In honor of a second season of "Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…" (on IFC), I present here the master's list of his Top 500 Albums (extracted from his piece for Vanity Fair at the turn of the millennium). The equally prolific, songwriter, musicologist, composer, and collaborator returns with the most enjoyable music program I've ever seen. (Remember David Sanborn's "Night Music"?–that was okay.)
Elvis Costello is an elder statesman for music, and his easily articulated wisdom comes across with an honesty and sincerity that compensates for his daunting encyclopedic vocabulary of musical theory, styles, and performers.
There is a lot of fine music here, all of which is worth checking out. Personally, I would much rather have seen Warren Zevon albums take the place of Neil Young. I would also have liked to see some Jim Carroll, Nouvelle Vague, Ramones, Cramps and, dare I say Graham Parker and Joe Jackson. Leaving out Joe Pass with Ella is a sin. But we're all guilty of those. Here's wishing many more seasons of "Spectacle."
Here you go kiddies. Bon Appetite. Eat it up.
Elvis Costello's Top 500 Albums
In alphabetical Order:
* Abba
Abba Gold – 1992
* David Ackless
The Road To Cairo – 1968
Subway To The Country – 1969
* Cannonball Adderley
The Best Of… – 1968
* Amy Allison
The Maudlin Years – 1996
* Mose Alison
The Best Of… – 1970
* Almamegretta
Lingo – 1998
* Louis Armstrong
The Complete Hot Five And Hot Seven Recordings – 2000
* Fred Astaire
The Astaire Recordings – 1952
* Johann Sebastian Bach
The Well Tempered Clavier – 1934
The Six Cello Suites – 1936
Six Partitas – 1984
Mass In B Minor – 1999
* Burt Bacharach
The Look Of Love : The Burt Bacharach Collection – 1998
* Chet Baker
The Best Of Chet Baker Sings – 1989
Broken Wing – 1978
* The Band
Music From Big Pink – 1968
The Band – 1969
* Dave Bartholemew
The Monkey – 1985
* Bela Bartok
Six String Quartets – 1988
* Cecilia Bartoli
If You Love Me:18th Century Italian Love Songs – 1992
* Count Basie
The Atomic Mr Basie – 1957
* The Beach Boys
Pet Sounds – 1966
Carl And The Passions – So Tough – 1972
Holland – 1973
Good Vibrations – 30 Years Of The Beach Bo
ys – 1993
* Beastie Boys
Paul’s Boutique – 1989
* The Beatles
With The Beatles – 1963
A Hard Days Night – 1964
Help – 1965
Rubber Soul – 1965
Revolver – 1966
Sgt Pepper – 1967
Past Masters Vol. 2 – 1988
* Beck
Odelay
* Bee Gees
Best Of The Bee Gees
* Ludwig Van Beethoven
Otto Klemperer Live At The Concertgebouw – Symphony #9 – 1965
Symphony #7 – 1975
Late Quartets – 1997
Violin Concerto – 1997
* Derek Bell
Derek Bell Plays With Himself – 1981
* Tony Bennett And Bill Evans
The Tony Bennett And Bill Evans Album – 1975
* Alban Berg
Violin Concerto – 1993
* Hector Berlioz
Damnation Of Faust – 1987
* Agnes Barnelle
Farther’s Lying Dead In The Ironing Board – 1995
* Leonard Bernstein
West Side Story – 1957
* Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry’s Golden Decade – 1967
* Bjork
Debut – 1993
Post – 1995
* Ruben Blades
Buscando America – 1984
* Bobby Blue Bland
Two Steps From The Blues – 1961
* Blondie
The Best Of Blondie – 1981
* Blur
13 – 1999
* Dirk Bogarde
Lyrics For Lovers – 1960
* David Bowie
Hunky Dory – 1971
Station To Station – 1976
Low – 1977
Heroes – 1977
* Johannes Brahms
Ein Deutsches Requiem – 1962
* Johnny Bristol
Hang On In There Baby – 1974
* Benjamin Britten
Serenade For Tenor, Horn And Strings – 1996
* Charles Brown
Driftin’ Blues: The Best Of Charles Brown – 1996
