Spotlight on Elvis Costello, a "Man Out of Time" Who Nonetheless Contributed Greatly to the '80s Music Landscape

While many music fans may associate Elvis Costello most closely with his late-'70s punk/new wave origins, he was actually one of the '80s most reliably prolific performers, dropping a total of eight albums during the decade. Along the way, this legendary, consummate artist transformed from an angry pub rocker into a jack-of-all-genres in the best possible sense of the term, if such a term actually existed and received regular use. For today I christen the term as an ultimate compliment to one of the artists most responsible for providing the necessary balance between fleeting if pleasant '80s pop and the kind of serious rock music that lasts forever. So here's to the generation(s) for whom the name Elvis brings to mind first a bespectacled wordsmith songwriter instead of a certain hip-swiveling crooner. No disrespect intended, of course.

• Elvis Costello Profile
• Top 8 Elvis Costello Songs of the '80s
• Compare prices on Elvis Costello CDs here.
• Elvis Costello Official Website

Album Cover Photo Courtesy of Columbia Records