New Elvis Costello Album's Pop Chart Success Heartening If Surprising
Saturday June 13, 2009
The way legitimate singer-songwriters tend to get completely ignored on the pop charts these days, I must say I was staggered this week to learn that the legendary Elvis Costello's latest release, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, had debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart. I haven't had a chance to hear all that much of the record yet, but at the very least I wanted to chime in instantly with some hope-filled recognition of this minor musical miracle. After various meanderings into all sorts of music genres over the years, Costello - still essentially a young pup at 54 - has returned to his acoustic guitar roots for this outing, digging into country, bluegrass and Americana with abandon.There's really never been a question as to Costello's musical relevance over the past 30 years, but this impressive pop showing does represent his highest album chart performance since 1980's Get Happy. In a pop music world saturated with the Jonas Brothers and Katy Perry, it's more than refreshing to see a music veteran of Costello's stature being rewarded for his consistently high-quality output. And even though the singer is currently receiving his fair share of mainstream attention for his latest work, I don't think it'll hurt a bit if I take a moment to point out with pride that one of the finest artists of the '80s is proving himself to be, well, still one of the finest artists working today.
Album Cover Image Courtesy of Hip-O
Comments
easy to explain – jonas brothers name ec as one of their major influences. that’s why the album debuts at #13