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Jose Jones
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1758 Posts |
 Posted - 06/19/2007 : 20:23:45
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if a person hates elvis costello after hearing these songs, that person hates music.
watch your step
this year's girl
glitter gultch
busy bodies
king horse
i hope you're happy now
hand in hand
new lace sleeves(alternate version from get happy!! bonus disc)
different finger
white knuckles
the imposter
two little hitlers
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown. |
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Srisaket
= Cult of Ray =
Thailand
313 Posts |
Posted - 06/19/2007 : 21:02:22
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I am not a massive fan, but can certainly appreciate his talent as a fine songwriter.
I also don’t think that many people on this forum will disagree with your comments.
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Jose Jones
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1758 Posts |
Posted - 06/19/2007 : 21:36:15
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they'd better not.
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown. |
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coastline
> Teenager of the Year <
USA
3111 Posts |
Posted - 06/19/2007 : 21:48:12
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There's a lot to love about Elvis: his name, his voice, his songs, his style, his glasses.
 Please pardon me, for these my wrongs. |
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Srisaket
= Cult of Ray =
Thailand
313 Posts |
Posted - 06/19/2007 : 21:59:27
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quote:
Originally posted by coastline
There's a lot to love about Elvis: his name, his voice, his songs, his style, his glasses.
Please pardon me, for these my wrongs.
His wife |
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cassandra is
> Teenager of the Year <
France
4233 Posts |
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Jefrey
= Cult of Ray =
USA
918 Posts |
Posted - 06/19/2007 : 23:33:55
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He's another guy I tried to like, but it just doesn't grab me. I'll try your list. His greatest hits packages do nothing at all for me, except Pump It Up, cause I played bass :)
I liked Spike. Costello fans probably hate that album.
== jeffamerica == |
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OLDMANOTY
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
469 Posts |
Posted - 06/19/2007 : 23:37:23
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Not keen on most of his output in the last 10 years but before that was a big fan. My favourite albums are Blood And Chocolate, Imperial Bedroom and the underrated Mighty Like A Rose.
I would recommend Blood And Chocolate to FB fans. It was recorded very similarly to the Catholics albums - live with no overdubs, and the songs are very raw and intense with surreal lyrics. |
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Homers_pet_monkey
= Official forum monkey =
United Kingdom
17125 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 05:46:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Jefrey
His greatest hits packages do nothing at all for me, except Pump It Up, cause I played bass :)
== jeffamerica ==
That's the fucking song! Sorry, this has been bugging me for ages.
It's going on my setlist. Cheers.
 I'd walk her everyday, into a shady place
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Jose Jones
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1758 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 05:55:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Jefrey
... except Pump It Up, cause I played bass :)
== jeffamerica ==
if you like listening to great bass playing, listen to all attractions stuff (not to mention my little list). bruce thomas is one of my all time favorite bassists (i too play bass. i got immensely better just from figuring out this guy's lines).
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown. |
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Jose Jones
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1758 Posts |
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noodlebrain
- FB Fan -
USA
27 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 06:35:51
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| Every summer "This Year's Model" goes in my stereo and doesn't come out for weeks. I don't know of another album I like that much. |
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OLDMANOTY
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
469 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 08:12:25
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Get Happy is a blast from start to finish. It's got 20 tracks and I think they recorded it over about 3 days, very rough and ready.
Going back to Blood And Chocolate, Elvis adopted the psyeudonym 'Napoleon Dynamite' for this 1986 album. When the movie of the same name came out I assumed there must be a connection but the director has since stated that it was a coincidence and he'd never heard of the album. Hard to believe. |
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cassandra is
> Teenager of the Year <
France
4233 Posts |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 12:28:30
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I actually don't know much Costello (apart form a couple of the hits), saw him supporting Bob Dylan a few years back. I have photos, but they're not very good.
 "Aw yeah, that's the good stuff!" |
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Cheeseman1000
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Iceland
8201 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 12:38:27
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My Aim Is True, for me, is the perfect pop album. Every song is immaculate and perfectly paced, executed and written. I could listen to that record for weeks on end.
