Elvis Costello discography

Elvis Costello discography
Studio albums 30
Live albums 6
Compilation albums 16
EPs 1
Singles 62

This page lists albums, singles, and compilations by the musician Elvis Costello, distinguishing between United States and United Kingdom release dates and record labels. Of note are the reissue series, Costello's back-catalogue having undergone that treatment three times by three different companies.

Albums

Studio albums

Year Title Artist credit Chart position Certifications
(sales thresholds)
UK
[1]
AUS
[2][3]
JPN
[4][5]
NLD
[6]
NOR
[7]
NZ
[8]
SWE
[9]
US
[10]
1977 My Aim Is True Elvis Costello[A] 14 25 285 32 14 32
1978 This Year's Model 4 26 14 15 11 10 30
1979 Armed Forces
  • Label: Radar/Columbia
Elvis Costello and The Attractions 2 9 13 12 9 11 10
1980 Get Happy!! 2 25 34 11 9 6 11
1981 Trust
  • Label: F-Beat/Columbia
9 71 28 17 8 28
Almost Blue
  • Label: F-Beat/Columbia
7 50 21 17 50
1982 Imperial Bedroom
  • Label: F-Beat/Columbia
6 49 45 18 37 30 30
1983 Punch the Clock
  • Label: F-Beat/Columbia
3 22 27 18 6 9 24
1984 Goodbye Cruel World
  • Label: F-Beat/Columbia
10 53 52 32 20 35
1986 King of America The Costello Show featuring The Attractions and Confederates 11 67 41 40 21 12 39
Blood & Chocolate
  • Label: Demon/Columbia
Elvis Costello and The Attractions 16 19 26 84
1989 Spike Elvis Costello 5 26 61 19 34 13 32
1991 Mighty Like a Rose
  • Label: Warner Bros.
5 37 39 47 11 38 23 55
G.B.H.
  • Label: Demon
Richard Harvey & Elvis Costello
1993 The Juliet Letters
  • Label: Warner Bros.
Elvis Costello and The Brodsky Quartet 18 39 54 125
1994 Brutal Youth
  • Label: Warner Bros.
Elvis Costello 2 30 54 48 14 34
1995 Kojak Variety
  • Label: Warner Bros.
21 60 74 23 102
Jake's Progress
  • Label: Demon/Rykodisc
Richard Harvey and Elvis Costello
1996 All This Useless Beauty
  • Label: Warner Bros.
Elvis Costello and The Attractions 28 77 83 38 24 53
1998 Painted from Memory Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach 32 26 69 33 29 38 18 78
2002 When I Was Cruel Elvis Costello 17 34 15 34 17 56 20
2003 North
  • Label: Deutsche Grammophon
44 26 56 25 25 57
2004 The Delivery Man Elvis Costello and The Imposters 73 100 65 34 58 40
Il Sogno
  • Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Elvis Costello
2005 Piano Jazz
  • Label: Jazz Alliance
Elvis Costello with Marian McPartland
2006 The River in Reverse Elvis Costello and the Imposters and Allen Toussaint 97 61 31 40 103
2008 Momofuku
  • Label: Lost Highway
Elvis Costello and The Imposters 112 98 34 59
2009 Secret, Profane & Sugarcane Elvis Costello 71 82 45 13
2010 National Ransom
  • Label: Hear Music/Universal
71 116 39
2013 Wise Up Ghost Elvis Costello and The Roots 28 40 35 26 16
Notes
  • A ^ Some reissues of This Year's Model are credited to 'Elvis Costello and The Attractions'.

Albums which credit Costello as a featured artist

Year Title Artist credit Chart position Certifications
(sales thresholds)
UK
[1]
AUS
[2][3]
JPN
[4][5]
NLD
[6]
NOR
[7]
N.Z.
[8]
SWE
[9]
US
[10]
1993 Now Ain't the Time for Your Tears by Wendy James - all songs composed by Elvis Costello[A]
1997 Terror & Magnificence John Harle featuring Elvis Costello, Sarah Leonard, and Andy Sheppard [B]
1999 The Sweetest Punch The New Songs of Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach Arranged by Bill Frisell [C]
2001 For the Stars Anne Sofie von Otter Meets Elvis Costello [D] 67 80 33 25
2014 Lost on the River The New Basement Tapes - - - -
  • A ^ Now Ain't the Time for Your Tears credited to Wendy James - all songs composed by Elvis Costello – This is not an Elvis Costello album. It is a Wendy James album.
  • B ^ Terror & Magnificence credited to John Harle featuring Elvis Costello, Sarah Leonard, and Andy Sheppard – This is not an Elvis Costello album. It is a John Harle album.
  • C ^ The Sweetest Punch credited as 'The New Songs of Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach Arranged by Bill Frisell' is not an Elvis Costello album; it is a Bill Frisell album. Elvis performs on a couple of numbers and co-composed the songs (all from Painted From Memory).
  • D ^ For the Stars credited as Anne Sofie von Otter Meets Elvis Costello – This is not an Elvis Costello album. It is an Anne Sofie von Otter album. Elvis acts as producer and performs on many of the tracks. Some of his songs are also covered.

