Almost Blue
Costello's flirtation with "real" country music, this album of covers produced in Nashville by veteran Billy Sherrill was prompted by some genuinely bad feelings as his personal life fell apart. It hasn't held up well over the years since its 1981 release, but there is one brilliant moment--Costello's cracked-voice reading of hero Gram Parsons's "How Much I Lied." The Rykodisc edition adds an array of bonus tracks, including Leon Payne's apropos "Psycho," cut during the tour for the Baroque-popArmed Forces.--Rickey Wright