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sweetpollypurebred
- FB Fan -
41 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 15:21:35
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what about "little triggers"
in fact this years model is one of the greatest albums off all time
also my aim is true is one of the greatest of all time |
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trobrianders
> Teenager of the Year <
Papua New Guinea
3302 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 16:50:10
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Great that Blood and Chocolate is getting some recognition. It's my favourite of his along with King of America, both released 1986, and easily in my top 5 of all time. The live show was a riot I remember, with EC playing the MC.
The Catholics comparisons are spot on I think. But maybe it has more in common with Bluefinger as it's also very even-sounding throughout and has a central theme, love betrayed. I can't recommend it enough. Jefrey definitely check it out because it's the one that will tune you into him. And Jose, your list is a fine one.
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Ed is the hoo hoo |
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coastline
> Teenager of the Year <
USA
3111 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 17:50:11
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I'm mostly a singles kind of guy when it comes to Elvis (there are several excellent greatest-hits collections), but today I was listening to his "When I Was Cruel" album (2002), and damn if it doesn't hold up with a lot of his older works. It's a really solid album.
Please pardon me, for these my wrongs. |
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Dallas
= Cult of Ray =
USA
725 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2007 : 20:23:34
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I dig alll Elvis, country elvis, punk elvis, crooner elvis, all of it. I think his 80's discs are all great and I am loving the reissues.
Blood and Chocolate might be my favorite, but, the first Elvis disc I ever had was Punch The Clock and that will always rank near the top. |
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OLDMANOTY
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
469 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2007 : 00:49:14
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Goodbye Cruel World is supposed to be his worst album (also the opinion of the man himself). True, it has nasty 80's production and a guest appearance from (gulp) Daryl Hall, but a lot of the songs are still great imo. Worth it for Peace In Our Time alone.
Punch The Clock is similarly reviled these days but it has two of his greatest songs on it - Shipbuilding and Pills And Soap.
I remember he did a tour where he had a 'wheel of fortune' on the stage with song titles on it - he'd spin the wheel and play the song it landed on. It's the sort of thing I can imagine FB doing!
Thanks to Jose Jones for starting this topic - it's prompted me to go back to Elvis's albums, which I haven't done for a long time. |
Edited by - OLDMANOTY on 06/21/2007 00:57:52 |
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trobrianders
> Teenager of the Year <
Papua New Guinea
3302 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2007 : 03:22:27
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The 'wheel of fortune' thingy was from the Blood and Chocolate tour. I can totally see FB doing it. I was lucky to see EC at the Albert Hall. I wish I'd been around the time Tom Waits guested. The whole Napolean Dynamite persona allowed him to play the Master of Ceremonies at these theatrical shows. Mostly it worked.
Me too I love country elvis, punk elvis, crooner elvis and though Bruce Thomas finds great basslines, it was the Attractions' sound that never really did it for me, except on Blood and Chocolate. A lot of that was probably down to Nick Lowe's influence.
Standout tracks. Well I guess everybody says I Want You and Battered Old Bird but the upbeat numbers are great too. And Uncomplicated is a great album opener. Really unexpected.
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Ed is the hoo hoo |
Edited by - trobrianders on 06/21/2007 03:33:47 |
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Jose Jones
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1758 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2007 : 21:09:08
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yeah, i don't think i adaquately described my love for 'blood and chocolate.' it's definitely on my top three. armed forces and this year's model rival for third, while get happy!! is resting soundly at second.
but i love all of them! (except i haven't even heard 'punch the clock' and 'goodbye cruel world' yet).
that's it! someone convince me to listen to "punch the clock" and "goodbye cruel world." oh, and "spike."
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown. |
Edited by - Jose Jones on 06/21/2007 21:09:26 |
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OLDMANOTY
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
469 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2007 : 00:27:41
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Spike is really good, another underrated one I think. For this album (and King Of America) Elvis played with renowned session musicians and not the Attractions. Another FB parallel - King Of America is kind of Elvis's Honeycomb moment.
Spike was the one where he teamed up with McCartney for some of the songs and the results brought the best out in both of them. I remember McCartney saying working with Elvis was like having Lennon back with him.
