The Right Spectacle – The Very Best Of Elvis Costello
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: B Concert: B
Who was the King of New Wave? Joe Jackson avoided the title like the plague after Is She
Really Going Out With Him? going on to do other genres, Adam Ant was more
pop oriented yet subversive having a great run of hits, Gary Numan was a
one-hit wonder despite his talent, Thomas Dolby had a couple of hits then was
sued over his name by the sound system company, Falco had a few hits placing
him somewhere between Ant and the rest and Howard Jones had more good records
than the radio would play. That leaves
Elvis Costello, who was wearing the same streamlined 3-piece suits and playing
the same great Rock. The Right
Spectacle – The Very Best Of Elvis Costello is a loaded offering of his
Music Videos and a bunch of great live clips.
The main set of Videos are all 1.33 X 1 and usually are
stage performances in that the band is playing instruments on camera. Directors follow the title:
1) (I Don’t
Want To Go To) Chelsea (Jon Roseman)
2) Pump It
Up (Jon Roseman)
3) Radio
Radio (Jon Roseman)
4) (What’s
So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding? (Chuck
Statler)
5) Oliver’s
Army (Chuck Statler)
6) Accidents
Will Happen (Rocky Morton & Annabel Jankel)
7) I Can’t
Stand Up For Falling Down (Chuck Statler)
8) High
Fidelity (Chuck Statler)
9) Love For
Tender (Chuck Statler)
10) Possession (John Davey)
11) New Amsterdam (Peter
Campbell)
12) Clubland (Barney Bubbles)
13) New Lace Sleeves (Barney
Bubbles)
14) Good Year For The Roses (Peter
Carr)
15) Sweet Dreams (Chris
Gabrin)
16) You Little Fool (Brian
Grant)
17) Everyday I Write The Book (Don
Letts)
18) Let Them All Talk (Chuck
Statler)
19) The Only Flame In Town
(featuring Daryl Hall; Allen Arkush)
20) I Wanna Be Loved (The
Rich Kids)
21) Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (Brian
Griffith)
22) Veronica (John Hillcoat &
Evan English)
23) This Town (Adrian Edmondson)
24) The Other Side Of Summer (Evan
English)
25) So Like Candy (n/a)
26) Sulky Girl (Brian Griffith)
27) 13 Steps Lead Down (Evan
English)
The early Roseman clips are videotaped classics, including
the song that got Costello practically banned from mainstream radio, Radio
Radio. It was an MTV hit and his
career outlasted most of the artists in that network’s early years. Roseman produced many and co-directed some
of Eurythmics early Videos for years, out on that band’s hits DVD. The Statler Videos followed, often filmed
and as interesting. He had helmed DEVO
classics like Satisfaction and Freedom Of Choice. Track 6 is from the team who did Donald
Fagen’s New Frontier (which can be seen on the great DVD-Audio version
of his Nightfly album), while Brian Grant did Heartbreaker for
Pat Benatar, Shock The Monkey for Peter Gabriel and The Look Of Love
for ABC. Evan English did Something
So Strong for Crowded House.
Needless to say, the talent who worked with him was top rate and in his
prime, Costello had an amazing combination (vodka notwithstanding) of talent,
energy and well-channeled power that helps these great records endure
today. After some trouble around the
time of the Goodbye Cruel World album, he entered a new era with
interesting, if not always successful results.
The 1.33 X 1 image is not bad in most cases, though the
earlier clips are slightly hazy and will need worked on and retransferred when
digital HD is called on. As compared to
other such sets, this one is better than average. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo does not have Pro Logic surrounds,
and no 5.1 DTS or Dolby mix is included, but the sound here is of the rare,
stronger Dolby 2.0 we do not encounter enough.
Too bad other soundtrack options were not available. On the extras, the audio is not as clean or
clear. In the case of Everyday I
Write The Book, it looks as good and sounds as good as the version on the MTV
20 – Pop DVD that had weaker Dolby 2.0 and ambiance-oriented Dolby
5.1. That is also a good disc if you
can find it.
Extras include Costello’s terrific audio commentary on all
the Videos, which are actually available with closed captioning, and then there
is an extensive archive of TV appearances from 1977 – 1983 that runs about 68
minutes. A legacy of the pre Music
Video era winding down, it offers key songs that never had videos. The packaging properly claims that all the
Videos from 1978 – 1994 are here, beginning with his early years at Radar Records
through his later Warner Bros. hits.
Columbia actually distributed those early releases, while Costello also
cut records for the F-Beat label. The
live performances are all form the Radar era, as well as from Costello’s 1977
debut album My Aim Is True, which went through the Stiff Label. Those tracks include an excerpt of Alison,
Watching The Detective and No Dancing. A booklet included in the DVD case has additional notes by
Costello about the live clips.
All that makes The Right Spectacle as comprehensive
as any single DVD as you will find on any music artist out there. With or without The Attractions, Costello
remains a force to be reckoned with and this collection is a real home run.
- Nicholas Sheffo
