My Aim Is True

Pretty cool! There's definitely a lot of different kinds of rock influences going on here, which would generally be my thing. Somehow this record doesn't work as much for me as I feel like it should. It doesn't feel like many of these songs go anywhere that interesting. It's all quite gopd, just nothing truly great here (don't really see myself listening to this again).

This was quite enjoyable. Great guitar playing. Lovely songs, simple, effective, timeless songwriting.

Bien, pero un poco pesado.

It's fine rock and roll. It's not your (insert appropriate generation) Father's rock and roll, and that might be all that's wrong with it. I'd probably just go find some first wave rock and roll if I was in the mood. This sounds too clean for me.

Okay but not my fav

Pretty solid 70s rock album, felt fresh will listen again

Didn't listen to Costello much at the time.... Kansas and Journey were big. Talented....

Alison hard carries this album - it feels so generic and like it was written 5 minutes before recording each track

enjoyed!

Fav song: I'm not angry

Pretty decent album. Costello pretty easy to listen to.

Весела драйвова музика, може це бути якась тематична вечірка, або саундтрек з якогось сіткому Але на повторі не слухала б

Pretty nice rock n roll album.

2.5-3.0

Great

It's okay. But it's nothing dramatic or special. Not hitting me personally.

I never listened to Elvis Costello, but this album was pretty enjoyable. It is very easygoing which I like. I probably wouldn't listen to this often though

I have not listened to much Elvis Costello prior to this and was pleasantly surprised by this album! It has good rhythmic energy throughout. Certainly easy listening. Songs that I liked included “No Dancing,” “Alison,” and “Sneaky Feeling.” I can hear how this artist/album could have influenced future bands, like Weezer.

Basic: I felt this whole album was very basic white 60s rock. I felt it sounded around 10 years older than what it already was with Costello not really creating anything new through releasing this album. Sounded like I could be sitting in that diner from Back To The Future and this would be just playing on the jukebox in the background with no one listening.

Christ. Like ok its not bad, and straight up good musically, and I wanted to like this album. I genuinely see the appeal, I've heard many worse songs/albums, I just........... dont care? His voice is good, the musicality is good, the songs aren't too long, and yet I already forgot what I listened to, it is not sticking to me whatsoever

I like the early Elvis Costello- not so much Punk but early New Wave and perfect pop. I remember when this came out - it was so cool.

***** = Amazing (90 - 100%) **** = Great (75 - 89%) *** = Good (50 - 74%) ** = Average (35 - 49%) * = Poor (0 - 34%)

Fun, a little poppy, but mostly light rock.

It sounds like he thinks he’s too cool for this when that is absolutely NOT the case.

Bin eigentlich kein Fan des Genres, aber trotzdem hat es mir gefallen. Gefühlt wäre 4 Sterne aber zu viel, also bleibt es wieder bei 3

Songs that have topics? Catchy tunes but some of the lyric’s don’t jive. Maybe another listen is needed.

ah, this one def a classic. Last time I was thinking about Costello I was wondering how tf it worked out so well that his name is literally Elvis and there was no weirdness around it considered one of the biggest musical names of all time is literally just Elvis. hmmm.... I have been very disappointed in the recent Deer Tick albums and I am def hearing where they are getting their inspiration now; just that they are 50 years late in the innovation department. Sounds a lot like Tom Petty, though pretty obvious, I never listened to Costello much. Overall an acceptable listen.

Not my vibe

Consistently good, and great trajectory with its “Watching the Detectives” finale.

It's got a lot of great attitude, I'll give it that. Nothing I think I'll want to remember and revisit, save "Watching the Detectives." I understand that was tacked on for US rerelease, so he doesn't get credit for it on the album :)

**

Wow the author reaallyyy loves Elvis Costello. This is like the third of his albums I've gotten so far. This is also the only one of his albums that I think should be on this list. I think it's pretty good honestly. He really takes the whole rockabilly and garage rock vibes and translates it into a late-70s punk-ish context.

Have heard Elvis Costello, without having ever listened to a full album. Liked it. Few songs I recall hearing before.

Incredibly ok

"lackluster" comes to mind when trying to find a word to describe this album. a lot of the songs could've been new wave hits if they had better hooks, or bridges, or just anything to give them character. at the same time, the album is not bad or exceedingly boring to listen to (the short length definitely helps). this is my first E.C. album and apparently he appears multiple times on the 1001 albums list so here's hoping he got better later on tracks i liked: Blame It On Cain, Alison, I'm Not Angry (i really wish this site had the option to give half stars, my real rating would be 2.5)

Another from Elvis Costello. It’s pretty good, I guess. I can’t really talk at length about this one. I like ‘Watching The Detectives’, even if it’s not on the original release. Just for the record, I prefer this to Blood And Chocolate. I’ll probably get that treated to a 2. Bye.

