Night Eight of Elvis Costello’s 10-night stand at New York City’s Gramercy Theater delivered yet another stunning main set of classic songs and fan favorite obscurities performed with his ...

For the first night, the only chronologically themed one, Costello did only songs written prior to 1977, which allowed for a crowd-pleasing preponderance of “My Aim Is True” material.

Some songs are angry and protesting, but they also center on relationships rather than politics. So to celebrate Costello’s 70th birthday, here are four essential songs from his 47-year-old catalog.

Elvis Costello said one of The Beatles' songs represents everything great about Paul McCartney even though it's not a rock 'n' roll song.