ot content to remain at rest, Costello's growth never sacrifices the feeling he values. As he says, "Whatever I do is going to be very rooted in blues or rhythm and blues. Everthing that I play is just jumping off from that point." Just as soul and rock grew from the blues, fresh sounds enter Costello's repertoire as a natural development of his listening habits. A musical discussion with Costello is as likely to touch on Otis Clay, O. V. Wright, Eddie Hinton, Otis Redding, Bobby Womack, and Johnnie Taylor (his all-time favorite singer) as Otis Rush, Robert Lockwood Jr., Freddy King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Jimmie Vaughan, or Lurrie Bell (his favorite contemporary guitarist), with Bob Dylan's work never far from the forefront. Heavy sessions listening to rock 'n' roll – which, for Costello, means Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Jerry Lee Lewis – played a part in developing the sound of his newest recordings.