Old favorites never die

Blood and Chocolate (reissue)\nElvis Costello and the Attractions\nRhino Records\nAlthough most rock lovers already know about this great band, it's worth covering again, especially for those who missed out the first time around. The reissue of Blood & Chocolate, originally released in 1986, shows some of the best work at the end of Elvis Costello's run with the Attractions. Like just about everything from the first 10 years of his career, the album shows Costello's ability to take any emotion or idea and make it his own.\nThe best track on the album is inarguably "I Want You," possibly the best song ever written for the dumped. Costello brilliantly begins this song with about a minute-long intro in the style of a late '50s pop love song before he strikes the first chord on his electric guitar with a tremolo that's best described as a shiver. He tortures himself, the jealous lover, with acid-filled envy and violent lyrics like, "I want you/ It\'s knowing that he knows you after only guessing/ It\'s the thought of him undressing you or you undressing/ I want you." Somehow he\'s able to build on this line after line. \n"I Want You" is justification alone for purchasing this album, but there are a few other gems here too. In "Battered Old Bird" Elvis recalls the apartment he grew up in and all the quirky characters that surrounded him. "Tokyo Storm Warning" is better described in the liner notes by the man himself and "Blue Chair" and "Crimes of Paris" have that familiar Costello pop-rock with a little attitude that permeates his work.\nAll this and I haven't even gotten to why the reissue is better than the original. For starters, there's a 20-something page booklet with all the lyrics from the original and pages filled with Costello's anecdotes about specific tracks and the tour before the album. There are several pictures of the most beloved geek-rocker since Buddy Holly on stage with the likes of Tom Petty, and a shot of Tom Waits as the guest emcee for one of his shows. Aside from that, the second disc is almost as good as the first with a rather consistent, though sometimes sloppy 15 tracks. "New Rhythm Method" and some great alternate takes, like the version of \"Battered Old Bird\" that sounds almost like a completely different song, would make it as good as the first disc if not for "I Want You." Pick this one up unless you still haven\'t bought his first two albums.\n

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