Live albums

Year Title Chart position Certifications
(sales thresholds)
UK
[1]
US
[10]
1978 Live at the El Mocambo
  • Date: 1978 (Promotional Release) / 12 October 1993 (Re-issue) / 29 September 2009 (Re-issue)
  • Label: Columbia (Canada) (1978) / Rykodisc (1993) / Hip-O (2009)
1995 Deep Dead Blue
1996 Costello & Nieve
  • Date: 3 December 1996
  • Label: Warner Bros.
2006 My Flame Burns Blue
  • Date: 28 February 2006
  • Label: Deutsche Grammophon
188
2010 Live at Hollywood High
  • Date: 12 January 2010
  • Label: Hip-O
2012 The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook
  • Date: 2 April 2012
  • Label: Universal Music Enterprises

Compilation albums

Year Title Chart position Certifications
(sales thresholds)
UK
[1]
NZ
[8]
US
[10]
1980 Taking Liberties (US only)
  • Date: November 1980
  • Label: Columbia
28
Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How's Your Fathers (UK only)
  • Date: 7 November 1980
  • Label: F-Beat
1985 The Man – The Best of Elvis Costello
  • Date: April 1985
  • Label: Demon
8 31
The Best of Elvis Costello & The Attractions
  • Label: Columbia
116
1987 Out of Our Idiot (UK only)
  • Date: 4 December 1987
  • Label: Demon
1989 Girls Girls Girls
  • Date: October 1989
  • Label: Demon/Columbia
67
1990 The Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions
1994 The Very Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions 1977-86
  • Date: 25 October 1994
  • Label: Rykodisc/Demon
57
1997 Extreme Honey
  • Date: 21 October 1997
  • Label: Warner Bros.
1999 The Very Best of Elvis Costello 4
2002 Cruel Smile
  • Date: 1 October 2002
  • Label: Universal Music Group
180
2007 The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years
  • Date: 1 May 2007
  • Label: Hip-O
110
Rock and Roll Music
  • Date: 1 May 2007
  • Label: Hip-O
2010 Pomp & Pout; The Universal Years
  • Date: 24 August 2010
  • Label: Hip-O
2012 In Motion Pictures
  • Date: 19 November 2012
  • Label: Universal Music Group
2015 Unfaithful Music and Soundtrack Album
  • Date: 23 October 2015
  • Label: Universal Music Group (UMe)

Box sets

Year Title
1993 2½ Years
  • Date: 15 October 1993
  • Label: Rykodisc
2003 Singles, Volume 1 (UK only)
  • Date: 27 October 2003
  • Label: Edsel
Singles, Volume 2 (UK only)
  • Date: 27 October 2003
  • Label: Edsel
Singles, Volume 3 (UK only)
  • Date: 27 October 2003
  • Label: Edsel

Reissue series

Rykodisc/Demon reissues

From 1993 to 1995, Rykodisc Records (US) and Demon Records (UK) reissued Costello's pre-Warner Bros. catalogue with bonus tracks for each album as well as a greatest hits compilation and the live album Live at the El Mocambo. This licensing deal ended in 2000

Rhino

Rhino Records acquired the rights to both Costello's Columbia back-catalogue, previously distributed by Rykodisc, and the Warner Bros. catalogue after Costello signed with Polygram in 1999. The label commenced its Costello reissue program with the Polygram compilation (see above) released less than two years previously. All were double-disc sets in slim-line jewel box cases, with the remaining installments in the series comprising the original studio albums on disc one, with disc two containing b-sides, outtakes, demo recordings, concert tracks, and previously unreleased material. All included a booklet with original lyrics and liner notes by Costello himself. All are currently out of print.

