Extreme Honey-The Warner Bros Years

Lessor known songs, but still great.

Great collection worth EVERY cent!!!!!

Great companion to the 1985 Best Of and 2001's Very Best Of. I recommend picking both of those up along with this one. All three are great collections.

Great tunes, the best, great collection of his work! Definite must have for the Costello fan.

for my hubby ...he didn't like it

Having been an Elvis Costello fan since the age of 13, and having owned this collection (as well as The Very Best Of Elvis Costello And The Attractions) a long time ago, I feel like I need to put in my two cents with this one. Don't get me wrong, I really do find myself to enjoy every song on this collection of Elvis' years with Warner Bros, some more so than others. As I have mentioned elsewhere, a greatest hits collection of even a fraction of a career of an artist as versatile as Elvis Costello can only be represented so much on one CD, or even two or three for that matter.I believe the only thing of which I have to complain here is that I don't think that the Spike album was as purely represented as it could have been, aside from the hit "Veronica." Not that I mind "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" or "Tramp The Dirt Down" - I really think that they are pretty good songs, but I much prefer "...This Town...," "Let Him Dangle" and "Satellite," none of which appear on this collection, but oh well. After all, this is just my opinion.Overall, as solid as a collection as this is, and depending on how much of an effort you are willing to make, you just might be better off trying to look up as many songs as you can on YouTube, and maybe download some individual songs to make your own collection. But if you are satidfied with owning this collection as a representation of Elvis Costello's Warner Bros material, then I have no personal objections.

He managed to crank out 6 albums of unnerving diversity (even for his fans) during his tenure at the home of Bugs Bunny. From the angry Elvis we all love of "Brutal Youth" to the chamber music experiments of "The Juliet Letters" to his pondering thoughtfulness of "All This Useless Beauty," Elvis took on so many tangents that I am sure his label could only scratch their collective heads and wonder (not to mention withhold "Kojak Variety" for five years).Since confounding our expectations has always been a hallmark of getting a new EC record, "Extreme Honey" is given the responsibility of collecting the better of those discs. It does so fairly well, and throws in a haunting new song, "The Bridge I Burned," which even features a semi-rapped part. The X-Files obscurity with Brian Eno, "My Dark Life," is better. In Eno's usual minimalist but spooky manner, "My Dark Life" is the kind of song you would have expected from the X-Files. That is said as a compliment."Extreme Honey" also provides proof that Elvis still has his moments of genius. "I Want To Vanish" is the obvious precursor to his collaborations with Burt Bacharach. "The Other Side Of Summer" has a deceptively cynical lyric riding a wave of Beach Boys harmony. "Veronica" and "So Like Candy" gave some spunk to a moribund Paul McCartney. "Hurry Down Doomsday" roars with all the weirdness that "The Birds Will Still be Singing" carried on the lopsided opposite of the scale. "Tramp The Dirt Down" is probably the angriest song Elvis has ever written, with one of the most gorgeous arrangements. And if you want the blood and guts Elvis, "13 Steps Lead Down" has all the snarling ferocity of his earliest work.I won't bemoan the lack of a few personal favorites. I will say a wish a track or two from "Kojak Variety" had snuck in, though. What "Extreme Honey" does present us with is that, even in his third decade, Elvis Costello remains one of the premiere songwriters of our times. Worth the price if you don't already have the originals.

Elvis: The Warner Years.He managed to crank out 6 albums of unnerving diversity (even for his fans) during his tenure at the home of Bugs Bunny. From the angry Elvis we all love of "Brutal Youth" to the chamber music experiments of "The Juliet Letters" to his pondering thoughtfulness of "All This Useless Beauty," Elvis took on so many tangents that I am sure his label could only scratch their collective heads and wonder (not to mention withhold "Kojak Variety" for five years).Since confounding our expectations has always been a hallmark of getting a new EC record, "Extreme Honey" is given the responsibility of collecting the better of those discs. It does so fairly well, and throws in a haunting new song, "The Bridge I Burned," which even features a semi-rapped part. The X-Files obscurity with Brian Eno, "My Dark Life," is better. In Eno's usual minimalist but spooky manner, "My Dark Life" is the kind of song you would have expected from the X-Files. That is said as a compliment."Extreme Honey" also provides proof that Elvis still has his moments of genius. "I Want To Vanish" is the obvious precursor to his collaborations with Burt Bacharach. "The Other Side Of Summer" has a deceptively cynical lyric riding a wave of Beach Boys harmony. "Veronica" and "So Like Candy" gave some spunk to a moribund Paul McCartney. "Hurry Down Doomsday" roars with all the weirdness that "The Birds Will Still be Singing" carried on the lopsided opposite of the scale. "Tramp The Dirt Down" is probably the angriest song Elvis has ever written, with one of the most gorgeous arrangements. And if you want the blood and guts Elvis, "13 Steps Lead Down" has all the snarling ferocity of his earliest work.I won't bemoan the lack of a few personal favorites (Elvis does that for us in the liner notes). I will say a wish a track or two from "Kojak Variety" had snuck in, though. What "Extreme Honey" does present us with is that, even in his third decade, Elvis Costello remains one of the premiere songwriters of our times. Worth the price if you don't already have the originals.