“You could think of him more in the Bob Dylan mold.”
Actually, no I couldn’t. I’ve been a Dylan fan for 50+ years & they’re not even in the same league, IMO.
Pick any song from Costello’s catalog! —and compare with anything in Dylan’s.
There is no comparison. Dylan = not just song lyrics, but poetry. Passion, depth, irony, Biblical references, woven into musical tapestries that lend to 1000s of interpretations by multitudes of cover artists.
Costello’s lyrical product is trite, 1-dimensional teenage pop schlock— catchy, yes; inspired by the holy muse, no— his musical licks studio-manufactured by engineers that he manages to reproduce onstage & make money. Yay! He can strum & even shred! Therefore: rock star! Big whoop, IMO.
FWIW, my Dylan collection includes the Chimes of Freedom tribute album of numerous artists covering Dylan. One of only 2 selections on the 4 CD set that I absolutely hate is Costello’s take on License to Kill. OTOH, his wife Diana Krall offers a sublime rendition of Simple Twist of Fate.
But if Costello floats *your* boat, that’s fine with me.
Rant off/ we can still be FRiends, though, right? :-)
You’re way off with your evaluation of his lyrical composition abilities.
And I like Dylan but if you have a problem with Costello’s singing but didn’t mention Mr Zimmerman’s mastery of the vocals - well. I don’t know what to say.
And FWIW, the absolute worst live concert I ever attended was Bob Dylan at a small theater in Davenport IA.
He was literally into the song at least 45 seconds before I identified it as Mr Tambourine Man. But at least I can say I saw a ‘legend’.
And yes, we can still be friends.
You’ve obviously never listened to Imperial Bedroom.