Absolutely outstanding

Even if you have never heard a note of EC’s brilliant music, this book will fascinate you and touch your heart. A tribute to several lifetimes of music and a reflection on 20th century rock and roll like no other. Elvis Costello seems like the Forest Gump of music turning up at many of the most important moments and recounting his behind-the-scenes perspective like a fly on the wall who is also playing a tune in the second act. What a gent!

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The Master Showman

I've got both the hardback and audible versions of Elvis Costello's autobiography. The man himself is the reader on the audiobook. This is a very fine account of Declan's life and his relationship with his father is touching. If you are looking for scandal and salacious stories then you won't find any here, except the well known Ray Charles incident. He talks about his collaborations with the likes of Sir Paul McCartney but keeps his personal relationships under wraps. I have had the privilege of seeing the great man six times and will be seeing him again next year at the London Palladium. He is fantastic live and he has written so many great songs. One could say Elvis is too self-critical and underplays his great talent for writing songs and performing live. In my opinion, he is the best songwriter and indoor live performer over the last 40 years.

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Perfection

This is quite simply the most honest and heartfelt musicians autobiography I have ever read.

The non-linear structure just adds to the joy of it.

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A superb biography for music lovers

A lovely biography passionately read by Elvis Costello himself. Wonderful stories and heartfelt memories.

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Pumped up in places

I don't mind the chopping around in time and he has some great stories, especially about other artists such as Bruce Springsteen or Joni Mitchell. It does, however drag with some overwrought sections

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A Must for Music Lovers

The cover of this title shows a 20-something Costello relaxing on a hotel bed, guitar in hand, notebook lying close by, waiting his turn to hit the stage with his band The Attractions. And this turns out to be a very apt picture, as the tone of this excellent book is very much in the style of a casual conversation.

Rather than tell his story in chronological order as you might expect, Costello instead looks at the components and aspects of his long career in which the telling of one story triggers a memory of another one and so he digresses for a minute before returning to his original theme.

For instance, he talks of his father, a professional session singer and long-time member of the very popular Joe Loss Orchestra. As he tells the story of how he would spend some childhood Saturdays watching his dad work the afternoon crowds at the local Locarno Ballroom, he is reminded of a time years later when he and his band ran into his dad at 3am at the Blue Boar Services on the M1, a popular stopping place for working bands after a hard nights playing. Whilst recalling his initial recording experiences in the late 70s, he is reminded of how his dad was booked to sing the “R Whites Lemonade” theme tune for a TV ad (“I’m a secret lemonade drinker”) and how Costello himself, only a teen, was roped in to provide the now famous “R Whites” chant on backing vocals.

Train journeys similarly evoke memories for him, be he on the way to an important meeting with his record label, a court appearance following a publicity stunt that went wrong, or simply going home for Xmas. The overall effect is of listening to Costello tell tales whilst he sits on a hotel bed, strumming his guitar. It’s very engaging.

I was also surprised to find that Costello was not the snarling, punk wunderkind portrayed in his videos, but actually preferred listening to Crosby, Stills and Nash and Joni Mitchell, as he held down a series of day-jobs to support his wife and young son whilst all the time dreaming about, and working towards, a far different future.

Costello does a first-class job of the narration, and keeps the listener engaged throughout. At the time of writing this I’ve not yet finished the book, and am very much looking forward to my commute home for an opportunity to pull on my headphones, shut out the world and catch up on the next chapter.

Very highly recommended

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4 people found this helpful

Mick McManus's Boy Wins By A Knock-Out!

This book starts by disproving the above connection and goes onto account many of the highlights of the man who dared to call himself Elvis's life.
Expertly written and narrated by Elvis himself, the listener gains an insight into many of the personal stories behind - not only some of his songs and performances - but also his own life (the personal softly spoken account of his dad's passing was particularly moving)
This will appeal to all lovers of popular music, especially those who appreciate Elvis for the talent that he is.

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Needs staying power

If like me you know little more about the author that his late 70s early 80's career with The Attractions then you're in for a real eye opener.
Liked:
The narration by Elvis,.He's a great storyteller and has a relaxed, understated style that's easy to listen to. Needs to be as the tome is over 18 hours!
What I learned about the myriad of musicians that Elvis worked with and their music.
Discovering the broad talents and considerable reputation of the man himself.
The book isn't linear, it jumps about all over the timeline making it like a long chat with the author. 18 hours of 'next...' would have been tough.

Negatives
Many rambling sorties off track that just didn't hold my interest. Towards the end there's several minutes of something approaching a short story that seemed to have no context. It's pure self indulgence and happens too often, hence 18 hours of book! I wanted to ffwd too many times but resisted the urge to do so.

Overall it's a great insight in to what made the man. it's all about family and music, swerving any muck raking surrounding relationships and substance abuse. Stick with it's one for the music lovers.

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5 people found this helpful

What a fabulous life

Wonderful recounted by that man himself - his eloquence prevalent in every phrase and observation - a master of the English language and one of the greatest songwriters from these shores.

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Great to hear Elvis narrating his autobiography.

I was 14 years old, very short-sighted and having to wear national health glasses (black frames) and very self-conscious, living in a working-class area of Paddington, when I first heard "watching that detectives", just new straight away this is going to be my music, Love the music stories, and Elvis talking about his family history.


Elvis makes a fine narrator

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