Seeing as how the Miami date will be the last one on this leg, we thought we'd throw out a few requests. The parameters were simple: We stayed within the confines of the "Early Songs" as Costello had announced them, which is to say everything from his debut album, My Aim Is True, to 1986's Blood & Chocolate, is fair game. We also took a look back at prior setlists and eliminated numbers we're pretty confident will make up the bulk of what will likely be a 24-song trip down memory lane.
So here are five songs we're hoping Elvis & Co. sprinkle in on Saturday night.
5. 'A Good Year for the Roses,' Almost Blue (1981)
In 1981, Elvis Costello released his sixth album, which consisted entirely of covers of country songs. The hat-tips were straightforward and star-studded: Hank Williams, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Charlie Rich — even Gram Parsons got the E.C. treatment. Though the album was not particularly well-received by the crit-erati upon release, it stands up extremely well four decades later. "A Good Year for the Roses" was a hit for Jones in 1970, so much so that it crossed over from the country charts to pop radio. Written by Jerry Chesnut, who also wrote hits for the likes of Faron Young, Johnny Cash, and Tammy Wynette, it's sung from the point of view of a man whose wife is leaving him. Dripping with self-pity, Jones' version is definitive. But Elvis' was faithful to the original — pure and passionate and sincere, proving that he was no mere poseur dabbling in a genre that so many outside Nashville sneered at. 4. 'Secondary Modern,' Get Happy!! (1980)
The greatness of "Secondary Modern" lies in the vast chasm between the lyrics and the delivery. It's a two-minute plunge into the despair of male adolescence and mediocrity, rendered as smooth as any '50s or '60s proto pop song. The title refers to the midcentury tracking of high school-age students in the U.K. who fell well short of what we here in the U.S. have come to call "gifted and talented." Combine that with teen hormones, isolation, and feelings of inadequacy, and stir. 3. 'Goon Squad,' Armed Forces (1979)
In "Goon Squad," Elvis Costello confronts fame and "success" as only Elvis Costello would (or could). In the liner notes for the 2002 reissue of Armed Forces, his third album, Costello wrote, "I was as normal as any young idiot suddenly thrust into the charts and onto the cover of periodicals while being spoken about with exaggerated awe. If I seemed a little self-absorbed at the time, then I have to say that much duller songs have been written on the subject." He then proceeds to single out "Goon Squad" as "the oddest and most overwrought" example on the record.Thinking up the alibis that everyone's forgotten
Just another Mummy's boy gone to rotten
They pat some good boys on the back and put some to the rod
But I never thought they'd put me in the
Goon squad.
2. 'Battered Old Bird,' Blood & Chocolate (1986)
"Battered Old Bird" unspools like an intrusive memory/fever dream, perhaps from Elvis Costello's youth. A deeply layered and lyrical tour de force rendered with raw emotion, "Battered Old Bird" seemingly has as many haters as admirers. Count us squarely in the latter camp. 1. 'American Without Tears,' King of America (1986)
That's not a typo — Elvis released two LPs in 1986: King of America in February and Blood & Chocolate seven months later. This is what music critics call a "fertile period." True to its title, King of America was a rootsy affair that paired Costello with T Bone Burnett, a brilliant musician and producer whose name you might not know but whose fingerprints can be found on countless rock 'n' roll projects (including movie soundtracks) from the 1970s straight through to the present day. A bittersweet Cajun waltz that's set in New Orleans and features an accordion interlude, "American Without Tears" introduces us to two English expats, "G.I. brides" who came to the U.S. after World War II. Though it's nowhere near Elvis Costello's most-streamed song, it might be his most gorgeous one.Elvis Costello & the Imposters, with Charlie Sexton. 8 p.m. Saturday, July 12, at the Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-938-2509; fillmore-miami.com. Tickets are $71-$299 via ticketmaster.com.
