The Elvis Costello album-by-album thread, part 2

Continuing from part 1 of this thread, we come to 1996's All This Useless Beauty, Elvis' final album with the Attractions.



01. The Other End Of The Telescope (4:06)
02. Little Atoms (3:56)
03. All This Useless Beauty (4:37)
04. Complicated Shadows (4:43)
05. Why Can't A Man Stand Alone? (3:16)
06. Distorted Angel (4:31)
07. Shallow Grave (2:00)
08. Poor Fractured Atlas (3:57)
09. Starting To Come To Me (2:43)
10. You Bowed Down (4:53)
11. It's Time (5:57)
12. I Want To Vanish (3:13)

Rhino bonus disc:
01. Almost Ideal Eyes (4:19)
02. My Dark Life (6:19) - with Brian Eno
03. That Day Is Done (5:08) - with The Fairfield Four
04. What Do I Do Now? (4:26)
05. The Bridge I Burned (5:19)
06. It's Time (Demo) (3:58)
07. Complicated Shadows (Demo) (2:24)
08. You Bowed Down (Demo) (4:18)
09. Mistress And Maid (Demo) (2:17)
10. Distorted Angel (Demo) (2:31)
11. World's Great Optimist (Demo) (2:32)
12. The Only Flame In Town (Demo) (4:11)
13. The Comedians (Demo) (3:05)
14. The Days Take Care Of Everything (Demo) (3:55)
15. Hidden Shame (Demo) (3:56)
16. Why Can't A Man Stand Alone (Demo) (2:58)
17. Distorted Angel (Tricky Remix) (5:35)

Elvis originally described this album as a collection of songs he had written for other artists. He then seemed annoyed when reviewers would devote most of their space to matching songs to artists, leaving little room to discuss the album on its own terms.

Continuing that tradition: "All This Useless Beauty" and "I Want To Vanish" were first recorded by June Tabor and "You Bowed Down" by Roger McGuinn. "The Other End Of The Telescope" was co-written by Aimee Mann recored by her then-band 'Til Tuesday, although Elvis rewrote much of the lyrics for his own version. "Why Can't A Man Stand Alone?" was recorded but never released by Sam Moore. "Complicated Shadows" was written for but apparently never recorded by Johnny Cash. "Poor Fractured Atlas" was reportedly given to Aimee Mann, who never recorded it.

The origins of the other songs are sketchier. "Shallow Grave" was another McCartney co-write, but it's unclear whether Paul ever intended to record it himself. "Little Atoms," "Distorted Angel," "Starting To Come To Me," and "It's Time" have never been matched to other artists. They had had all been around for at least a couple of years ("Starting To Come To Me" and "It's Time" were demoed at the time of Mighty Like A Rose), so their inclusion may have had more to do with cleaning out the songwriting closet rather than fitting the album's theme.

The album was co-produced by Geoff Emerick, last seen on Imperial Bedroom. Five singles were released in the UK ("It's Time," "Little Atoms," "The Other End Of The Telescope," "Distorted Angel," and "All This Useless Beauty"), although those last four were part of a gimmick where he released a new single every week in July 1996. In the US the only single was "You Bowed Down," which strangely was released after the album had already been out for several months. None of the singles managed to become hits, and only one of them (the title track "All This Useless Beauty") appeared on Extreme Honey: The Very Best of the Warner Bros. Years, with the album otherwise represented by album tracks ("Poor Fractured Atlas" and "I Want To Vanish"). Go figure.

 

I don't own this cd at the moment, but I need the 2 cd Rhino for obvious reasons. I did, however see EC & the A's live promoting it in Wash DC at a really crummy warehouse/venue in S.E. <scary!> but managed to get so close to the stage I could enjoy the better sound coming from the stage monitors, instead of the dreaded PA system that projected a blinding cacophony of white noise bouncing all over the place, piercing unsuspecting eardrums and having others <the smart ones> running for the exits. What a loud <unreasonably so> show! Calm down, Elvis! We love ya already!!