Good, but this list doesn't need three Elvis Costello albums.

3.5

solid debut, some good tunes in there

this album and "Animals" by Pink Floyd were both released in 1977... Only one makes this list... WTF? this is a late 50s to early 60s rock n roll record but from a decade later. It reminded me a bit of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers debut wich had a similar vibe... my rating is a 3 just because i think that it's good enough to be put over average but not in great

This is the kind of album that I wish I had the proper historical perspective to appreciate. I can hear it's influences, and hear the influence it's had, but I don't lack the proper appreciation for its momentum in the moment. I do like it, but not as much as I'd hoped.

Another Elvis Costello album that is simply fine.

Not a fan of his, but this wasn't bad.

The lyrics are really good but the music is boring as hell and I just don’t like Mr. Costello’s voice.

Well-written lyrics paired with a subpar singer and a somewhat boring band

It was great and also fun, but ultimately not my style. Maybe if I listen to it more, the rating could change.

EC seems to appear heavily in this list so I was a bit “not him again”. But I enjoyed.

Parasta Costelloa, mitä olen kuullut. Arvostan nasevuutta ja kompakteja biisejä. Ei tää silti vielä omiksi suosikeiksi nouse. 3,5/5.

the real elvis

Out of the 150+ albums I need to catch up on, I chose this one because it’s only 36 minutes long. Just enough time for me to take all my clothes out the closet, get overwhelmed, and then shove it in boxes so that I can do the same thing again in 6 months.

A solid debut, but there's definitely too much Elvis Costello on this list.

Didn't love it or hate it, it was alright. A lot of the tracks just sound the same. The song "Alison" was quite enjoyable though and probably the only track i might listen to again.

It wasn't what I was expecting - it was more upbeat and a bunch of different genres. At times it kind of reminded me of Billy Joel?

Boa, schon wieder Elvis Costello.

Highlights: "Welcome to the Working Week," "Alison," "Less Than Zero," "Pay It Back" Honestly hard to pick highlights. Every song is memorable, with striking left-turn harmonic fluorishes and hooks that give precise impact to the cutting lyrics. I noticed how often I couldn't really scan how a lyric was going to be read, or I needed the riff to hit to realize its tenor or meaning. It's deliberate, tight, holistic songwriting at work, again and again in a exciting range of styles with bracing, expressive vocal performance. Too bad it's mainly in service of sleazy GQ dispatches.

Mediocre punk rock album. No hits.

Sounds like an album that was brought out for a coming of age film in the 80s, great sounding album with a great cover.

Close up on the sign that says 'We never close'

missed the target

Just okay

better than other 3 star albums but not quite enough for a 4 star. strong 7/10.

Decent album, 50s with a 70s rock twist, Watching The Detectives is a great song!

This album makes me think of my dad. Dude loves that Alison song. I do really like this album. Probably not something I would listen all the way through very often. But would definitely listen to some tracks here and there.

This is a music album.

Good classic sound that I enjoyed Watching the Detectives is very reggae like and is awesome

ALLLLLLISSSSONNNNNNNN Sometimes gets a bit too rockabilly for me but pretty solid.

He covers a lot of bases in this first stab of the donkey. Pretty good! Doesn’t hang around. On this first couple of listens, only the opening track and “Less Than Zero” jumped out. The rest sounded amiable, like sitting next to a mildly drunk John Cusack. Don’t like it as much as ‘Blood and Chocolate’.

captures rock and roll vibe from 70s but not in an obnoxious way, realtively chill. Alison is an all time classic, knew that one before knowing who elvis costello is. Consistent throughout the whole album, with some songs being a bit more fast and jazzy and some more slow and relaxed rock. Watching the detectives is a banger end to an album.

Well produced and very catchy. Most of the songs sound the same but it isn’t a very bad things. Songs have replay-ability. Some songs seemed a little sloppier than others and some were repetitive but the overall vibe of the album doesn’t seem to be super proper which is ok, given the era it was produced in.

Good

First "pub rock" album I've ever heard. Reminds me a lot of a few tracks off of London Calling. Was really hoping for an explanation of what's going on with the dudes knees :⁠-⁠\

I like the song "Alison" because it was in New Girl

I'm bopping my head, must be enjoyable

Heel leuke muziek, vooral het openingsnummer "Welcome to the Working Week". Het doet me een beetje aan Weezer denken. ***

This was actually quite good, especially liked the last couple tracks

first listen pretty good album

Pretty fun album. Might check out other albums of his.

I like this record, not crazy about it but it's solid

Cool, as he always is

Not bad

It was enjoyable. Didn't leap out at me but solid. This will sound sacriligious but a step above most 70s rock I've heard, felt forward-thinking and modern while also having a comforting familiarity creeping in.

