Elvis Costello's remarkable career spontaneously kicked into gear in 1976. According to a record-company bio, "An unknown and unannounced Elvis Costello walks into the offices of Stiff Records, strikes up an instant rapport with Stiff's then-supremo Jake Riviera, and is signed immediately." Thus began a career in song that has been almost unmatched in its reach - from furious, biting punk-era nuggets to art-minded collaborations with an opera singer and string ...