but I think the answer has to be Get Happy!!

are the aforementioned This Year's Model, Live at El Morcambo and Blood and Chocolate. But I'd plump for Brutal Youth. I just love the live production and the way it works as an album from, as messrs Ellen and Hepworth would have it, soup to nuts.

King of America

King of America, still the one I go back to, followed by Blood & Chocolate

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full service IT

Blue

What's not to love about this:

Almost...

for King Of America

Mitchell Froom's production puts some people off, but I like percussion to sound like a rusty bike in a scrapyard. Generally I prefer The Beard Years, and this one has How To Be Dumb, so it wins.

has the best first side of pretty well any album I can think of.

I echo the shouts for Imperial Bedroom, This Year's Model, Blood & Chocolate and Brutal Youth, all of which would be in my top five.

However I always find myself coming back to Painted From Memory, the Costello-Bacharach compilation. Maybe because it coincided pretty much with the breakdown of my first marriage (and thus resonates pretty strongly with me) but irrespective of that, there is a quality, consistency and maturity about the songwriting that I find irresistible.

The First Ten Years.

is not only best Elvis Costello album but probably my favourite all time album. I really love Spike too which is not usually put up there as one of his best. In recent years The Delivery man is absolutely first class and North is much maligned (wrongly in my view). Goodbye Cruel World is definitely his clunker and Punch the Clock hasnt really aged well although considering it contains Shipbuilding which may well be the best abt-war song I am loathe to dismiss.

Who on earth is 123Camelia and what drugs has he/she been taking?

for me. Reminds me of my youth but I am incredibly fond of his first 5 albums and Imperial Bedroom. I must admit I lost interest after IB until Brutal Youth came out and then promptly lost interest again.

And Almost Blue are the only 2 to get any airplay from me these days.

was the first one I heard and it´s still one of my favourites. I feel someone should get around to mention it. At this point I´m even starting to understand some of the lyrics.

Also, Complicated Shadows of The Sopranos fame is to be found here.

"If you still don´t like my song then you can just go to hell"
- Little Atoms

Still don't "get" North but other than that I'd say there is very little dross in the MacManus back catalogue. Goodbye Cruel World takes a lot of flak but if you can see through the cheesy 80's production, Daryl Hall and shite saxophones it does have some merit, especially "The Comedians" and "Peace in Our Time".

Special mention for "Blood & Chocolate" which saw me through some dark times and the acutely psychotic "I Want You".

5-star classics:

My Aim is True
This Year's Model
Armed Forces
Get Happy!!
Trust
Imperial Bedroom
King of America
Mighty Like a Rose

Very Fine 4-star albums:

10 Bloody Marys & 10 Hows Your Fathers
Goodbye Cruel World
Blood and Chocolate
All This Useless beauty
Painted from Memory

Good 3-star albums:

Spike
Out of Our Idiot
Almost Blue
Punch the Clock
Brutal Youth
The Juliet Letters
The Delivery Man
Secret, Profane and Sugarcane

Disappointing 2-star albums

North
Il Sogno
The River in Reverse
Momofuku

1-star rubbish

Kojak Variety
When I was Cruel

Absolute favourite? I'd have to go for the incomparable "Imperial Bedroom" with the underrated "Trust" in the silver medal position.

the only song written about demenita? what a brilliant song, and I'd forgotten about his Chet Baker connection. Isn't music wonderful?

as mentioned in the NME review of "Blood and Chocolate". (sorry, brainwashed by the NME from an early age, i'm getting over it). Well, the answer is Blood and chocolate really but i wouldn't argue with anyone who said Trust or Armed Forces or Get happy!! or King of america and howzabout Goodbye cruel world, contrary to contemporary opinion this is a fine album, punch the clock not aged as well tho.
what about the worst? Kojack variety, yuk, (bar the Dusty song)....snore...

Imperial bedroom. An album full of great stuff, not a duff track on it.

The answer actually is "Spike - The beloved entertainer"

God's comic
Tramp the dirt down
Let him dangle
Shipbuilding

Nuff said

(Plus an HJH to boot!)

wow thats a rare mispress!