The project featured the direct participation and guidance of Costello, who wrote new liner notes for each album consisting of his thoughts on the music as well as anecdotes and reminiscences from the time. They were released in batches of three, with the exception of King of America, The Juliet Letters, and The Very Best of Elvis Costello, the last being an unaltered re-release of the Polygram compilation of 1999, which arrived in the stores singularly. The reissue dates are as follows:

  1. 17 April 2001: The Very Best of Elvis Costello
  2. 11 August 2001: My Aim Is True, Spike, All This Useless Beauty
  3. 19 February 2002: This Year's Model, Blood & Chocolate, Brutal Youth
  4. 19 November 2002: Armed Forces, Imperial Bedroom, Mighty Like a Rose
  5. 9 September 2003: Get Happy!!, Trust, Punch the Clock
  6. 3 August 2004: Almost Blue, Goodbye Cruel World, Kojak Variety
  7. 26 April 2005: King of America
  8. 21 March 2006: The Juliet Letters

The Almost Blue and Kojak Variety bonus discs were particularly notable as each contained, essentially, an entire new album's worth of material also performed but either not issued, or released as B-sides on singles originally. The Kojak bonus disc also included ten songs of the 'George Jones' tape, cover songs Costello intended to induce the famed country singer to perform on a subsequent album. The Get Happy bonus disc was also of note, with 30 additional tracks, bringing the total for the two disc set to 50 songs.

At the conclusion of Rhino's reissue series (My Aim Is True through All This Useless Beauty), Universal Music Enterprises announced their purchase of the early Costello catalogue. This licensing acquisition covers from My Aim Is True through Blood & Chocolate, excluding the Warner Bros. albums (Spike through All This Useless Beauty). These albums had all been re-released on Rhino, a Warner Music Group subsidiary. The press release says, "[l]eading the industry in online marketing with a dedicated department that manages its digital and mobile business, UMe also expects to mine Costello's catalogue for ringtones, digital box sets, and more."[13] UMe announced that they would be reissuing the albums on their Hip-O Select label. Costello is quoted in the press release as saying, "[I]t's great to be able to do this through a company that has not only enjoyed major success with reissues but has done them with a genuine emphasis on quality."[14] This reissue series will mark the fourth release of his Stiff/Radar/Demon catalogue (released by Columbia Records in the US) on compact disc.

Singles

The following is a list of all Costello's commercially available singles. The key for the Artist Credit below is as follows:

