Labels We Love – Demon/Fiend/F-Beat

Elvis Costello – Get Happy

More of the Music of Elvis Costello

  • A vintage UK pressing with very good Hot Stamper sound on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • We guarantee there is more space, richness, presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard or you get your money back – it’s as simple as that
  • Get Happy, coming right before the brilliant Trust, contains Elvis classics like “I Can’t Stand Up (for Falling Down)” and “Motel Matches”
  • 5 stars: “…a 20-song blue-eyed soul tour-de-force…” and killer recording quality make this a Must Own for Elvis fans

This is the record that came out right after Armed Forces, which is a huge favorite around these parts, and the venerable All Music Guide gives both albums five big stars. I’m not sure I’d go quite that far, but it’s certainly full of good material. Out of the twenty songs on here, exactly one clocks in at over three minutes. (more…)

Elvis Costello / Punch The Clock

More of the Music of Elvis Costello

  • Here is a vintage F-Beat import pressing of Punch the Clock with great sound from start to finish – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Two Costello classics are found on side one: “Everyday I Write the Book,” and “Shipbuilding,” with a heartbreaking trumpet solo by none other than Chet Baker himself
  • We guarantee there is more space, richness, presence, and performance energy on this copy than others you’ve heard or you get your money back – it’s as simple as that
  • “Elvis Costello … remains the most consistently interesting songwriter in rock & roll, and there is evidence that a new, more emotionally generous sensibility may soon be present in his work.” -Rolling Stone

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Elvis Costello – Almost Blue

More Elvis Costello

  • Here is an original British F-Beat import pressing (and only the second copy to ever hit the site) with STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on both sides
  • Big, lively and dynamic, with plenty of bass (Elvis’s trademark sound) and energy, this copy is really rockin’
  • Note that the song Almost Blue is found on Imperial Bedroom, one of those Costello albums that tends to grow on you over the years after many plays
  • To get the flavor of it, play one of Elvis’ best tracks from Punch the Clock: Shipbuilding, with a solo from Chet Baker that will show you just how much feeling a three-minute pop song can hold
  • 4 stars: “Elvis Costello’s ‘country record’ is usually written off as a vanity project, but Almost Blue is quite a bit more than that. It’s one of the most entertaining cover records in rock & roll, simply because of its enthusiasm. The album begins with a roaring version of Hank Williams’ ‘Why Don’t You Love Me’ and doesn’t stop. Costello sings with conviction on the tear-jerking ballads, as well as on barn burners like ‘Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down.'”

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Elvis Costello – King of America

More Elvis Costello

  • With STUNNING Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades or close to them from top to bottom, this F-Beat import pressing was giving us the sound we were looking for on Elvis’s brilliant 1986 release – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • Here are just a few of the things we had to say about this killer copy in our notes: “lots of space”…”very breathy and full”…”tight and rich bass”…”big and weighty”…”jumping out of the speakers”
  • Both sides are clean, clear, and lively with plenty of bottom end and lots of space around all of the instruments
  • Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” is only one highlight among many – these are some of his best songs
  • Marks and problems in the vinyl are sometimes the nature of the beast with these vintage LPs – there simply is no way around them if the superior sound of vintage analog is important to you
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Stripping away much of the excess that cluttered Punch the Clock and Goodbye Cruel World, Elvis Costello returned to his folk-rock and pub rock roots with King of America, creating one of his most affecting and personal records … one of his masterpieces.”

Even though the album was recorded right here in the states, the domestic copies are clearly made from dubs, sounding quite a bit more opaque, vague, closed-in, flat and dry than most of the British pressings we played.

Like most Costello albums on domestic vinyl, they should be avoided.

Of course, I and all my friends, at least the ones who were into Elvis at the time, had a copy with exactly this kind of mediocre sound and we liked it just fine. Now, thirty-plus years on, I couldn’t sit through that kind of sound with a gun to my head.

Setting higher standards for yourself — consciously or unconsciously, the process works both ways — is an important aspect of becoming a more critical listener. Many of the Heavy Vinyl audiophile remasters sound “opaque, vague, closed-in, flat and dry” next to the best Hot Stamper pressings, but if you’ve never heard one, how would you know what you’re missing?

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Elvis Costello – Imperial Bedroom

More Elvis Costello

More 5 Star Albums

  • Imperial Bedroom is back on the site for only the second time in nearly two years, here with KILLER Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound or close to it on both sides of this UK pressing
  • These are just a few of the things we had to say about this incredible copy in our notes: “spacious and detailed piano and vox”…”up front and breathy”…”huge, rich bass”…”fully extended from to to bottom”…”can’t complain!” (side two)
  • Geoff Emerick engineered, creating a unique sound – forget the painfully bad domestic pressings, these imports are the only way to go
  • This dense, darkly serious album contains some of the best songs EC ever wrote – the last of his True Classics
  • 5 stars: “Costello’s music is complex and intricate, yet it flows so smoothly, it’s easy to miss the bitter, brutal lyrics…the detail and the ornate arrangements immediately peg Imperial Bedroom as Costello’s most ambitious album.”
  • If you’re an Elvis Costello fan, and what audiophile wouldn’t be?, this title from 1982 is surely a Must Own
  • The complete list of titles from 1982 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here.

Six of Elvis’s first seven albums received a Five Star rating from Allmusic, the exception being Almost Blue, and we generally would agree with that assessment (although Get Happy should probably also get Four Stars, not Five).

Which is to say that Elvis Costello is a brilliant artist whose albums work as albums, a fact that is in danger of being lost in a world of single-song downloads and greatest hits packages. We record-playing audiophiles are inclined to start at the beginning of a side and let it flow through to the end, and that is clearly the best way to appreciate and enjoy the work of this very gifted man.

Check out the Tracklist below to see a sample of some of the lyrics to a few of the songs on the album.

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Punch The Clock – Drums, Bass and Horns Are Key to the Best Imports

Hot Stamper Pressings of Elvis’s Albums Available Now

The bottom end is as punchy, well-defined and powerful as they come. There’s plenty of low-end on this record; regrettably most copies suffer from either a lack of bass or a lack of bass definition. I can’t tell you how much you’re missing when the bass isn’t right on this album. (Or if you have the typical bass-shy audiophile speaker, yuck.) When the bass is lacking or ill-defined, the music seems labored; the moment-to-moment rhythmic changes in the songs blur together, and the band just doesn’t swing the way it’s supposed to.

The bass, along with the horn sound, are the two key elements to getting a good copy of this record.

The horns are often compressed, making them lose their bite and smearing them together.

On some copies you can pick out the trombones and on some copies you can’t; you just hear horns because the individual instruments are smashed into a congested mess. This is Elvis’ Motown Album; the horns are what bring the music to life. They’re what make this album fun.

On this copy, you get the full-on bottom end WHOMP you paid for, with no loss in control. You can clearly follow Bruce Thomas’s bass lines throughout the songs, a real treat for any music lover. (He and Elvis don’t get along, hence the end of the Attractions as his backing band. I guess we should be thankful for the nine albums on which they were together; many of them are Desert Island Discs for me.)

Not only that, but the drums have real body and resonance, a far cry from the wimpy cardboard drums so many rock records have. Listen to the drum sound on Charm School. Man, those are some BIG FAT PUNCHY DRUMS. Very reminiscent of Bowie’s Let’s Dance. The drum sound on that album is some of the best we’ve ever heard, bar none.

Right out of the gate, Let Them All Talk is lively and full of energy. Elvis’ vocals have all the presence and clarity you could hope for. Since the drums are such a driving force for the Attractions, you have got to have room and spaciousness around them. This copy showcases the percussion with weight down low and harmonics on the cymbals.

The female background singers are clear, another tough test.

It should be noted that this is not an easy record to reproduce well. Everything needs to be working at its best to bring this recording to life, especially in the range of 200 cycles and under, an area where most audiophile systems are at their weakest. If you’ve got power to spare down there, this one will really rock.

Elvis Costello – Blood and Chocolate – Reviewed in 2000

Hot Stamper Pressings of Elvis’s Albums Available Now

Reviews and Commentaries for the Music of Elvis Costello

Some brilliant songs on this one: I Want You comes to mind, one of the best tracks Elvis ever laid down. This is not a pretty record — it’s lean, mean, rock and roll, if you’re into that sort of thing (which I am of course). (more…)