “Watching the Detectives,” “Pump It Up,” “Green Shirt,” and that song about Alison were all by the same guy. My cool friends were fans and it didn’t take very much persuading for me to become a fan, too. By the time I purchased King of America on vinyl in 1986, I was a superfan. I saw him live twice in college (once in 1987 in Providence and once in 1989 at Colby College), both times solo (Nick Lowe opening), and managed to totally miss him in 2006 when he played in Honolulu (presumably, I was working on a show). I own almost every album he’s ever released (except for Costello & Nieve which I plan to purchase eventually). I think he’s released fantastic songs (and a few clunkers) at every stage of his career.
David Lee Roth of Van Halen once said that music critics preferred Elvis Costello because they looked like him. I confess that I don’t entirely dispute the core argument here, but I’d suggest it’s not so much that he looks like a music critic but because Costello is a voracious listener with an encyclopedic knowledge of many genres of music – like many music critics. He crafts intelligent – often biting – commentary on the world with his lyrics – like many music critics. He really wants to hang out with great musicians – like many music critics. Unlike many music critics, Costello has significant musical chops and those musicians clearly also want to hang out with him. With all love to David Lee Roth (who gets endless props from me because he adores dogs), Elvis Costello gets the love from music critics because he makes the kind of music that we wish we could make.
Anyhow, we’re starting with some songs that aren’t so hot, but ranking his music becomes significantly harder due to a leap in how much I like pretty much everything almost immediately after these six songs. As per usual, I’ve defined “single” pretty broadly to include any song that was released in a promotional capacity, erring on the side of inclusion. I am committing to these 116 songs and if, as I work on this list, I discover other songs that could be considered singles by my definition, I am going to force myself to ignore them. Which will be hard. I should also take a moment to mention that I am leaning very heavily on the Elvis Costello Wiki, one of the best internet resources on any artist that I’ve ever encountered.
And so…
116. Bright Blue Times
Extremely limited single sold only at Elvis Costello concerts in 2017
If you are ambitious, you can download the song and listen to it here. That is a live recording from a bootleg album called Unwanted Numbers. My research suggests that this recording is the same one that was pressed into a super-limited release single (only 500 copies were pressed) and sold exclusively at concerts on his 2017 tour. You can read the lyrics here. If it is the same recording, it is lo-fi to the max (recorded live in Italy) and the audience sounds unsure about whether it’s over or not at the end. It sounds like it’s just Costello alone on acoustic guitar. I established – while writing about R.E.M. – that if I could not share a song with you (in that case, not even hear it for myself), I would automatically rank it last. That said, even if I could share it with you, I’d rank it last. It’s a fine gift to fans, but it’s not really worth as much effort as I put into finding it (and I thank the friend of mine who pointed me to the MP3 while at the same time not sharing his name lest he be chased down by the thugs at the RIAA).
115. A Town Called a Big Nothing
(Artist: The MacManus Gang)
Single from the soundtrack of the original motion picture Straight to Hell (1987), released as a single in 1987
The Alex Cox film Straight to Hell figures prominently in 80’s alternative music for both The Pogues (see “Fiesta” – #21) and Elvis Costello. Costello had produced The Pogues’ Rum, Sodomy and The Lash in 1985 and, at some point, became romantically involved with bass player, Cait O’Riordan. They were married from 1986 through 2002 and frequently played music together live and in the studio. “Fiesta,” as you’ll recall, references their relationship as well as this film. Anyhow, who knows what the hell was going on in Almeria while they were filming this movie. When the soundtrack to the film came out, I had high hopes for it (because I’d loved the soundtracks to Cox’s previous films, Repo Man and Sid and Nancy) but the only song I found worthwhile was The Pogues’ early version of “If I Should Fall From Grace With God.” The film itself turned out to be a bit of a bore – not even a colossal bore. Narrated by Sy Richardson (the star of the film), this track by The MacManus Gang never especially connected with me despite the enormous talent of all the musicians involved. I mean, I do like whispering “Big Nothing” along with it, but that is a small ring to grasp at.
114. Bama Lama Bama Loo
Promo single from Kojak Variety (1995), released as a single in 1995
Cover of a single originally written and recorded in 1965 by Little Richard
Costello has released several albums of cover songs in his career (and has included cover songs on many of his albums). Kojak Variety was one such album and I purchased the CD the day it was released at Tower Records on Keaumoku Street here in Honolulu. Released on the heels two of my favorite Elvis Costello albums – The Juliet Letters, his collaboration with The Brodsky Quartet and Brutal Youth, his reunion with The Attractions – Kojak Variety was a disappointment. Indeed, it is the Costello album that I return to least frequently (which is to say, never). The songs are mostly rarities by some of the greats of R&B and rock and roll – songs that Costello clearly loves. The performances are top notch – he had been touring with this band and it was the last time they would be playing together. In 1995, I wanted more songs with lyrics by Costello and wasn’t prepared to move from “You would sing along with little tell-tale staggers/While balancing on daggers/Though they were killing you/You looked so deadly” to “Well, I asked my baby for a kiss/She shook her head around like this.” I mean, that is hardly a Cars or New Order level bad lyrics, but I just wanted more. I mean, this was on the radio constantly in 1995. I needed some serious relief. Anyhow, “Bama Lama Bama Loo” wasn’t one of the stand out tracks on Kojak Variety (and despite my complaining, there were several stand out tracks, most notably his lovely cover of Ray Davies’ “Days”) and I was surprised it was released even as a promo single.