Well, fun fact for me reading the Wiki, I used to live a block away from where this was recorded, just about 20 years too late. Elvis has a great singing voice, comes out clearly in the mix. As a debut this is great. Working Week kicks off with some fun, a bit 'doo wop' for me but doable in small doses. Miracle man suffers from some bad bass work (or perhaps bad mixing) and there is a lot of filler on the album. Alison though is just one of the great songs in the world, and the guitar (and bass) work really well here. Watching the Detectives is also a 5 star song. Not enough quality for on this one but some real good tracks

C'est pas mal mais ça casse pas 3 pattes à un canard

bien vu pour Alison

It all feels so contrived. Its OK, but its def not great. 3/5

Some fine pop rock/new wave but nothing special or memorable.

Way better than the last album of his we got

Inoffensive, but not terrible. I feel like this would have been revolutionary at the time but as wth everything revolutionary it gets copied to genericism

Didn't enjoy this as much as the other EC albums that have come up on this list

Not bad! First Elvis Costello album I've ever listened to. I thought it was pretty fun and his guitar playing was impressive. Not bad!

I’ve always felt like I should like Elvis Costello more than I do. His music is almost there for me, but just doesn’t quite hit. Like a show or movie that can’t get the rights to the song they want so they make a faux sounding dupe. I liked Alison, and a few songs towards the end of the album, but none enough to make me want to listen again. I do appreciate a 13 song album coming in at a tight 36 minutes though.

Okay-ish.

I don't think I've listened to any of his music before, so this was fun to listen to

I recognize the importance but it's just not for me. The album's second half does a lot of heavy lifting.

On the whole this album didn't do much for me outside of a few good songs. I will say, however, that this album truly feels timeless, and wouldn't seem out of place in the 50s or the 21st century.

It was okay... Felt like a cheap imitation of pop and rock and roll from a decade or two before. And yet it didn't feel that special? All a bit cookie-cutter. It got a bit boring too, but I thought the guitar solos in I'm Not Angry made up for some of it. Favourite: I'm Not Angry

I wanna like it, but I just can't. It's too poppy and "happy" for my tastes, plus in general it all just feels slightly manufactured, I don't know. I wish I could get into Elvis Costello but it's not for me. It's definitely not bad though.

Surely there are better Elvis Costello albums? Apart from "Watching The Detectives" - which wasn't on the original album - I don't think that I've heard any of these tracks before. Average.

I enjoyed the album. The highlights for me were Welcome to the Working Week, Blame it on Cain, Alison, Sneaky Feelings and Watching the Detectives

Listened Before? N Pretty good! I don't have any familiarity with Elvis Costello at all other than Alison. THAT song is pretty solid but never caught my interest. The rest of this record is fun and light hearted and has a good relaxed feel to it. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Watching the Detectives

Quite good. Enjoyable but only a 3 as it didn't take it further for me. Guitar and effects were quite good.

solid rock n roll 3/5

I like costello, and this debut album has a lot off decent tracks on it, but I don't love any of them, and find sometimes he can grate slightly.

Didn't really listen, seemed ok

Never been a Costello fan, and this doesn’t do much to change that, but I like the more interesting guitar licks he pulls out, although I don’t care for the rockabilly or reggae sounds as much. C+

3 stars - cool album

bien qsy 7/10

Solid

I mean, I guess if I had to listen to an Elvis Costello album, then this one wouldn't be the worst choice for me, but I really don't want to have to listen to an Elvis Costello album...at least not any one that I have heard so far. This album has a nice popiness to it, and I did find the melodies fun much of the time.

Interesting. I think I like it more than This Year's Model? It felt weirdly more punk rock given the shorter songs and the more in your face riffs. Standouts: No Dancing, Sneaky Feelings, Mystery Dance, I'm Not Angry

NO MORE ELVIS COSTELLO!!PLEASE! Hmmm 4 Oh there is the Jailhouse Rock ripoff "Mystery Dance" 3

Okay, look. I like Elvis Costello. He's got fun, punky energy in these early years without being what I would call punk. However, this is the second Elvis Costello album that I've gotten in the last two weeks, and it's too much for me. Please send me fewer Elvis Costello albums so that I can properly enjoy the ones I already have. All silliness aside, I like this album, but I felt like This Year's Model was a better album from this early period. There's nothing wrong with the songs on this album, but they are both less catchy and less interesting than the ones on that album. This one still has the characteristic Elvis Costello style, both in terms of the music and his voice, but it feels less mature here than on Last Year's Model. Taken in isolation, though, this is a fun album that I still find unspectacular. It's a lot more of a blues rock album than I thought it would be, though he does blues rock far better than most white dudes 3/5

fine

Bra debut. Det pubrockiga drar ner det lite för mig.

Very funky I enjoyed it

Enjoyable, but overhyped.

Very confused before realizing this is a different Elvis.

Lepposaa menoa ja hyviä soundeja. En tiedä miksi tämä Elvis ei ole koskaan kummemmin sytyttänyt, mutta voisin kyllä kuunnella enemmänkin.