 

This is one of my favorite Costello records. The songwriting on this is some of his best, and I actually like the ballad-heavy nature of the songs. I especially like the use of the bass clarinet in the title song, and Distorted Angel is a classic. I probably listen to this one and Delivery Man more than any other Costello. The second disc doesn't significantly improve on the released album; the demos are interesting, but the other songs on disc 2 aren't ones that I go back to much at all.

 

I didn't know that! How do the two albums compare? What's the story behind getting Emerick to man the boards again?

I've never heard this album, and Amazon clips haven't interested me at all. Ah well.... maybe that same place that had the SPIKE 2-fer has this as well.

 

Other than being ballad-heavy, the albums aren't very similar. Although there is some sonic experimention on ATUB it's nowhere near as bold or eccentric as Imperial Bedroom.

I think some of the songs might have benefited from a more lively production. Everything is a bit low-key. It works OK for "Distorted Angel" (which started life as a rocker during the "Brutal Youth" sessions) but tends to work against some of the other songs. For example, "Poor Fractured Atlas" is a good song, but the version on ATUB is about as dull as could be imagined.

"It's Time" is mangled by combining a hip-hop beat with "Elvis Goes Heavy Metal"-style guitars. He did a solo version on Letterman around the time the album was released that was amazing. The version on the album is a nightmare.

That being, some of the songs work well. However the best song, "Almost Ideal Eyes", was left off the album can be found on Disc 2.

 

I LOVE that song!!! It was on the cd single for "You Bowed Down" that was released in the USA. It reminded me of early EC & A stuff. I still have it, too.
Boy, I sure miss those cd singles with non-album/cd b-sides...guess those days are pretty much over...

 

You got there first! Love that tune, too. Almost Ideal Eyes. Splendid. In fact, I had never felt like I made a connection with the "Almost" qualifier, until just now, when from earlier today, I saw an old friend who indeed has ideal eyes and everything else, but Eyes and All, she's not really quite ideal for me, but, only, and definitely, "almost."

 

I love My Dark Life as well. And World's Great Optimist.They make for a clever pairing.
I enjoy That Day Is Done also, not quite as much as the first two tracks, but it's a good one too, imo.

 

Just a powerful and terrific tour-de-force vocal for That Day Is Done!

I Want To Vanish is superb. And I really like The Other End Of The Telescope, as well as the title track. Great stuff! Also like Little Atoms. And Distorted Angel.

Starting To Come To Me sounds too much like Dyaln's epic Jack of Hearts, only nowhere near as interesting, imho. It's Time, like Starting, is much better, imo, with just voice/guitar/piano (demos-Costello-Nieve), although, like Shallow Grave, they're only average EC songs, imho. However, You Bowed Down benefits most with a solo style arrangement - can't wait for the Costello-Nieve Promo Concerts. Very awkward bridge in that song, otherwise, I think it's fantastic (not so much so with the studio recording
which fulfills its intention of sounding like the Byrds, but it's just Too much of a Roger Mcguinn Carbon Copy, to be Elvis Costello).

 

All This Useless Beauty is...a beauty!
Love it.
One of his albums you'll never tire of, as you'll only hear it at your own place! (or a friend's)
Some great stuff on here!

 

Hope y'all don't mind my interrupting the thread with the following statement: GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD is easily one of my top five favorite EC albums. Not his best by a long shot, but so pleasing to these ears. I listened to it just about nonstop yesterday. Being a child of the 80's and a big fan of Hall & Oates, this record puts me in mind of that sound, which I like a LOT!

You have to understand that "Not the Only Flame in Town" was the first EC song I ever heard, which I heard when it first came out and I was 14. So I knew nothing of his records before this. Plus, I thought the name "Elvis Costello and the Attractions" sounded like a novelty act to begin with. Add to that the fact that Daryl Hall was on the song, and I instantly enjoyed it. Now, I didn't buy the record when it first came out; my record-buying habits back then was to wait until there were two videos I liked and THEN buy the album. Since I never saw a follow-up to "Flame," it pretty much fell off the shopping list.

Now, I had no idea there was such a critical backlash against this record when it came out. When I did finally start getting into EC, right around the time SPIKE came out, I had seen a book called The 50 Worst Rock & Roll Records of All Time, which listed GCW as one of the 50. So, based on that and finally hearing the earlier records, it seemed a smart move to stay as far away from this record as possible. However, thanks to this thread, I started to become interested in it.

