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Elvis Costello - Great songwriter or greatest songwriter?

Elvis Costello - Great song writer or greatest song writer?

  • Great songwriter

  • Greatest songwriter

Results are only viewable after voting.
BoberFett

BoberFett

Lifer
Is Elvis Costello merely a great songwriter, or the greatest songwriter of our time?

Discuss, and vote in the poll.
 
He's one of the greatest pop/rock songwriters in terms of quantity of excellent songcraft spanning over 20 years, from "Allison" and "Watching the Detectives" in the late 70s through "45" and "Radio Silence" a few years ago.

I like almost all of his CDs including The Juliet Letters, though I thought his collaboration with Bacharach was a failure. (Odd considering he's written excellent pop songs like "All Grown Up" on his own.)
 
Good, but not in the top 20.

Lennon/McCartney
Jagger/Richards
Pete Townshend
Ray Davies
Bob Dylan
Paul Simon
Van Morrison
John Fogerty
Plant/Page
Roger Waters
Warren Zevon
etc etc etc
 
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Was never a real big fan, but I saw him live opening for The Police at the Hollywood Bowl. Was pretty fucking awesome.
 
Who? Lol.. I'd probably know some songs if I heard them, and of course I know the name.. but I couldn't name a piece of his work if I had to.

Here's another vote for Neil Diamond. 😉

(Hey, I actually like Neil. His 60s and 70s material is classic.)
 
Capt Caveman said:
Where's the option for 'Not even Close'?
Heck, Neil Diamond has written more famous songs.
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More famous songs perhaps, but Elvis Costello had more great songs on My Aim Is True than Neil Diamond had in his entire career.

I still can't say that Declan McManus was the greatest songwriter, though he was one of the greats.
 
Eli said:
Who? Lol.. I'd probably know some songs if I heard them, and of course I know the name.. but I couldn't name a piece of his work if I had to.

Here's another vote for Neil Diamond. 😉

(Hey, I actually like Neil. His 60s and 70s material is classic.)
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don't you remember?

he wrote a song about masturbating. He must be a genius.

LOL@Elvis Costello
 
Sinsear said:
/thread
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Agreed. Dylan towers over everyone else.

Songwriters, hell musicians, cite Dylan as a formative influence over any one other person by a ratio of at least 20 to 1.

Costello ain't bad at all, but you really set yourself up for some push back with the structure of your poll, Bobber.

Finally, lolololololololol @ anyone trying to insert that intensely mediocre hack Neil Diamond into this convo. He epitomizes candy ass schlock. I am, I said. Yeah, you am alright, Big Neil. 🙄
 
Glad to see a few other Costello fans. There are plenty of other excellent writers listed here who write very good music, I just find Costello's ability to use vocabulary brilliantly in addition to amazing musical composition puts him on another level entirely.

Edit: And I would definitely put Dylan right up there with him in the same category, I just happen to prefer Costello. No objective reason, just like his music better.
 
CallMeJoe said:
More famous songs perhaps, but Elvis Costello had more great songs on My Aim Is True than Neil Diamond had in his entire career.

I still can't say that Declan McManus was the greatest songwriter, though he was one of the greats.
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More great songs? From who's perspective, yours? In addition to the songs he's made famous, I believe Neil Diamond has written more famous songs for other's than Elvis Costello has in his entirety.

Elvis Costello couldn't carry Neil Diamond's Sequin Shirt.
 
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