The Right Spectacle: The Very Best of Elvis Costello - The Videos [DVD]

Description

Elvis Costello is the guy who, in 2003, reissued a recording (Get Happy!!) containing no less than 50 tracks, including 30 that weren't on the original release. So it should come as no surprise that The Right Spectacle, a compilation of Costello videos spanning the years 1978 to 1994, is a similarly generous offering from an artist with one of the longest and most prolific resumes in contemporary pop music. And "generous" is putting it mildly. There are 27 videos (arranged in chronological order), along with an additional 18 live performances, with a total running time of nearly three hours. Quantity alone won't cut it, of course, but there's a lot of quality material here, especially considering that by his own admission, making videos was never exactly a high priority for Costello and his band the Attractions. The early, geeky stuff is pretty primitive, but Costello is such a great songwriter that the sheer number of quality tunes overrides most quibbles one might have about the videos themselves. And there are some real gems along the rest of the way, like "New Lace Sleeves," filmed in elegant black & white; the surreal and emotionally raw "I Wanna Be Loved"; and "Veronica," which brilliantly brings to life Costello's song about his grandmother's battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Every track includes Costello's wry, witty commentary (available as an audio track and/or as subtitles), filled with tales of bad fashion choices and drunken high jinks. Meanwhile, the 18 "TV archive selections" range from '77-'83, all of them live and of varying degrees of interest; Costello adds thousands more words about them in the accompanying booklet. All in all, Elvis Costello fans could hardly ask for more than this terrific collection. --Sam Graham</I