Menevä levy. Vois kuunnella useemminkin, mut jos aikaa pitäisi musiikin kuunteluun käyttää, niin löytyy parempaakin tietty. Laitamme kuitenkin tänän jatkoon tulevaisuutta, jos sattuis tulee sellanen Costello-fiilis

I don’t get Elvis Costello

Power pop/rock, Singer/songwriter, ok underholdende

This album is a short pop jaunt into Costello's world. It features biting lyrics, punk and ska influences, as well as notable hooks. The key track being Allison, which showcases Costello's ability to write a timeless love song.

Impressed. You hear how Elvis Costello clearly serves as an inspiration for a lot of the artists we have today who channel 70s nostalgia. Alison is a beautiful song.

OK

I'm always thinking that I'm going to dislike an Elvis Costello album, then end up liking it.

Very solid and clearly influential. A lot has come out since that has expanded on this sound that makes it sound a bit dated nowadays.

Elvis Costello is just one of those artists where I respect him and his work, but it just is not my thing. "Alison" is a great track, but other than that it kinda falls flat.

This is a decent album. I'm sure it's great if you miss the 50's. I'm enjoying it, but I wouldn't pick it.

Not bad not my fav

I'm starting to really dislike Elvis Costello...there's the odd great song and then a distinct feeling he's a bit of an arse.

Lots of just quick, catchy tunes. I don’t mind it but nothing to go crazy over. 5/10

7/10

Well almost anything would sound good after Captain Beefheart. I thought This Year's Model was way better than this. Its fine, if pretty dated sounding. Its like a 50s rock star came forward into the future.

I went into this with low expectations, but I liked it a bit more than I thought I was going to. I'm not usually too into rock and roll and rockabilly stuff, but this album manages to make it sound a little more interesting. My favourite songs were Alison and I'm Not Angry.

the list compiler definitely has a soft spot for costello as this is the second offering we've had from him and one in 1001 is more than enough. that said, it should be this one over the other one as its fairly pleasant listening.

New wave retro rock n roll. It's jolly good fun in an unadventurous kind of way.

Starts with a song that could be a sitcom intro, but I think that might be intentional, sarcastically. Fun record, high energy, but not very fresh or unique.

It sounded so good in black and white. No longer as on the mark as it was when purchased on the day of release.

That’s some pretty good pop music. Although every song sounds very similar. 3/5

This is the third or fourth Costello record I've gotten and I'm starting to feel bad. He really should click with me, but I can't get anything below the surface level with him. It's pleasant enough when it's on, just nothing I enjoy enough to go out of my way to listen on my own. Favorite tracks: "Allison", "Blame It On Cain", "I'm Not Angry"

Perfectly serviceable album. Little bit dull. Has some songs I know, has others I'll forget. I probably would give it a two but I have a sort of inexplicable affection for Costello and I'm not sure why, so I'll give a bonus

Very aware of Costello and have heard a few songs on that radio, but never took the time to listen to his stuff. Glad I did. I enjoyed this album. Even added Waiting for the end of the world to my music downloads. Loved Waiting and likes Welcome to the working week, Alison and Mystery dance. I will now take the time to get to know better 3-3.5

3.5 I really enjoyed this one. It didn’t do anything amazingly remarkable but I can absolutely see why people really like this album. I’ll definitely be listening again. Favorites: Welcome to the Working Week, Miracle Man, Alison, Sneaky Feelings, Waiting for the End of the World, Watching the Detectives

Nice but background

So good. Have not heard this whole album before. Worth the listen.

7/10

3,5 classic ragga roolin maybe a 4,2 on a good day

isch ok

pretty decent, nothing jumping out as special. inoffensive to the ears

good album easy listening

Super based album. Much better than the usual ABBA fare. This is going into my regular rotation.

a bit old school

Really good. 3.5/5

Enjoyable but some of the songs on this album just sound so dated, especially given this came out in 1977

Vu le succès de la première émeute anti-Costello organisée par mon rival eltrapeze et moi-même, nous vous invitons à sa deuxième édition qui se tiendra le 19 septembre prochain, à 14h. Pour rappel, nous étions pour la première édition plus de vingt-mille émeutiers à nous être déplacés selon nous, dix-mille selon la police, et vingt-cinq selon Elvis Costello. À notre grande satisfaction, de nombreux magasins ont été vandalisés, des voitures incendiées, et des monuments tagués du slogan "no costello". Nous prévoyons de faire encore mieux la prochaine fois et avons hâte de vous y retrouver. À bientôt chers lecteurs.

Elvis Costello est ici fidèle à lui-même, à savoir complétement insipide. J'en profite pour vous rappeler que la deuxième édition de la manifestation anti Costello aura lieu le Lundi 19 Septembre. A cette occasion, nous distribuerons divers drapeaux et banderoles à l'encontre de Costello. Au plaisir de vous retrouver là-bas, prêts à en découdre.