As for Punch The Clock and Goodbye Cruel World, Jose Jones, I would say neither of them are essential but they have a few great songs spread across them - and I think you can pick both albums up at a budget price these days. |
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trobrianders
> Teenager of the Year <
Papua New Guinea
3302 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2007 : 02:25:22
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Jose, Punch The Clock and Goodbye Cruel World, if you can stand Langer and Winstanley's stiff upper lip version of 'pop sheen' then definitely check both albums out. EC has said that he was lyrically very strong on them but that the dated sound let's them down. A familliar 80s trap. I only really got into them after hearing some of the songs solo acoustic. Spike is where it started unravelling for me.
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Ed is the hoo hoo |
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jimmy
= Cult of Ray =
USA
876 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2007 : 13:32:27
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The other night I was driving home and "The Other Side of Summer" came on the radio, which really surprised me.
I have to admit, I've got all the albums and re-issues, but on a lot of the songs I just don't understand the lyrics. I mean, I can make out the words, but, a song like "20% Amnesia"- I've read articles where the song lyrics are explained, I just don't get it.
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trobrianders
> Teenager of the Year <
Papua New Guinea
3302 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2007 : 16:35:54
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The lyric references have grown more obscure. He gets them from all around, the papers, the news, so if you are unaware of the source story the lyrics just seem meaningless. Shame. He's too straight to write obscure I think.
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Ed is the hoo hoo |
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langdonboom
= Cult of Ray =
USA
260 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2007 : 20:11:04
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OLDMAN -- I thought I was the only one who liked Mighty Like a Rose!
Spike is actually my most sentimental favorite, since it was one of the 1st 2 CDs I ever bought -- the other being Dolittle. It was just around that time that my uncle played This Years Model for me -- which I concur, is one of the most-played albums in my entire huge collection; I never get tired of that album. But Spike has Satellite with Chrissie Hynde backing vocals, which kill me every time. This also goes with Flower in the Dirt, the McCartney album from the same collaboration, but I daresay Elvis got the best of Paul in this deal ("my brave face and I know that you want her too are not bad though).
Though I have to say I think his 'best' album is probably Imperial Bedroom, just for the sheer pop audacity of it. Doesn't rock as hard or as tightly angry as TYM but Man Out of Time sorta does, and is epic in its own right. So many layers to that album, the songs, the lyrics, the instrumentation... touches me in all kinds of wonderful ways.
I tuned out of elvis after Brutal Youth (not really into the Bacarach stuff), and started filling in gaps. I only recently got King of America, which is growing on me. Also Get Happy and Trust were late additions to my Elvis collection, and both are excellent, if not in the Genius run of My Aim is True/TYM/Armed Forces. Though I must say I don't play My Aim is True as much -- if only it wasn't "The News" backing him up!
ETA -- I even had the Juliet Letters at one point but that might have been the last CD I ever sold back to a record store (bad habit, which I regret for every CD I ever returned!) I appreciated it more than liked it. |
Edited by - langdonboom on 06/22/2007 20:15:12 |
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OLDMANOTY
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
469 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2007 : 01:05:34
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Re Mighty Like A Rose. Yeah, that album is always overlooked. It was the time classical influences started seeping into his music (culminating with The Juliet Letters which WAS horrible imo). But I love MLAR. His voice never sounded better than on this album and it's choc full of great tunes. He had grown his hair long and sported a silly looking beard which critics at the time seemed to equate with the album not being very good. I am not joking.
Brutal Youth was pretty good but after that he went downhill for me. Now he seems to deal mostly in pastiche and his vocals are so mannered he sounds like a parody of himself.
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trobrianders
> Teenager of the Year <
Papua New Guinea
3302 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2007 : 04:31:48
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Wasn't Brutal Youth touted as the return to form after the failed pop outings of Spike and Rose? These ditinctions are normally crass but at the time I remember agreeing. Time I dusted them off I think. But I don't imagine they'll sound as good as When I Was Cruel.
His run of war songs over that period; The Favourite Hour, Any King's Shilling, Sleep of the Just, The Great Unkown and Shipbuilding really stand out for me.
