Curtain Call: Elvis Costello From 1979

I really enjoyed checking out Buzzcocks at Hammersmith Odeon, but now let's set the time machine for Bethlehem, Penn., on April 12. The campus of Lehigh University should be hoppin'. Elvis Costello & the Attractions are in town promoting songs from 'Armed Forces' and trying out some new tunes too. I'm not real big on bootlegs. I seem to buy enough of them, but they sure spend a lot of time on the shelf collecting dust. This show is an exception. There is an awful lot of treble on this recording, but this seems to bring Steve Nieve's keyboard to the forefront... which is just fine with me. Costello's scorn for the students is palpable. Perhaps my favorite line from him, "Look at that lot over there. Not a doctor's degree among 'em."

Check out "Girls Talk," the rarely played Costello-penned composition made famous this same year by Dave Edmunds. The guitar on "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" is phenomenal, and with "High Fidelity" you get a taste of what 'Get Happy!!' might have sounded like if Costello had not scrapped his take on new wave for a much more satisfying Stax/R&B sound. Then enjoy one of the my all-time favorite encores ever put to tape.

Next stop: May 12 at Hollywood's Whisky a Go Go!

Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Girls Talk (Live) (mp3)
Elvis Costello & the Attractions - (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea (Live) (mp3)
Elvis Costello & the Attractions - High Fidelity (Live) (mp3)
Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Radio Radio (Live) (mp3)
Elvis Costello & the Attractions - Pump It Up (Live) (mp3)
Elvis Costello & the Attractions - You Belong to Me (Live) (mp3)