My favorite Costello to date. Really like "Watching the Detectives". 3.5/5

Honestly, I'm not sure what to say here. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. It was just average, through and through. It wasn't offensive, but nothing was really exciting about it, either. It was just consistently just "okay". In this album, I can definitely hear where Costello is likely influenced by and trying to carry over some of the power pop and rockabilly of the 50s and 60s, such as The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly. You can even see it in the album cover art. But again, I think it's all a little too evenly neat and one note, nothing out of bounds or surprising like you might have gotten from the above-mentioned bands. Where they all got their fame taking risks and playing around in these genres, Costello just seems to be mostly rehashing them. Again, I always like to note when an album is someone's debut album, because I think it can say a lot. In this case, I definitely feel like Costello already had a solid idea of what he wanted to do and didn't need multiple albums to find his sound; he had it right away. As I understand it, there's a LOT of Costello on this project, so I'm definitely feeling indifferent about that, but at least my first Costello entry was this, his debut album, so I can maybe do some interesting comparisons with future albums. You know, for science. So far, I'm definitely not seeing what all the fuss is about.

Ik vond dit net iets minder speciaal dan het album dat eerder de revue passeerde.

Both nostalgic and ahead of its time.

Kinda boring and the guy's voice is annoying.

Not quite pop, not quite punk, not quite rockabilly. But is it really good? Not quite.

Decent sound, decent songs.

Not a fan of Costello. That said, not a bad album.

Genre: New Wave 3/5 In what was probably my favorite Elvis Costello experience so far (not saying much, but it's the truth), My Aim Is True, his debut effort, is a pretty straightforward new wave/pub rock experience. A lot of his early rock influences creep in here, and his voice is dialed down quite a bit than later albums, with a lot of the songs sounding more like 70s post-Buddy Holly than his 80s Costello tracks. What transpires is quite a run-of-the-mill pop rock experience, but it ends up being way more enjoyable than most other Costello albums due to classy, smooth production and its pared back attitude. The album's opener, the quick and punchy Welcome to the Working Week, is such a great opener that you're upset to find that it's less than a minute and a half, as the album launches into Miracle Man before we get a chance to even acknowledge how good it was. Songs like the rock & roll cut Mystery Dance, or the soft soul cut Alison, provide us with some sonic variety, but not enough to keep this album from sounding like one big continuous New Wave song. Decent, though, and a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting or hoping.

Some goodies but a little too old timey for me

Elvis' most important album deserves to be on this list, the other bajillionty from the book? Nah. Anyways… coming from the punk migration to post-punk, pop and new-wave My Aim Is True is a great blending of the prior influences and some others mixed in to make a good album. 3.5/5.

Thought it was a good but not great debut by Costello Favourite song was “Watching the Detectives” 23/06/22

I've always said Costello > Presley and this cements that fact

Some great songs on here but not as polished as some of his later work.

I've always loved this album. The 48 song Spotify version is a bit much for me. Stick to the basics.

Not my normal music, but I enjoyed it enough. Like the upbeat, light music.

Nice combination of rock and pop. Picks up towards the end and finishes on a high with Watching the Detectives.

Meilleur que l'autre que j'ai eu, mais ça reste un peu dull.

I like the fairly basic makeup of this album. Somewhere in his vocals a stimuli looms secretively.

2.5/5. Let’s just say I have heard better bad music.

Easy listening but nothing much to it.

I have this album in my record collection simply because I like the cover art. The music itself is decent. I like a handful of tracks, but it's not anything I'm crazy about.

Lively and fun, ascerbic lyrics don't match the tunes. Prefer the Attractions as a band, so the next LP, This Year's Model, gets a lot more listens than this. A good start to Elvis Costello's long recording career.

Me recordó a Ben Folds. Supongo que a esa época se escuchaba revolucionaria esa mezcla de rockabilly, funk, punk y hasta reggae, pero no me hace mucho ahora.

I dig how you get some blues, some oldies rock n' roll, and some more modern pop rock all in one place. He's definitely COOL, but his vocals to me sound a little too "put on" sometimes (same way I feel about Joss Stone... I want more authenticity). He does stick to it though, because they play some of his new releases on WXPN and he sounds pretty much the same!

Pros: - Wow very Bruce Springsteen-y! - Funny how production wise this is a throwback. It was released in 1977 but songs like "No Dancing" sounds totally like a 1950's boogie woogie. The album cover is a throwback too. - On the topic of the album cover, how interesting is the choice of the text on top of that checkered background? Weird isn't it? Cons: Misc: - pretty nice album all around!

Short, not bad

Bit of a greatest hits for what I didn’t realise was Elvis’ first album. Never been a massive fan but these are good tunes and they have the pull of nostalgia too. The production doesn’t sound as punchy as I remember it but that may be my speakers. Alison a highlight here, both lyrically & musically.

