Elvis Costello Songs Ranked
Declan Patrick MacManus, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter. He has won multiple awards in his career, including Grammy Awards in 1999 and 2020, and has twice been nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist. In 2003, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Costello number 80 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Costello and the Attractions toured and recorded together for the better part of a decade, though differences between them caused a split by 1986. Much of Costello’s work since has been as a solo artist, though reunions with members of the Attractions have been credited to the group over the years. Costello’s lyrics employ a wide vocabulary and frequent wordplay. His music has drawn on many diverse genres; one critic described him as a “pop encyclopedia”, able to “reinvent the past in his own image”. Costello has co-written several original songs for motion pictures, including “God Give Me Strength” from Grace of My Heart (1996, with Burt Bacharach) and “The Scarlet Tide” from Cold Mountain (2003, with T-Bone Burnett). For the latter, Elvis was nominated (along with Burnett) for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. Here are all of Elvis Costello’s songs ranked.
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10. Pump It Up (This Year’s Model, 1978)
“That great riff is currently being used as backing music for football focus on a major BBC Radio station, and still sounds great. I personally much preferred Mr. Costello’s punchy three minute singles of the 70s to his goodly, critically acclaimed wandering’s of 1980 onwards, but hey if I’m a philistine, I’m a philistine.”
9. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (King of America, 1986)
“For someone like Costello, who in his own right, has such a strong songwriting identity; its strange to hear him do a Tom Waits rip-off. That is exactly what it sounds like to me, even if its not a Tom Waits original, or even a Costello original, or even by a man to begin with.”
8. Indoor Fireworks (King of America, 1986)
“A song like “Indoor Fireworks” makes me think of this time, and not only because my dad played this CD often. There are a few others that remind of this period of my life, only I never knew it. I’ve heard this album countless times, and I always let it drift by without even a hesitation.”
7. The Other Side of Summer (Mighty Like a Rose, 1991)
““The Other Side Of Summer”, which is about the hypocrisy and ignorance of all that’s wrong in the world by those that don’t have to experience it, has probably my favorite lyrics the man has ever written. “
See more: Elvis Costello Albums Ranked
6. Watching the Detectives (My Aim Is True, 1977)
“Costello said at the time that the music of the Clash inspired him to write “Watching The Detectives” and you hear that in the dub-inflected tune here. A massive step forward from the workmanlike pub-rock-with-a-twist “My Aim Is True” album, he’s part way to forming the Attractions here too, Steve Naive already present and correct.”
5. 13 Steps Lead Down (Brutal Youth, 1994)
“Besides the songwriting and production being great on this album, the playing is phenomenal too. That is an aspect that often gets overlooked in the attractions. People talk about the group sound but sometimes fail to recognize the tremendous musicianship in each of the players.”
4. Alison (My Aim Is True, 1977)
“Alison” finds Costello looking back on a long-lost love. Though years have passed, his feelings for the title character have only grown more complicated. There was betrayal, jealousy, and other ill feelings in the past, but she is still far more than just a lingering memory to the song’s narrator. The tonal contrast to the rest of the album only helps to reassure Costello’s promise that his “aim is true.””
See more: Tom Waits Albums Ranked
3. Everyday I Write the Book (Punch the Clock, 1983)
“This is a wonderfully constructed song, which evolved significantly from the original rockier version that appears as a bonus live track on the Punch the Clock reissue.”
2. Veronica (Spike, 1989)
“I have (had) a regular customer who does the impersonation thing for the other Elvis, but this is the song that truly defined who the real Elvis is to me. All told there are only a handful of songs i truly enjoy from Elvis Costello, but when he’s on, dudes, he’s on.”
1. Oliver’s Army (Armed Forces, 1979)
“This is a hair’s breadth away from being as great as Radio, Radio, Pump it Up and Chelsea. So what stops it? What have those others got that this hasn’t? It’s certainly not a question of melodic strength – if anything, Oliver’s Army is more tuneful. It’s one of those songs that seems to have at least two choruses, for one thing.”
