My 1001 Albums Journey

Grating voice and (for the most part) unmemorable tunes, despite all the posthumous hype.

Wow, stunning in every respect from start to finish. Why did no one tell me?

Call me picky but as a general rule I prefer songs to have some music and singing in them 😐

As an immature, weedy, and timid 17 year-old, just about to go to university and in desperate need of an identity, I happened to read a short review of this album in my father's Guardian (as one did). On impulse, and without having heard any of the tracks, I bought the album in WH Smith in Canterbury while on holiday with my surrogate family. I sneaked off and played it on the record player in the house we were staying at every opportunity - and couldn't believe what I was hearing. Elvis Costello came from nowhere, fully formed. This and his many following albums became the soundtrack to my life, this is no exaggeration. Don't you think that I know that walking on the water won't make me a miracle man. I said this to my boss at the end of my annual appraisal about 20 years later and he just looked up and said 'Elvis Costello'.

I was fully prepared only to award this 4, given it's a double album, and just the one big single, thought there was bound to be some filler. But hell, this is the Stones, the GOLD standard, from their golden period. Jewels everywhere 💪💪💥