Which was most influential

[AustinChief]

Originally Posted by rico

Both vids = awesome. I am now listening to some more of his songs on youtube.

Sweet! be careful, his music can be addictive. You can spend WEEKS catching up with his entire catalogue. Here is the best webpage to get all the info.. http://www.elviscostello.info

[AustinChief]

Just to cover my bases.. here are some later songs of Costello's

So Like Candy - 1991


Why Can't a Man Stand Alone -1996


Ok, to be clear, I'm trying to "match" the tone of the song you mentioned.. there are SO MANY more that are completely different. This is by no means an accurate "sample" of the breadth of his work.

[AustinChief]

Ok now here are some of my favorite official VIDEOS of his. (I include liner notes where I could find them)

The Other Side of Summer -1991

This album opens with “The Other Side Of Summer”. The arrangement is a pastiche of The Beach Boys after the fashion of The Beatles’ “Back IN The U.S.S.R.” In our case, the music and vocal parts take their cue from some of their early ‘70s album tracks like “The Trader” and “Funky Pretty”. The words are a catalogue of pop conceits, deceits, hypocrisies, and delusions. I include myself in this parade of liars and dupes.

Good Year for the Roses(originally a hit for George Jones, but Costello NAILS it and it remains one of my favorite performances.) - 1981

The video for “Good Year For The Roses” was filmed the day before the Aberdeen gig at Meldrum House, a National Trust listed building that accepted guests. The people running the place were adamant that we couldn’t drag an organ or piano into the wooden-floored salon in which we had chosen to film. This meant that Steve Nieve had nothing to play. The only solution was for him to mime the string parts with a violin, an instrument that Steve had probably never held in his life. Only we didn’t have a violin. The rather spooking girls miming the backing vocals were the daughters of the music teacher from the local village who lent us the violin that Mr. Nieve is seen playing.
Perhaps the charm or sheer weirdness of this clip helped make a big hit single out of “Roses”, reaching No. 6 in the U.K. charts and becoming one of the most played records of the year. I found myself approached in supermarkets by what I then regarded as “older women” who thought that the record was “very romantic”.

OK Finally, I challenge you not to get a little choked up watching this last one...

Veronica -1989

I began writing with Paul McCartney, for his album "Flowers in the Dirt", in 1987. We went on to compose a dozen songs together. "Veronica" was one of the very first songs that we worked on. It is a wishful song about my Grandmother’s failing hold on memory and reality. As the subject was so personal, I didn't find it so easy to edit the song. Paul put some shape into the music of a rambling bridge and tightened up a few of the lyrical lines in the verses.

[oldman]

Having been there for both, it has to be Elvis. Elvis was like nothing most of us had ever seen. That's not to take anything away from the Beatles, but if it wasn't for Elvis, there wouldn't have been mainstream rock and roll. Even though Ed Sullivan wouldn't televise him below the waist, we all knew it was cool. The Bealtes did not write their early hits, they were covers of Bo Diddley. Chuck Berry, etc.
The Beatles became a huge influence. They wrote most of their songs, something most artists didn't do. They wrote songs of love and peace in a time many of us were questioning the values of Eisenhower America (and I know LBJ was President when they hit the States). But those songs came later.

[KChiefer]

Originally Posted by oldman

The Bealtes did not write their early hits, they were covers of Bo Diddley. Chuck Berry, etc.

Nice. I was just wondering if anyone mentioned Chuck Berry or Bo Diddley in this thread.

I had a David Bowie 'Live at the Beeb' album where he covered Berry's 'We're Almost Grown.' Wasn't some amazing cover, but showed me the respect he had for Berry.

And Diddley's 'Who Do You Love' is a fav of mine

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by oldman

Having been there for both, it has to be Elvis.

Elvis didn't write songs. Elvis didn't play on his recordings. Elvis didn't engineer his records. Elvis didn't produce his records.

Elvis was an entertainer. He was absolutely amazing and the best entertainer since Frank, but an entertainer, nonetheless. Once Elvis got out of the Army, his popularity waned so he turned to movies.

After The Beatles split, they became even more popular. Each of them had successful solo careers and were loved by billions.

There people to this day all over the world that reference The Beatles in their works, whether it's Soundgarden or Coldplay or Oasis or any number of million selling acts (not to mention all the acts in the 60's and 70's. Oh, and Tears for Fears, etc. and so on).

There are very few, if any artists/songwriters that wake up and say "I wanna be like Elvis".

[stevieray]

"before elvis, there was nothing."

it's a silly comparison.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by stevieray

"before elvis, there was nothing."

it's a silly comparison.

Sorry to disagree, Stevie, but plenty of influential artists existed before and during Elvis' short reign (whom I absolutely LOVE).

Charlie Christian, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Bo Diddley, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Freddie King, BB King, Muddy Waters and so on and so forth.

Elvis was The King. Sometimes imitated but never duplicated.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Sorry to disagree, Stevie, but plenty of influential artists existed before and during Elvis' short reign (whom I absolutely LOVE).

Charlie Christian, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Bo Diddley, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Freddie King, BB King, Muddy Waters and so on and so forth.

Elvis was The King. Sometimes imitated but never duplicated.

quote is from Lennon. as i'm sure you are aware.

it's silly because comparing one guy to four isn't realistic.
Like Johhny Cash, EP is in rnr, country and gospel HOF's. that alone speaks to a broader range of influence.

[Rausch]

I suspect a poll fixed by dumbassery...

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Rausch

I suspect a poll fixed by dumbassery...

Not only that but it's a weird question to ask the fanbase of a midwestern football team, 99% of whom do not work in the music business as songwriters, musical artists, producers or engineers.

THOSE people will provide the real answer.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Not only that but it's a weird question to ask the fanbase of a midwestern football team, 99% of whom do not work in the music business as songwriters, musical artists, producers or engineers.

THOSE people will provide the real answer.

This is the first time I've ever wanted to kick yer' nuts up 'round your ears...

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Rausch

This is the first time I've ever wanted to kick yer' nuts up 'round your ears...

[tk13]

There's way more to this than just what Hollywood engineers think. They are far from the only people who are allowed to be influenced by the music of the Beatles, or Elvis, or Zeppelin, or anyone really. Think of how many people learned how to play guitar, piano, or learned how to sing because they were moved by the music of some of these bands. But maybe that's misreading the question.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by tk13

There's way more to this than just what Hollywood engineers think. They are far from the only people who are allowed to be influenced by the music of the Beatles, or Elvis, or Zeppelin, or anyone really. Think of how many people learned how to play guitar, piano, or learned how to sing because they were moved by the music of some of these bands. But maybe that's misreading the question.

Right and I mentioned that. And it's not just Hollywood engineers. It's every engineer or producer in the world.