“Magnificent Hurt” by Elvis Costello and The Imposters

"Magnificent Hurt" was the first shot fired from The Boy Named If, Elvis Costello and the Imposters' 2022 album, going out as a single on October 27, 2021, a couple of months before the record hit the racks in January. Costello wrote it, sings it, plays guitar and co-produced it with Sebastián Krys, who also mixed. Steve Nieve plays keyboards and organ, Davey Faragher handles bass and adds his voice, and Pete Thomas takes the drums and percussion.

Stereogum's Tom Breihan called it "a straight-up rocker" and compared it to Costello's late-'70s work, which fits an album Stephen Thomas Erlewine hailed as possibly his purest rock and roll since Blood & Chocolate. The record went on to a Best Rock Album nomination at the 65th Grammy Awards.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.