Friday, August 12, 2011

Cover Boys • Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello



Yes, perhaps at first glance, there are those who might find Elvis Costello to be an unlikely choice as a cover boy. He was all about his own rock music, a New Wave giant who was considered to be amazingly talented by so many. However, thanks to a couple of movie soundtracks, Elvis earned the title Cover Boy, and in the first instance, he covers a song by Burt Bacharach originally recorded by Dione Warwick. Elvis sang I'll Never Fall In Love Again for the film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the 1999 release. Costello and Bacharach had collaborated before, writing the astoundingly beautiful God Give Me Strength for the movie Grace Of My Heart.







The song She was written and first performed by French troubadour Charles Aznavour. Also in 1999, Elvis recorded his cover of it to appear in the Julia Roberts/Hugh Grant film, Notting Hill.







Now, I've never questioned Elvis Costello's talent, but on the strength of these two cover songs, you gotta give him huge credit. Both were songs that were done to perfection by the original artists, yet he managed to bring something new to the songs, with great depth. For more about Elvis Costello, check out his official website here. In fact, I would suggest you go there just to play the 'Wheel of Fortune' cause it is great fun!