Get Happy with Imperial bedroom a close second

2 classics in 45 and Spooky Girlfriend.
Even Goodbye Cruel World has Love Field and Peace in our time which are better than most artists can muster.
Even Momofuku which I don't care for has American Gangster time.

A formidable talent

Alison in it's true context - a cracking song juxtaposed with other great songs in a fabulous performance, communal singing/sighing, a damn good groove and Mr John McFee on guitar.

Let's face it - Elvis is King.

for me, probably - I got Get Happy first, then Punch the Clock, then most of the others I'd missed and new ones as they came out until Spike - which I thought was quite dull. I did come back briefly - as did many above, for Brutal Youth which is a good album.
Nowadays I find him rather annoying - maybe I'm too familiar with the stuff, but I tend to hit skip when he comes up on shuffle as often as not.

But I can't think of anyone else who had such a run of consistently good albums straight from the first one:

My Aim is True
This Year's Model
Armed Forces
Get Happy
Trust
Imperial Bedroom
Almost Blue
King of America.

Not a duffer amongst them.

From 1977s My Aim is true to 2009s Secret Profane and Sugarcane EC has produced challenging, thought provoking albums.... best 3???

Painted From memory
This years Model
The Delivery Man

although tomorrow id probably choose

Get Happy
Imperial Bedroom
Blood & Chocolate

the answer is Imperial Bedroom if only for the monumental "Man Out of Time".

But then Mighty Like a Rose - has "So Like Candy" - which is for me is the absolute quintessence of Costelloness.

Thanks all - I'm scurrying to my neglected CD shelves tonight for a Costello-fest...

For me, Imperial Bedroom or Get Happy!!! But maybe that it's just hard to keep up with the guy's prolific output these days.

Imperial Bedroom - as Sheev mentioned above, it has "A Man Out of Time", which I think is probably his best ever song (or at least my favourite).

A very close second for "This Year's Model", one of the most exciting opening tracks on any album I've ever heard ("No Action")

I always remember the sheer uncontrollable excitement in the recording when it came out - blimey o'Reilly - a couple of weaker songs maybe but still sounds impossibly thrilling. Anyone else remember a stop frame film of 'This Year's Girl' on OGWT? Didn't warm to the later albums as much because the man's undoubted craft seemed to take over from the uncontrollable NEED to play on the first two.

1)Get Happy
2)Imperial Bedroom
3)This Year's Model
4)Blood & Chocolate
5)The Delivery Man

I love this man & have been a loyal fan since I first saw him & The Attractions in NZ.. 1981, I think. If there's one thing I have a problem with him, it's the crooney voice thing. I just think he's got a better Rock 'n' Roll voice. While I admired 'Painted From Memory'.. great songs, especially 'God give me strength'.. I just wished they'd been sung by someone else.. uh.. Dionne Warwick?!. I also think 'Momofuku' is fine overall, but 'Go Away' is up there with his best ever songs. RIP Charlie Gillett & Alex Chilton

Ec is playing afew dates both solo and with The Sugarcanes in June

http://minisite.ticketline.co.uk/elvis-costello/

No London date as yet but I would encourage people to go to the Birmingham Symphony Hall if its possible as its a lovely venue with great sound

And Squueze are touring at Xmas too

http://www.glenntilbrook.com/tour/tour.html

Trust, Get Happy, Armed Forces, Imperial Bedroom....

Armed Forces was the first LP I bought back in 1979 (with Oliver's Army my first single).

Saw him solo live supporting Dylan at Brixton Academy in 1995 and his duetting with Dylan on I Shall Be Released had to be seen to be believed!

Believe!

And yes that is Carole King & Chrissie Hynde on backing vox

running through Elvis catalogue from bluegrass to Bacharach, from new wave to new wife, etc etc and have come to the conclusion that measured against the quality of his back catalogue, most artists would come up short.

Even his alternate versions on bonus discs pee all others singles - He's bloody ace!

No, I haven't been drinking.........

Oh and fave album of tonight - All This Useless Beauty