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Ed is the hoo hoo |
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Jose Jones
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1758 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2007 : 09:06:02
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quote:
Originally posted by langdonboom
Also Get Happy and Trust were late additions to my Elvis collection, and both are excellent, if not in the Genius run of My Aim is True/TYM/Armed Forces.
i would put get happy!! in that run, with trust *just* slipping into a different, but also great run.
do note that i have 4 trust songs on that list i made!
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown. |
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PixieSteve
> Teenager of the Year <
Poland
4698 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2007 : 09:19:56
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i downloaded my aim is true and this years model because of this thread. i haven't had enoguh time to really get into them but i like what i hear.
also, could you explain what albums those songs come from in your "best of"?
"Idiot" is just her sig. |
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Jose Jones
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1758 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2007 : 20:28:58
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quote:
Originally posted by PixieSteve
i downloaded my aim is true and this years model because of this thread. i haven't had enoguh time to really get into them but i like what i hear.
also, could you explain what albums those songs come from in your "best of"?
"Idiot" is just her sig.
sure! and i must make the point that this list in no way is what i think is a "best of", simply because these songs are only from 4 or 5 albums (and i just think they rule):
watch your step (trust)
this year's girl (this year's model)
glitter gultch (king of america)
busy bodies (armed forces)
king horse (get happy!!----i think it'd be cool if frank did this song with TOTY production with a hint of ANNOUNCEMENT vocals)
i hope you're happy now (blood and chocolate)
hand in hand (this year's model)
new lace sleeves(alternate version from get happy!! bonus disc)
different finger (trust)
white knuckles (trust)
the imposter (get happy!!)
two little hitlers (armed forces)
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown. |
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langdonboom
= Cult of Ray =
USA
260 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2007 : 05:26:22
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quote:
Originally posted by trobrianders
Wasn't Brutal Youth touted as the return to form after the failed pop outings of Spike and Rose? These ditinctions are normally crass but at the time I remember agreeing. Time I dusted them off I think. But I don't imagine they'll sound as good as When I Was Cruel.
His run of war songs over that period; The Favourite Hour, Any King's Shilling, Sleep of the Just, The Great Unkown and Shipbuilding really stand out for me.
yes, Brutal Youth was a reunion with the Attractions, without the sonics of MLAR or Spike/ I dug it for a while, but listening to it back to back with This Years Model or Armed Forces reveals it not be a complete comeback. But "Just Abuot Glad" made it to a few mix tapes for girls I was flirting with in college! And I saw elvis front-row at Blossom Music Center in Akron Ohio on this tour, and it was at the time one of the best shows I'd ever seen... complete with yes, Pump it Up as crowd-pleasing encore.
Any Kings Shilling... yes! So good.
quote:
Originally posted by OLDMANOTY
Re Mighty Like A Rose. Yeah, that album is always overlooked. It was the time classical influences started seeping into his music (culminating with The Juliet Letters which WAS horrible imo). But I love MLAR. His voice never sounded better than on this album and it's choc full of great tunes. He had grown his hair long and sported a silly looking beard which critics at the time seemed to equate with the album not being very good. I am not joking.
Brutal Youth was pretty good but after that he went downhill for me. Now he seems to deal mostly in pastiche and his vocals are so mannered he sounds like a parody of himself.
I also saw Elvis on the scraggly beard tour - and I've got some footage of him on SNL doing the Other Side of Summer and So like Candy (IIRC). Still even have my "make like a fly if you don't wanna die" t-shirt! This show was memorable also for the opening band, the Replacements, who broke up soon thereafter.
And I still haven't gotten fully into Trust the way I have the others, nor Blood And Chocolate though "New Amsterdamn" and "Are you Happy Now" are definite favorites. |
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Jose Jones
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1758 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2007 : 05:49:09
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new amsterdam's on get happy!!
trust's black eye is "from a whisper to a scream," whereas its feather in its cap is "fish and chip paper."
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown. |
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langdonboom
= Cult of Ray =
USA
260 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2007 : 07:21:07
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Oops, my bad. That's what you get for getting two albums at once.
ETA: have you heard the live you've got to hide your love away>new amsterdam? Its pretty great, and illustrates Elvis's wicked sense of self-deprecating humor, as well as appreciation for his elders. |
Edited by - langdonboom on 06/26/2007 07:22:41 |
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Elvis Costello. let's discuss.
