Elvis Costello, 'The Spell That You Cast' (Sessions)

AOL: You've been very prolific in releasing at least one album every year. Has that been challenging for you?

Costello: I had a few years off in the late '80s for about three years when I didn't make a record. I don't think anything unusual about that. If you check the history of music, it's only reecent that there's been this mad idea it should take two years to make a record and you should only put them out when the stars are aligned. Working musicians, when they have a portfolio of songs that they like, whatever shape of size, whatever mood it is, you make it available and that announces the repertoire. In my case, it's probably going to get combined with the songs I did before. If people still want to hear songs that I did 30 years ago, that's something to be proud of. You just don't want to necessarily be held to those songs because then it would become a ritual, and I don't think that would be good for me or the audience.