Personnel: Elvis Costello (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Elvis Costello; John McFee (guitar); James Burton, Nick Lowe (acoustic guitar); T-Bone Wolk (electric guitar, accordion); Sean Hopper (piano, organ, background vocals); Mitchell Froom (harpsichord); Mickey Curry (drums, percussion); Micky Shine, Pete Thomas , Steve Goulding (drums); John Ciambotti (background vocals); Steve Nieve (piano, organ, keyboards).

Photographers: Barry Plummer; Keith Morris; Adam Starr.

As an encapsulation of the most vital period in Elvis Costello's career, THE FIRST TEN YEARS portrays of a rule-breaker who nevertheless had a deep respect for his musical roots. Even as he was defining New Wave in the late 1970s with "Watching the Detectives," "Pump it Up," and "Radio, Radio," Elvis was paying homage to the Byrds on "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" and copping Spinners riffs on "Alison." The collection follows Costello into the '80s as he expands his songwriting and production palette ("New Lace Sleeves," "Beyond Belief") while tackling old-school country ("Good Year for the Roses") and Stax soul ("I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down").

In the years that followed this collection's scope, Costello would launch himself whole-heartedly into everything from big-band jazz to classical orchestration, but the seeds of all that eclecticism (not to mention the aesthetic template for most of his subsequent work) lie in the tracks presented here. As one of the most original artistic personalities of his era, Costello proved enormously influential for multiple generations, and THE FIRST 10 YEARS shows the achievements on which his legend is built.

Six years after the commencement of a major Elvis Costello reissue campaign at Rhino, his catalog transferred over to Universal, which had been releasing new Elvis music since 1998's Painted from Memory. Like every one of his previous two big catalog shifts -- a campaign with Rykodisc/Demon in 1994, a jump to Rhino in 2001 -- the 2007 series is preceded by a new hits collection, this time The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years, a 22-track collection of highlights that's pretty much exactly what it says it is. It is quite similar to the last previous single-disc collection, the 1994 Ryko/Demon set The Very Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions, which also ran 22 tracks, 19 of which also appear on The First 10 Years. The three omissions -- "Watch Your Step," "New Amsterdam," and "Love Field" -- will not be missed by anybody looking for a new Costello comp in 2007, particularly because all three substitutions are better choices for the casual man: "New Lace Sleeves," "Almost Blue," and "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," which bizarrely wasn't on the 1994 set. With these three songs rubbing shoulders with "Alison," "Watching the Detectives," "Pump It Up," "Oliver's Army," "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding," and all the other usual suspects, The Best of Elvis Costello: The First 10 Years winds up being the best single-disc summary and introduction to Costello's prime years. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine