Albums by this artist

For me, picking a favorite Elvis Costello album is like picking a favorite arm. Or parent. Since I've gotten into the man's music, and obsessively tracked down every album, bootleg, import, single, and import single I could get my hands on, EC-listening has become as reflexive as breathing. Picking just one album, over a career that spans almost as many genres as there can be said to exist in music, is like picking just one limb to keep.

That said, the one Elvis album I find myself spinning the most is not an obvious choice. It doesn't get as much press as This Year's Model, didn't sell as well as Armed Forces, and didn't win any Grammies like Painted From Memory. My Elvis Costello album of choice is 1981's Trust.

The album's appeal is its diversity. Most of Elvis's '80s work explores one specific sound -- Motown (Get Happy!!), country (Almost Blue), or roots-rock (King of America). Trust has no such restrictions. There's some songs that look to his past, simple combo sound, and a few that suggest the orchestrations of the next year's Imperial Bedroom. The lack of a central theme is a weakness in the opinion of some Costello fans, but I disagree. Since the album has no musical theme, it's up to Elvis's lyrics to create flow. He's more than up to task.

I don't know whether it was done by design or necessity, but the inclusion of new recordings of songs written at the very beginning of Costello's career ("Different Finger") along with the more lyrically complex "Clubland" and "Strict Time" is a masterstroke. This album is defined by contrasts -- between the busy arrangement of "You'll Never Be A Man" and the stark piano-and-vocal "Shot With His Own Gun," between the relentless, driving beat of "Lover's Walk" and the slow burn of "Watch Your Step," between the classic rock nugget "From A Whisper To A Scream" and the atmospheric, oddly constructed solo recording "Big Sister's Clothes."

No matter what the mood, the Attractions (who I will be raving about or bemoaning the absence of in every Elvis review I will ever write, for life) are on top of it, and Costello's vocals are among the most varied and emotional of his career. I love this album, I really do.

Addendum: I own all of Elvis's albums on vinyl and CD, because I'm a fan-boy, and we do that sort of thing. Usually I listen to the LP to get the original side division and sound. However, for those just getting into Elvis, the Rykodisc reissue series offers great liner notes, tons of extra art, and TONS of bonus tracks. Trust comes with nine extra tracks, which aren't all fabulous, but a budget-priced CD with 23 tracks is a fabulous deal. Go buy the album right now. And tell Ryko I sent you.

MARK T.R. DONOHUE | Mark T.R. Donohue is a prolific freelance writer whose areas of expertise include Rockies baseball, video games, genre television, English soccer, and pub rock. He lives in Colorado, where he cultivates the largest and creepiest private collection of Alyson Hannigan memorabilia in the Mountain West.