113. Talking in the Dark
(Artist: Elvis Costello and The Attractions)
Stand-alone complimentary single released in 1978 and 1979
Much like “Bright Blue Times,” (#116 above), “Talking in the Dark” was a singles that, according to the Discogs link above, was “given away at the 1978 London Dominion Christmas shows, 1978, the 3 New York shows in January 1979, and when buying the Armed Forces LP at any January 1979 UK concert.” It was made available to the rest of the world on his 1980 b-side and rarity compilation(s) Taking Liberties in the U.S. and Ten Bloody Marys and Ten How’s Your Fathers in the UK. The tune is a bit of a concert staple and the lyrics are pretty decent, but it’s never felt to me like a finished song. As with “Bright Blue Times,” it’s a fine bonus track for fans but I skip over it as often as not.
112. Love for Tender
(Artist: Elvis Costello and The Attractions)
Music video from Get Happy!! (1980), released as a video in 1980
Get Happy!! was Costello’s first foray into building a whole album around a beloved musical genre and remains one of his finest and best loved albums. The record kicks off with “Love For Tender,” a barrage of financial metaphors for relationship transactions set to the “You Can’t Hurry Love” riff (by Costello’s own admission – he also points out that The Jam later did something similar with “the vastly superior song ‘Town Called Malice.’” Phil Collins, meanwhile, just said “screw it” and had a huge hit with a cover of The Supremes’ classic. There’s a lesson about art versus commerce in there somewhere and I’m not convinced it’s solely in Costello’s lyric. Anyhow, “Love for Tender” was not released as a single, per se, but the linked video was made of him and The Attractions (Steve Nieve on piano and organ, Bruce Thomas on bass and Pete Thomas on drums) fooling around on a pier somewhere. Early music videos often seem to have been filmed with a Magical Mystery Tour ethos of “let’s just show up and hope something interesting happens.” Anyhow, I openly resent that I’m here writing about this song rather than “Riot Act,” which closed Get Happy!!, is one of Elvis Costello and The Attractions’ absolute finest songs and was never released as a single.
111. From a Whisper to a Scream
(Artist: Elvis Costello and The Attractions)
Second single from Trust (1981), released as a single in 1981
Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze is Costello’s guest vocalist on this track from Trust. Costello had served as producer on Squeeze’s 1981 album East Side Story so presumably this collaboration emerged from that. Costello also sings harmony on “Black Coffee in Bed,” which you maybe didn’t know but you’ll be able to hear immediately every time you listen from now on. A bunch of the London bar performers from this era – Costello, Nick Lowe, Squeeze, Dave Edmunds, etc – spent a bunch of time jamming with each other and generally having a good time of it. Indeed, one of my favorite Elvis Costello rarities is his cover of Manfred Mann’s “Pretty Flamingo” (this is worth a few minutes of your time) with Lowe, Tilbrook and his fellow Squeeze vocalist Chris Difford. It can’t be denied that Tilbrook and Costello sounds pretty great together. Costello’s “Fish and Chip Paper” (also from Trust) is an aural homage to Squeeze. Just to be clear, in 1981 (and maybe to this day – I have no idea) these two cats were mad fans of each other.
But then there’s “From A Whisper to a Scream,” which has baffled me for over 30 years. It was Elvis Costello’s first “charting” song in the U.S. but I never heard it on the radio. Presumably, this is because by the time I was aware of Elvis Costello, nobody on radio in the U.S. had any pressing need to play it. Our friends over at Genius haven’t provided any notation about the song. I mean, I get that it’s about drinking and getting a little carried away, but there’s just not enough to sustian my interest, especially when there are so many better songs on Trust. While this is not as egregious as releasing a video for “Love for Tender” and not for “Riot Act,” I will point out that neither “You’ll Never Be A Man” nor “Big Sister’s Clothes” were singles. Anyhow, I skip over this track almost every time.
Coming Soon: Burt Bacharach is all over this list, from the top ten to the, uh, top hundred and ten.
Elvis Costello Singles Ranked – 111-116 – 101-110 – 91-100 – 81-90 – 71-80 – 61-70 – 51-60 – 41-50 – 31-40 – 21-30 – 11-20 – 1-10