3/29/22 This album was enjoyable but very background to me. None of the songs I would ever seek out to listen to again. Lots of religious themes which was interesting. Favorite song: Miracle Man

My Aim Is True by Elvis Costello (1977) This debut album from Elvis Costello is good, but not nearly as good as later albums like This Year’s Model (1978) or Imperial Bedroom (1982). In My Aim Is True, he appears to be just getting his feet wet. It lacks the literary lyrical quality and the musical creativity found in his more mature efforts, although there are flashes of true brilliance. I remember passing on Elvis Costello in 1977, since he sounded so out of date. And 45 years later, this particular album has a roughly historical appeal. His voice is energetic, but flawed by excessive vowel bending and overly exaggerated and flippant stylings. His guitar work is capable, but not stellar. Check out “Mystery Dance” for evidence. In a nutshell, Costello gives intelligent lyrical expression to negative emotions, accompanied by bright and sassy rock ‘n roll melodies and chord structures. One can imagine the kicks he got recording “Welcome to the Working Week”, since his day job at the time was as a data entry clerk. “Alison” is overrated as a signature song. For me, the highlight of the album is “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes”, especially given its authentic and reflective biblical angelology, unchained from centuries of static dogma. His quirky hamartiology speculates, “Blame it on Cain, don’t blame it on me/It’s nobody’s fault, but we need somebody to burn.” Think about why he picked Cain instead of Adan, Eve, or the serpent. And there’s a nice eschatological take (in the closing track “Waiting for the End of the World”) when he sings “Dear Lord, I sincerely hope you’re coming, ‘cause you really started something” (I can hear my mother yelling, “Somebody better clean up this mess!”). There’s plenty here to entertain head-scratching armchair theologians. When he sings “I’m Not Angry”, do not, of course, believe him. I’ve known HR directors who could gain insight from Elvis Costello. It’s all good musical fun. 3/5

Like every Elvis Costello album, a few great songs, a few mediocre songs, and a few terrible songs. Maybe a greatest hits album would belong on this list but the individual albums are all just ok.

Probably one of the better pop rock albums I’ve ever heard.

Great Singer. Good to hear him.

Nerd

chato. é uma pena que esses 1001 álbuns sejam cheio de anglofluentes e pouca diversidade do mundo de outras culturas para além dos americanos e ingleses.

I just wish it wasn't Elvis Costello

b-side is really really solid

I don't really like his singing style. The songs are fine.

Our fourth from Costello, and it's more diminishing returns. He must be the favorite artist of some bloke responsible for this list because I really don't understand the need to include his entire discography. This one's a bit more punky, and apparently his debut, so credit for the guy just sounding like this on his first album I guess. I don't know, I was bored of his style after two albums, even if it's slightly different from project to project, so I'm not the guy to ask. It's not bad, just not very interesting. Favorite tracks: Less than Zero, Welcome to the Working Week. Album art: I like this one quite a bit, even if it's a genuine eyesore. The colors pop, it's hard to read but a nice retro design. 3/5

Never liked Elvis

Old school not bad

"My hopes were so high when I heard the first track. But honestly it went downhill after that. Alison is good and Welcome To The Working Week is the best."

Another perfectly palatable and easily forgotten Elvis Costello album. Perhaps the curator of this list knows something I don't?

Good vibes only!! Tycker Elvis gör rätt mycket med enkla medel. Inte riktigt min stil, annars hade jag nog delat ut ett högre betyg.

Cantautor con algún toque más rockabilly, con voz característica y canciones sin ser un gran alarde de composición y de ritmo. Escuchable, hasta ahí

I like it... kind of repetitive but I like the vibe. 3.5 I guess.

Enjoyed it a fair amount. Nothing crazy but good tunes overall

I guess I'm realizing through this process that a good vocalist is important to me. Songs/melody is fine. Vocals are just terrible in some cases. Three stars for composition reasons, not vocal efforts.

First Listen. Three of the songs are very familiar, the rest, I definitely enjoyed. Standouts: Alison, Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes, Watching the Detectives. 3/5

Decent. Some of the songs are great, some are middle-of-the-road.

Great live. Great to live. Elvis!

Fairly timeless

Recognized two great songs...fun album!

Nice, beatsy album though I'm not quite sure how memorable it will be for me in the long run

Bom som

Bien, pero un poco pesado.

Obviously a familiar name but realized I had never really listened to him. Only really recognized Allison, but regardless he has a pretty cool style. Like Billy Joel but with more Guitar and rock pizazz

Costello can be better.

A killer first line ushers in an enjoyably upbeat downbeat LP that hinges on the incomparable classic "Alison". Where post-punk and new wave intersects with the 50s.

