'Blood & Chocolate'

About a year and a half ago I asked my friend Rajesh whether or not he owned any records from Elvis Costello.

He said his wife had all of them. I asked if I could borrow them.

"Sure."

I had yet to see one Costello record to borrow. Over the past year and a half, I wound up getting the Costello records. A couple through vinyl. A couple through CD. Another through my local library. Now, I've listened to the Elvis Costello records I need to listen to before I die.

No thanks to Rajesh.

Another great album from Costello. Still kicking 11 albums in, his wit, songwriting ability and knack for melody just bleeds from this record. It was one of the last with the Attractions until he recorded Brutal Youth eight years later in the 1990s. It is the second newest record on the 1,001 list after Brutal Youth. A bit less raucous than his previous installments in the 1970s.

Elvis Costello was growing up.