  • Elvis Costello – (EC);
  • Elvis Costello & The Attractions – (EC+ATT);
  • Elvis Costello & The Attractions with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – (EC+ATT+RPO);
  • The Impostor – (IMP);
  • The Costello Show – (TCS);
  • The MacManus Gang – (TMG),
  • The Coward Brothers – (TCB);
  • Jimmy Cliff & Elvis Costello & The Attractions – (JC+EC+ATT);
  • Elvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet – (EC+BQ);
  • Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach – (EC+BB);
  • Elvis Costello & The Imposters – (EC+IMP)
Year Title Artist Credit Chart positions Album
UK
[1]
AUS
[3]
CA IRL
[15]
N.Z.
[8]
US Hot 100
[16]
US MSR
[16]
US Modern Rock
[16]
1977 "Less Than Zero" EC My Aim Is True [E]
"Alison"
"(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes"
"Watching the Detectives" 15 35 60 108
1978 "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" EC+ATT 16 93 12 This Year's Model [F]
"Pump It Up" 24 55
"Radio Radio" 29 93
1979 "Oliver's Army" 2 24 4 25 Armed Forces
"Accidents Will Happen" 28 101
1980 "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" 4 14 Get Happy!!
"High Fidelity" 30
"New Amsterdam" EC [G] 36
"Clubland" EC+ATT 60 Trust
1981 "From a Whisper to a Scream" 46
"Watch Your Step" (US release only)
"Good Year for the Roses" 6 34 5 Almost Blue
"Sweet Dreams" 42
1982 "I'm Your Toy" EC+ATT+RPO 51
"You Little Fool" EC+ATT 52 Imperial Bedroom
"Man Out of Time" 58
"From Head to Toe" 43
"Party Party" 48 Party Party Soundtrack
1983 "Pills and Soap" IMP 16 Punch the Clock
"Everyday I Write the Book" EC+ATT 28 40 40 23 20 36 33 12 - "Let Them All Talk" 59
1984 "Peace in Our Time" IMP 48 Goodbye Cruel World
"I Wanna Be Loved" / "Turning the Town Red" [H] EC+ATT 25 11
"The Only Flame in Town" 71 56 44
1985 "Green Shirt" 68 The Man – The Best of Elvis Costello
"The People's Limousine" TCB Out of Our Idiot
1986 "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" TCS 33 81 22 38 King of America
"Seven Day Weekend" JC+EC+ATT Out of Our Idiot
"Lovable" (US release only) TCS King of America
"Tokyo Storm Warning" EC+ATT 73 Blood and Chocolate
"I Want You"
1987 "Blue Chair" EC Out of Our Idiot
"A Town Called Big Nothing" TMG
1989 "Veronica" EC 31 27 64 22 16 19 10 1 Spike
Baby Plays Around EP 65 27
"...This Town..." 41 4
1991 "The Other Side of Summer" 43 96 72 40 1 Mighty Like a Rose
"So Like Candy"
1993 "Jacksons, Monk & Rowe" EC+BQ The Juliet Letters
1994 "Sulky Girl" EC [I] 22 Brutal Youth
"13 Steps Lead Down" 59 115 6
"You Tripped at Every Step" EC+ATT
"London's Brilliant Parade" 48
1996 "It's Time" 58 All This Useless Beauty
"Little Atoms"
"The Other End of the Telescope"
"Distorted Angel"
"All This Useless Beauty"
"You Bowed Down" (US release only)
1999 "Toledo" EC+BB 72 Painted from Memory
"She" EC 19 Notting Hill Soundtrack
2002 "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution)" EC [J] 58 When I Was Cruel
"45" 92
2004 "Monkey to Man" EC+IMP The Delivery Man
2005 "Brilliant Mistake" EC [K] King of America
2008 "No Hiding Place" EC+IMP Momofuku
"Go Away"
2009 "Complicated Shadows" EC Secret, Profane & Sugarcane
2010 "National Ransom" National Ransom
Notes
  • E ^ "Watching the Detectives" was a stand-alone single in the UK but was subsequently included on US versions of My Aim Is True.
  • F ^ "(I Don't Want to Go To) Chelsea" was not included on US versions of This Year's Model. "Radio Radio" was a stand-alone single in the UK but was subsequently is included on US versions of This Year's Model.
  • G ^ The Attractions played on almost all of Costello's singles from 1978 to 1984 (and sporadically thereafter), but note that 1980's "New Amsterdam" was a solo single on which Elvis Costello played all instruments. Accordingly, The Attractions were not credited.
  • H ^ "I Wanna Be Loved" / "Turning The Town Red" was tracked as a double A-side in the UK, with both sides charting. "Turning The Town Red" did not initially appear on Goodbye Cruel World, although it has been added as a bonus track to some CD reissues of this album.
  • I ^ Although the Attractions played on "Sulky Girl" and "13 Steps Lead Down", these tracks were credited simply to Elvis Costello.
  • J ^ The backing musicians on "Tear Off Your Own Head" and "45" were Steve Nieve, Davey Faragher, and Pete Thomas, later to be collectively billed as "The Imposters". However, these releases are credited solely to Costello.
  • K ^ "Brilliant Mistake" was released as a UK single in 2005, 19 years after the track first appeared on the album King of America. Though the album was credited to The Costello Show, the single release was credited to Elvis Costello.

Contributions

Year Title
1977 A Bunch of Stiff Records (UK only)
  • Date: 1 April 1977
Hits Greatest Stiffs (UK only)
  • Date: 16 September 1977
  • Label: Stiff
1978 Stiffs Live
1989 A Black & White Night Live
1994 The Unplugged Collection, Volume 1[17]
  • Credited as Elvis Costello & The Rude 5
  • Song: "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" (live version)
2013 Boardwalk Empire Volume 2: Music from the HBO Original Series
2014 Boardwalk Empire Volume 3: Music from the HBO Original Series
  • Song: "I Surrender Dear"

Tribute albums

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 122/3. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives,N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: This reference gives Australian albums and singles information. It is used for chart peak positions as the early albums were released before ARIA regulated the Australian charts itself (1989).
  3. 1 2 3 "australian-charts.com – Discography Elvis Costello". 2006–2011 Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 January 2011.Charts from 1989 onwards
  4. 1 2 Okamoto, Satoshi (2006). Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  5. 1 2 " Elvis Costello Album discography". Original Confidence. Retrieved 2 August 2011.Note: Reference indicates chart positions from 1988 onwards, and part of the information are currently unavailable
  6. 1 2 "Dutchcharts.nl Elvis Costello discography". Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  7. 1 2 "norwegiancharts.com Elvis Costello discography". Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "charts.org.nz – Discography Elvis Costello". 2006–2011 Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  9. 1 2 "swedishcharts.com Elvis Costello discography". Sweden. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "US — Album positions". allmusic.com. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Album artist 83 – Elvis Costello". 2007–10, Steve Hawtin et al. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Elvis Costello
  13. Press release on Marketwire.
  14. Press release on Marketwire.
  15. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". chartstats.com. Retrieved 12 January 2011. Searchable database
  16. 1 2 3 "US — Singles positions". allmusic.com. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  17. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Unplugged Collection, Vol. 1 – Various Artists at AllMusic. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
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