I recently purchased the Rhino 2-fer and as I said before, I am enjoying it like nothing else! Sure it's pure 80's-synth-cheese-pop, ill-suited to the words contained in the songs (I mean, I love the arrangement of "The Comedians" and "I Wanna Be Loved," but they would sure work a lot better if the lyrics were as sunny as the music surrounding them). So logically, this album shouldn't work (and for a lot of people, it doesn't); but for me, it is pure pop confection. In fact, I'll even go so far to say that hearing the acoustic demos was no real revelation for me; quite the opposite, as they almost put me to sleep.

While listening to this album, I can't help but wonder if given the second chance, how EC would've (re)arranged these songs. I guess we'll never know, but that's alright with me. I really REALLY like this record!

 

I like it too! I'm not a huge fan of the slick keyboards and electronic drums but I think the songs are great.

 

This actually ties in with the All This Useless Beauty discussion to some extent, since the Rhino bonus disc includes reworked demos of "The Comedians" and "The Only Flame In Town," intended for Roy Orbison and Aaron Neville, respectively.

Orbison's version of "The Comedians" can be found on Mystery Girl and the Black and White Night CD/DVD. Neville apparently passed on "The Only Flame In Town."

 

And then there's PUNCH THE CLOCK that just leaves me cold. Go figure. The live tracks on the 2nd disc make the purchase of the Rhino worthwhile, and make me wish they could've achieved this sound on the album proper.

 

I have mixed feelings about Poor Fractured Atlas - as maybe I well should, considering the song title . However, those last lines in the chorus, "I'm almost certain/he's trying to increase his burden/ he said that's how the child in him (me) planned it/a woman wouldn't understand it," or something to this effect. It gets to me every time. EC definitely has some "Jackson Browne" moments - amidst all the rage, and humor, and everything else, and that little bit of a lyric - "the bit that she was looking for" - is one of them, imo.

 

Next is the Costello & Nieve box set.



DISC 1: Live at the Troubadour, Los Angeles, May 14, 1996:
1. Temptation (3:48)
2. Poor Fractured Atlas (4:58)
3. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself (3:27)
4. It's Time (5:54)
5. Man Out Of Time (4:53)
6. Shallow Grave (2:54)

DISC 2: Live at the Fillmore, San Francisco, May 15, 1996:
1. Just About Glad (3:59)
2. Why Can't A Man Stand Alone? (4:09)
3. My Dark Life (7:13)
4. All This Useless Beauty (5:57)
5. Ship Of Fools (6:10)

DISC 3: Live at the Park West, Chicago, May 18, 1996:
1. The Long Honeymoon (4:23)
2. Starting To Come To Me (2:47)
3. The Other End Of The Telescope (4:31)
4. All The Rage (4:02)
5. Watching The Detectives (6:08)

DISC 4: Live at the Paradise, Boston, May 20, 1996:
1. You Bowed Down (4:54)
2. The Long Honeymoon (4:46)
3. Distorted Angel (4:45)
4. The Angels Want To Wear My Red Shoes (2:49)
5. Little Atoms (5:37)
6. My Funny Valentine (3:01)

DISC 5: Live at the Supper Club, New York, May 22, 1996:
1. Black Sails In The Sunset (3:17)
2. You'll Never Be A Man (3:16)
3. Just A Memory (3:43)
4. I Want To Vanish (3:21)
5. Alison/Living A Little, Laughing A Little/Tracks Of My Tears/Tears Of A Clown/No More Tearstained Make-Up/Clowntime Is Over (6:16)

Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve promoted All This Useless Beauty with a short North American tour without the other two Attractions (although Pete Thomas did join them for a few songs in Los Angeles).

Five of these concerts were broadcast live on the radio. The Costello & Nieve box set includes 5-6 songs from each show. With a combined running time of just over two hours, this was basically two CDs of material stretched over five CDs — but thankfully the asking price was typical of a two-CD set.

