12. Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Get Happy! (1980): The Angry And Prolific Young Man At Work

Among the "winning streaks" of constantly good to great records from my favourite artists, I rank Elvis Costello's first ten albums of originals, from 1977 to 1986, among the highest, not the least because the sheer number of songs he wrote for them. It's hard to single out the best of these albums, but "Get Happy!" is a strong candidate, perhaps partly due to the fact that it was the first EC album I bought. It also contains no less than eighteen of his self-penned songs, which must be close to a record on a single album - augmented by a scorching cover of the old soul tune"I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down)".

The number of songs allows for great variety - from the tempo and urgency of said cover version or "High Fidelity" to the acoustic swirl of "New Amsterdam", from the athmospheric soundscape of "B Movie" or "Secondary Modern" to the suggestive beat of "Black And White World". There may be no real standouts on the album, but on the other hand the staggering wealth of the arrangements and the absence of prolonged fades or filler make for a breathtaking musical trip of three quarters of an hour. Most pop songs would be fine if restricted to three minutes each - but Elvis makes do with two.

The band has to be mentioned - these tunes are executed with a minimal setup of drums, bass, guitar and keyboards, yet nothing is lacking. Especially the keys are allowed to shine - listen to "Motel Matches" as a good example. And then there's Elvis - not the greatest singer in the world, but a great interpreter of his own songs as well as those borrowed. In my opinion, he's sometimes stretched beyond his abilities - but that has been in later years; here he still is simply an angry young man, who understands to vent his feelings through other means than shouting.

If I have an objection, that would be the lack of printed lyrics, especially since the artist obviously has something to say - but that lack doesn't diminish the enjoyment of playing this record.