* Clifford Brown
Clifford Brown With Strings – 1955
* James Brown
Live At The Apollo – 1963
Star Time – 1991
* Jackson Brown
Jackson Brown (Saturate Before Using) – 1972
* Anton Bruckner
Symphony #9 – 1990
* Jeff Buckley
Grace – 1994
* Harold Budd & Brian Eno
Ambient 2: The Plateaux Of Mirror – 1980
* Buffalo Springfield
Retrospective: The Best Of.. – 1969
* Bulgarian State Radio & Television Choir
Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares – 1990
* T Bone Burnette
Proof Through The Night – 1983
T Bone Burnette – 1986
The Talking Animals – 1988
* The Byrds
Younger Than Yesterday – 1967
The Notorious Byrd Brothers – 1968
Sweetheart Of The Rodeo – 1968
* John Cale
Music For A New Society – 1982
* Maria Callas
Five Heroines-Operatic Extracts – 1990
* Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band
Trout Mask Replica – 1969
Clear Spot – 1972
* Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagy Sings Carmichael – 1956
* James Carr
At The Dark End Of The Street – 1987
* Johnny Cash
The Essential Johnny Cash – 1992
* June Carter Cash
Press On – 1999
* Ray Charles
Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music – 1962
A Life In Music – 1982
* Chic
Chic’s Greatest Hits – 1979
* Frederic Chopin
Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2 – 1978
* The Clash
London’s Calling – 1979
The Singles – 1991
* Patsy Cline
Greatest Hits – 1973
* The Coasters
The Ultimate Coasters – 1986
* Leonard Cohen
The Best Of Leonard Cohen – 1976
More Best Of … – 1997
* Ornette Coleman
The Shape Of Jazz To Come – 1959
* John Coltrane
My Favorite Things – 1961
The Impulse! Years – 1993
* Ry Cooder
Paradise And Lunch – 1974
* Sam Cooke
Night Beat – 1963
* Don Covay
Checkin’ In With Don Covay – 1989
* Noel Coward
The Masters Voice: His HMV Recordings – 1993
* Bing Crosby
His Legendary Years – 1993
* David Crosby
If Only I Could Remember My Name – 1971
* Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young
Déjà Vu – 1970
* Crowded House
Temple Of Low Men – 1988
* D’angelo
Voodoo – 2000
* Miles Davis
Birth Of The Cool – 1956
Miles Ahead – 1957
Porgy And Bess – 1958
Kind Of Blue – 1959
Sketches Of Spain – 1960
My Funny Valentine – 1964
In A Silent Way – 1969
On The Corner – 1969
* Miles Davis And Stan Getz And Lee Konitz
Conception – 1975
* Claude Debussy
Pelleas Et Melisande – 1992
Preludes – 1994
* Alfred Deller
William Byrd And His Age – 1956
* Destiny’s Child
The Writing’s On The Wall – 1999
* Bo Diddley
His Best – 1997
* Dr John
Dr John’s Gumbo – 1972
* Eric Dolphy
Outward Bound – 1960
Iron Man – 1969
* Lee Dorsey
Ride Your Pony – 1966
Yes We Can – 1970
* John Dowland
Awake Sweet Love – 1965
Dowland: The Collective Works – 1980
* John Dowland And William Byrd
Night’s Black Bird – 1989
* Henri Dupark
Melodies – 1971
* Jimmy Durante
September Song – 1963
* Ian Dury
New Boots And Panties – 1977
* Dyke And The Blazers
So Sharp – 1983
* Bob Dylan
Bringing It All Back Home – 1965
Blond On Blond – 1966
John Wesly Harding – 1968
Planet Waves – 1974
Blood On The Tracks – 1974
The Basement Tapes – 1975
Shot Of Love – 1981
Time Out Of Mind – 1997
Bob Dylan Live 1966: The Royal Albert Hall Concert – 1998
* Edward Elgar
Symphony #1 – 1957
Cello Concerto – 1965
* Duke Ellington
Anatomy Of A Murder – 1959
….And His Mother Called Him Bill – 1968
The Centennial Edition: The Complete Rca Victor Recordings – 1999
* Duke Ellington With Charles Mingus And Max Roach
Money Jungle – 1962
* Eminem
The Marshall Mathers LP – 2000