The song lineup naturally favors All This Useless Beauty, with 11 of that album's 12 songs represented (all but "Complicated Shadows"), but it also includes some rarely played songs ("Ship of Fools," "You'll Never Be a Man," "My Dark Life," "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself," "Black Sails in the Sunset") and some of the more obvious hits. The duo format makes nearly every song significantly different from its studio incarnation.

The commercial release of material from this tour seems to have been something of an afterthought. The initial release was not a box set but rather five separate promo-only CDs. The box set came a couple of months later and was limited to 30,000 copies worldwide. It has yet to be reissued.

 

I used to see the Costello & Nieve box at Best Buy when it came out. It was $30 and I always left it on the shelf, thinking I'd pick it up at a later date. Unfortunately, it seemed to vanish within just a few weeks.

I routinely see it at Amoeba, but it's always used for $75, which seems a little ridiculous for five EPs.

There was a Wherehouse out here that was closing and had one of those "half off everything in the store" sales. They were selling the box used but still wanted $100 for it!

 

Amazon/Ebay was where I bought mine. It didn't have the cardboard box slipcase, but included all the jewel cases/inserts/ and legit cd's. I searched awhile to get a fair price. I think I ended up spending around thirty or forty dollars for it.

 

these are very cool versions of this material. I went to see this show at The Supper Club where "Just a Memory" tore my heart out. Such a lovely song.

I never managed to get one of these boxes, but a friend had one and it fit nicely on 2 cdr's . i'd certainly buy one if ever it was readily available. frankly, i'm surprised they dont just release a whole show and be done with it. or maybe that'll be the plan over at Universal at some point.

 

Yeah, I saw the San Francisco show...and it was spectacular, too. The impromtu performance of "Ship of Fools" was the greatest spontaneous moment I've witnessed at an Elvis show, and the live premiere of "My Dark Life" was certainly a welcome surprise.

As for Universal re-releasing the set as a 2CD live album, I don't think they have that option. We've got no reason to believe that EC's Warner Bros catalog is part of their deal with EC at this point. It would, however, be a very worthwhile Rhinio Handmade project (along with a set featuring the Wendy James demos). Hopefully, they'd eliminate the redundant versions of "The Long Honeymoon" and insert a version of "Complicated Shadows" instead.

 

It's a great CD set. I had to have it when it came out (I also got a promo of the San Francisco show from Kfog the local radio station that broadcast the show for $5.00) since I was at the San Francisco show. I'm disappointed that the entire show wasn't put out for each one.

 

They also did this show on Long Island at Guild Hall in Easthampton
on May 26, 1996 and none of it was released. Same for the May 24 Toronto show. I was lucky enough to see the Long Island show as well as those in Boston and New York. Great nights. I wish Unwanted Number was part of this box set. I haven't played C&N in a long time - I'll have to pop that in after I get through the Deluxe MAIT.

 

Next is Painted From Memory...



01. In The Darkest Place (4:15)
02. Toledo (4:31)
03. I Still Have That Other Girl (2:44)
04. This House Is Empty Now (5:08)
05. Tears At The Birthday Party (4:37)
06. Such Unlikely Lovers (3:22)
07. My Thief (4:17)
08. The Long Division (4:11)
09. Painted From Memory (4:11)
10. The Sweetest Punch (4:07)
11. What's Her Name Today? (4:05)
12. God Give Me Strength (6:10)

In 1995 Elvis Costello (in Dublin) and Burt Bacharach (in Los Angeles) collaborated by fax and answering machine to co-write the song "God Give Me Strength" for Allison Anders' film Grace of My Heart. The following year they managed to be in the same place at the same time and recorded a version of the song to play over the film's end credits.

They must have hit it off, because they ended up writing another 11 songs, resulting in the 1998 album Painted From Memory and a (very brief) tour. Elvis and Burt produced the album together, but the overall sound was clearly modeled on classic Bacharach — so much so that some reviewers mistakenly assumed that Burt handled the music and Elvis only the lyrics, when in fact they wrote the music together. (Elvis did write all the lyrics.)

"I Still Have That Other Girl" won a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. It is Elvis' only Grammy to date.

This was Elvis' first album for Mercury/PolyGram — and it ended up being his last when his new label was bought by Seagrams and absorbed into Universal just as the album was released.