Not sure why Elvis Costello is a “star.” He plays & sings like a 13 year old wannabe with his first guitar and 3 weeks of lessons. No inspiration, no style, homely as an outhouse rat, & married to Diana Krall. Go figure.
He is an annoying leftie and not the greatest vocalist in the world, but he and his original band The Attractions were great, especially keyboardist Steve Nieve.
He definitely didn’t get airplay. But I was a huge fan. You can think of him more in the Bob Dylan mold. He could write lyrics and songs with the best of them.
His voice is definitely a take it or leave it thing. I totally despised his voice initially. Ironically it all changed the first time I saw him in concert.
His first 5-6 albums are quite good. And yes, the Attractions (his backing band from his second album on) are a very tight combo!
And lastly, yes, he is a lefty. Like 98% of artists/musicians.
I was never an EC fan...but a HUGE fan of his wife.
That said....”Allison” is a quite nice song and Linda Ronstadt did a GREAT cover with help from David Sanborn on sax.