I knew "Alison" and I guess I was expecting the rest of the album to be along those lines but I also knew that Elvis Costello is more punk/rock than the wistfulness of "Alison". So yeah, it was more punk/rock and that's ok. It doesn't sound like something from 1977 - I guess it's another of those influential albums that cast a very long shadow, well into the 80s, 90s and beyond. "Alison" is still my favourite track though.

Solid production and guitarwork. Alison is a fantastic song. Could use a bit more to help it stand out though.

This album didn't do that much for me. Elvis Costello is another one of those artist that I really respect but am just not that in to.

This was good. Probably a 3.5. More catchy than I expected.

Did not like it

I don't get this guy

decent album but it doesnt feel outstanding to me

Honestly, I listened to this while doing other things, so I don’t even really remember it. I think I liked it alright, though it wasn’t stellar.

Krieg ich latente Jonathan Richman-Vibes von. Aber mit mehr Soul natürlich, dafür weniger Lustigkeit. Ist ganz ok, macht mich aber noch nicht zum Fan, diese hier. 2,8

I must be missing something about Elvis Costello. It's *alright*, but I'm not hearing anything that screams "rock and roll hall of fame". Maybe its the influence he's had?

Not really for me. A nice sound and a fairly happy album. If I heard singles on a compilation or the radio I wouldn’t switch over. But not enough interest for me to re-listen or save any to one of my playlists

I've heard this before, pretty decent. A great opening line

Listened to it once but I was kinda busy and I'm not sure I fully processed it. Enjoyed some of the guitar work. Enjoyable but it didn't wow me - but maybe I didn't give it enough attention.

Comes across as a dork but the music is solid

Some really fun songs on this one, would listen to it again.

Some fun songs. I liked the energy. Good vibes

Catchy riffs, somewhat annoying vocals, conventional chords, some nice melodies, "I'm Not Angry" and "Watching the Detectives"

couple diamonds in the rough, for the most part didn't like a lot of the songs but they've got a few good uns, the good songs are 4's but the bad songs are 2's. Tough choice.

I had high expectations on this one, but I kinda got bored after a while

Not an awful Elvis P impersonation but not so good I need to listen again.

Overall a pretty strong album. Theres a couple of standouts- Watching the detectives, mystery dance, and blame it on cain mainly Welcome to the working week is fairly catchy and straight forward, also very short Some nice guitar on Miracle Man Blame it on Cain is very catchy and has cool guitar riffs. Mystery Dance makes you wanna dance. Watching The Detectives is reminiscent of Master Blaster, cool drum beat. Thematically its also very relevant to todays climate

Enjoyed this. Not very familiar before

pretty good debut album

Elvis Costello is overrated but there are a few good tracks here

Fun and replayable rock album, feels like the B side is overall stronger than the A side.

Nett, aber nichts Besonderes

Kann man so ganz gut im Hintergrund dudeln lassen aber das Cover geht gar nicht...

A rather underwhelming debut I thought, shows very little sign of the great work to come....

Já conhecia.

Costello is one of the artists my parents really dig and I just haven't been able to really get into. Truthfully, I just feel like a lot of his stuff sounds the same. Now listening to this full album challenged that some (we get a blues guitar, we get a reggae beat) but more or less my opinion stands. Listenable yes, but seems to be caught in its time. I did enjoy Alison and other tunes. Funny the album name is a lyric from Alison but not the name of the song.

I have to say, I'm pretty disappointed by this one. I've considered Alison a masterpiece of a song for quite a while now and to a lesser extent also What's So Funny (About Peace, Love & Understanding). I didn't expect everything to be on the level of Alison, but the drop-off in quality between Costello's best songs and average songs is apparently humongous. My second-biggest issue is the very bad sound quality. I've heard few albums in more dire need of remastering than this one. Costello's songs definitely need a much fuller and vibrant sound. Somewhat less twangy guitars wouldn't hurt either. In addition, the album seems to start off with the worst songs of the album, which set the wrong mood. This is a 3.5 for me. It's lifted from a 3 by the brilliance of Alison, but still rounded down for the feeling of disappointment. With a good remaster it would easily be a 4.

I didn't dislike it, but it felt kinda generic honestly.

Doesn't do much for me, but it's not bad, per se. Let's see how it plays out. It's okay.

Elvis Costello is a blind spot for me. I've never listened to anything. I don't dislike this, but most of the album just feels kinda samey to me. I did like hearing Alison, which I only know from New Girl 😂

Cool

.

Ik vind die andere Elvis toch de echte! Deze Elvis is goed, maar meer dan aardig vind ik 't niet.

Fine

rockerillos died so Miley Cyrus could run o algo así no recuerdo el meme pero not bad (tres canciones y lo quité)

My dad used to have this album on vinyl but I've never listened to it hah. The first two songs were so strong and then it fell off and the lyrics were a bit questionable. 6.

