'Thinking 'bout This and That'

I made it through the first section of my listen-to-every-CD-I-own project (I really should come up with a catchier name), listening to all 19 Elvis Costello CDs I own over the last three weeks. I listened to angry young man Elvis, politically infuriated Elvis, heartbroken Elvis, romantic Elvis, hard-rocking Elvis, passionately crooning Elvis, the poet, the collaborator, the arranger, the composer, the producer, the jazzman, the New Waver, the balladeer.

In career that has literally spanned my entire lifetime, Elvis Costello has released more than 30 albums covering the worlds of pop, rock, jazz, country and classical. His output is certainly impressive, even if the result isn't always to my liking.

By listening to all these CDs, I've realized that though Elvis Costello's voice is one of my all-time favorites (my elbows and knees get warm when he hits certain notes), it's not always properly showcased (it's a bit too warbly sometimes). I like some of his jazz songs but not the experimental stuff.

This is all down to a matter of my personal tastes and I know that though the CD "When I Was Cruel" will never rate that highly with me, other Elvis Costello fans likely enjoy giving it regular spins. To each their own. And with an artist as prolific and varied as Elvis Costello, there's something within his catalog to satisfy nearly every taste.

For my next step in this process, I think I'll tackle my sizable Madonna chunk. The highly anticipated and well-received "MDNA" comes out in a little more than a week, so I think I'll give that multiple spins and then stack it up next to its predecessors.

Stay tuned.