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Elvis Costello's early 80s foray into 60s Nashville and otherwise country-indebted songbooks – and it's a nice one! Even on his tighter, blistering punk era records, Elvis demonstrated not only the voice, but a great ear for the roots and soul that came before him. He showed some soul love quite profoundly a year-or-so earlier on the Get Happy album, and here he works in a similarly respectful mode for classic country, countrypolitan and even a little bit of honky tonk. Produced by Billy Sherrill – who was absolutely essential in the country crossover sound of the 60s and 70s. It's a bit overlooked, but we love this record! Includes "Why Don't You Love Me (Lie You Used To Do)", "I'm Your Toy", "Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down", "Sittin' And Thinkin'", "Honey Hush", "How Much I Lied" and more.

Elvis's first self conscious foray into soul, Get Happy pretty much runs the gamut of soul pop styles of the decade and a half that preceded it – and ultimately comes off as one of the most affectionate albums of Costello's career, and one of the most stomping blue-eyed soul albums of the 80s. The album includes a whopping 20 tracks: "Love For Tender", "Opportunity", The Imposter", "Secondary Modern", "King Horse", "Posession", "High Fidelity", "Riot Act", "Human Touch", "Beaten To The Punch" and more.

Essential old school Elvis Costello from the peak years of the Attractions era! Trust is one of the earliest albums in which Costello started to shake the punkish roots off just a bit, adding a bit more of his sock soul influences into his patented power pop. Tracks include "Clubland", "Lover's Walk", "You'll Never Be A Man", "Pretty Words", "Watch Your Step", "New Lace Sleeve", and "From A Whisper To A Scream".

Titles include "Mystery Dance", "Pay It Back", "Alison", "Blame It On Cain", "Watching The Detectives", "Miracle Man", "Welcome To The Working Week", "Less Than Zero", and "The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes".

One of the early classics – with cuts that include "Almost Blue", "You Little Fool", "Man Out Of Time", "Beyond Belief", "Tears Before Bedtime", and "Shabby Doll".

A tome to the legacy of Island Records – the pretty amazing journey of a record label that began with the goal of bringing reggae to the masses – and in it's heyday, grew to be home to some of the most creative artists in modern pop music of sprawlingly broad styles! From Bob Marley to U2, Roxy Music, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, PJ Harvey, Tricky and so many more! Includes a preface by Chris Blackwell, and this book is quite beautifully illustrated. . .lots of full color photography, album art and more. 222 pages.

One of the numerous politically motivated singles aimed at South Africa's then apartheid government in the mid-80s, this one brought to you by Jerry Dammers' post Specials group featuring the English Beat's Ranking Rogers and produced by Elvis Costello, with an uptempo ska inflected groove!

A pair of overlooked albums from Clover – a great Bay Area group from the start of the 70s – best known for later work with Elvis Costello and Huey Lewis! Clover is a great start for a very cool group – a set that definitely draws on some of the "out of the city" sounds of the post-Haight scene in SF – as you might guess from the cover – but which also has some funkier undercurrents too, and almost a garagey mix of soul amidst the rootsy elements – one that really shows the evolution of a group like this from the styles of a few years before! Titles include a cover of "Shotgun", plus "Come", "Could You Call It Love", "Southbound Train", "Going To The Country", and "Stealin". Fourty Niner shows a wonderful growth in Clover – a record that really has the group coming into their own, and hitting some of the best Marin County vibes of the time! There's a definite rootsy feel to the record – some of those Bay Area transmogrifications of sounds from the south, into much more hippie-oriented styles – but there's also a sense of confidence and care with songwriting that should have made these guys huge – a quality that easily rivals the best work from the late Byrds or early Eagles camp – with maybe a bit to challenge The Band too – served up with a great Fantasy Records rock approach all the way through. Titles include "Mr Moon", "Harvest", "Old Man Blues", "Sound Of Thunder", and "Love Is Gone".

Glorious power pop from South London – driving work from the Exits! The spectre of early Elvis Costello hovers over The Exits, particularly in the vocal department – but the uber catchy hooks and buzzing guitars have more of an all purpose sheen. Strong stuff from the power pop underground of the end of the 70s! 13 tracks in all: "The Fashion Plague", "Cheam", "Fool To Fall In Love", "Holiday Shots", "We Broke Up Today", "School Of Intrigue", "Index Linked", "Mood Walk", "Revolt Into Style", "This Toytown Word", "Chantelle" and more.