3/5

Cruisin' music with an attitude

medio sesentero para ser setentero

SIGNIFICANTLY better than blood and chocolate. JESUS. Listening to this, I actually understand why people like Elvis Costello. Feels like classic summer cruising music for high school. Not something I want to listen to frequently, but could feel awesome in a summer barbecue playlist or similar. 3.5 for me, but I'm gonna round down.

Fine? Not my favorite

Ah, it was alright.

Good new wave. Alison is a classic. 7/10

Pretty decent. Reminds me of like 50s rock with a decent amount of distortion in some songs.

This album felt like it came up in the middle of an evolution or something, like growing pains or the awkward phase in life, it stood out as different and that came with good and bad. I kept getting turned off for a song or two, that shocked when the next one wasn't as bad. Overall, a strange, but fun, album that won't stick with me despite liking some of the songs. Favorite songs: Welcome To The Working Week Miracle Man Alison

>Suave

Good group of EC songs; one thing I noticed was the excellent rhythm guitar work that I assume was done by Elvis himself. I liked the songs I hadn't heard before. Highlights: -Allison -Watching the Detectives

Although there are some standout songs I don't think this is the strongest of his albums - there's a lot of material in the middle that runs together for me. Still foreshadows a great talent.

fun sound, some songs couldn't really get into but definitely some very interesting bops

3.5

couldnt tell if it was cool or randy newman

interesting sounds, a little samey sounding. liked mystery dance and im not angry

Rock on, elvis

Always felt like I should like Costello more... maybe my pallet has matured enough. This is good!

The genesis of Elvis Costello's bullshit; another failing of the Boomer generation that they didn't stop him here from inflicting like 58 increasingly terrible albums onto an innocent public. Mostly quasi-50s avant garde rock, doing a Buddy Holly impression. It's better than Armed Forces, which was a dogshit 1/5, so I guess this is a 2/5. Only four more Costello albums to go.

This was a very background album to me. The mix of the album I listened to was rough. For an album that relies heavily on the lyrics to build tension and emotion, his voice was muddy and the instrumentals tinny and sharp. No song especially stood out to me. Well constructed, well played, and a few areas do rock pretty well. 4/10

Did absolutely nothing for me

better than most of his stuff and short i guess, i'm just so sick of seeing elvis costello on this list, you'd think was actual elvis with how much he shows up

eh...a few worthwhile tunes. majority not very entertaining.

I never knew where this one was going for me. After the first song "Welcome to the Working Week" I figured this might be a 1 star for me. But I actually didn't hate the rest of the album. Definitely not adding any of these songs to my playlist but I didn't want to die when listening.

Not my jam again 5/10

There really doesn't neeed to be this much Elvis Costello. This album doesn't really do anything particularly new or interesting, and the few songs which I do like sound like they should be on a soundtrack for a Shrek film

2.5

Mediocre new wave that lacks much in the way of instrumental bite, instead relying on cynical lyricism.

⭐⭐ Enough Elvis already. This one's ok, and even more listenable than the previous 2 entries, though the songs start sounding like fraternal siblings. Let's be over him now.

I might have to implement The Rule for this one. so sick of Elvis Costello. nostalgia of Allison brought this to a 2. Waiting for the End of the World? I am begging for the end of this record. and yet I’ll only be halfway through the SIX (?!) Elvis Costello albums on this list.

Elvis costello is a weird one for me. Some songs seem okay if I don't pay too much attention to it. Lyrics never do anything for me, despite being fairly clear, and if I try to focus on the music I start to think the vocals are nasally

Klausijos braucot cauri Bauskai👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Loti mid

4/10. Un intento de Elvis atrasado y normalito. Es gracioso que el tipo se llame Elvis Costello y que la música que intente hacer sea un rock tranquilito y swingero como el de Presley y que la mejor canción del disco sea un tema reggae (último). No sé, es un disco pasajero que no transmite nada pero que tampoco es malo. No creo que lo escuche otra vez.

I didn’t really get this, one or two great songs ( Alison ) takes me back. Overall pretty average

4+ / 10

Det er jo fint og bra, men ganske kjedelig ass. Ikke min kopp te. Kanskje ikke hans feil, men irriterende hvor mye vokalen hans minner om counting crows (som er jævlig irriterende). Mystery Dance er såpass fet at den trekker litt opp.

Nothing I look forward to more than bashing out a 2* Elvis Costello album every other morning.

Elvis Costello ei oo ikinä kolahtanut. Ei myöskään tämä levy.

van morrison n such n such

flojo

not my music

Eh

Not a rockabilly fan

I don’t know, this feels like if the blues rock guys of the sixties suddenly got white and uncool. I am not surprised at all that none of this albums singles were met with interest. Just very white-bread music. If you like this album or it even is one of your favourites, I’m sorry for judging so harshly. But there is so much non-dull music around, why would you pick this retiree community dancehall style over literally anything else??