The Elvis Costello album-by-album thread

While I enjoy "PAINTED FROM MEMORY" I really love "ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY" so would hate to see that record ignored here.

Plus theres the boxet set of live e.p.'s to discuss!

 

Next in line is Kojak Variety.



01. Strange (2:48)
02. Hidden Charms (3:30)
03. Remove This Doubt (3:51)
04. I Threw It All Away (3:21)
05. Leave My Kitten Alone (3:18)
06. Everybody's Crying Mercy (4:05)
07. I've Been Wrong Before (2:58)
08. Bama Lama Bama Loo (2:45)
09. Must You Throw Dirt In My Face (3:47)
10. Pouring Water On A Drowning Man (3:35)
11. The Very Thought Of You (3:37)
12. Payday (2:58)
13. Please Stay (4:50)
14. Running Out Of Fools (3:02)
15. Days (4:58)

Rhino bonus disc:
01. Ship Of Fools (5:18)
02. My Resistance Is Low (1:58)
03. Innocent When You Dream (4:27)
04. I'm Coming Home (3:11)
05. The Dark End Of The Street (3:07)
06. Congratulations (2:44)
07. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (2:10)
08. Pouring Water On A Drowning Man (Alternate Version) (2:51)
09. Still Feeling Blue (2:20)
10. Brilliant Disguise (4:00)
11. How Long Has This Been Going On (2:27)
12. Sleepless Nights (3:53)
13. Step Inside Love (2:44)
14. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (2:35)
15. Sally Sue Brown (2:16)
16. Sticks And Stones (1:33)
17. That's How You Got Killed Before (3:10) - with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
18. The Night Before Larry Was Stretched (5:07)
19. But Not For Me (5:02) - with Larry Adler
20. Full Force Gale (2:59)

Kojak Variety is an album of covers recorded in Barbados over two weeks in 1990 with James Burton, Marc Ribot, Jim Keltner, Jerry Scheff, Larry Knechtel, and Pete Thomas.

Elvis intended the sessions as a farewell for the King of America/Spike musicians, as he planned to record Mighty Like a Rose with the Attractions. As it turned out, the Attractions reunion fell through, and Mighty Like a Rose was recorded with... the Kojak Variety band!

At any rate, the plan all along was to release Kojak Variety after Mighty Like a Rose. However, by the time it seemed appropriate to release a followup to Mighty Like a Rose, Elvis had already started work on The Juliet Letters, and it seemed like a bad idea to put out two oddball Elvis Costello albums in a row. As a result, the release of Kojak Variety had to wait until after Brutal Youth. Of course, by then the whole album had already been bootlegged!

The material is varied, to say the least: "Strange" (Screamin' Jay Hawkins), "Hidden Charms" (written by Willie Dixon, recorded by Howlin' Wolf), "Remove This Doubt" (The Supremes), "I Threw It All Away" (Bob Dylan), "Leave My Kitten Alone" (Little Willie John, The Beatles), "Everybody's Crying Mercy" (Mose Allison, but Elvis heard Bonnie Raitt's version first), "I've Been Wrong Before" (written by Randy Newman, recorded by both Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black), "Bama Lama Bama Loo" (Little Richard), "Must You Throw Dirt In My Face" (the Louvin Brothers), "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" (James Carr), "The Very Thought of You" (Nat "King" Cole, among many others), "Payday" (Jesse Winchester), "Please Stay" (written by Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard, first recorded by the Drifters, but Elvis' version is modeled on Zoot Money's Big Roll Band), "Runnin' Out of Fools" (Aretha Franklin), and "Days" (The Kinks).

Rhino's bonus disc collects most of the covers Elvis released as b-sides or contributed to tribute albums in the '90s. But the highlight is probably the 10 "George Jones demos" (tracks 2-11), songs Elvis recorded as suggested material for George Jones.

Also of note is the so-called "Willy Wonka version" of the original CD, which included two bonus tracks. Only 200 copies were made, and only 100 of them were released commercially. The outside packaging was indistinguishable from the regular release, but a certificate inside explained the significance of the rare version. While this version of the CD remains highly collectible, the bonus tracks ("Step Inside Love" and "Sticks and Stones") are readily available on Rhino's bonus disc. (They first appeared on the "You Tripped At Every Step" CD single in 1994.)

 

Excellent bonus disc; almost a standout Elvis album on it's own. Nice to hear the George Jones tape demos.

 

The only time I have ever seen EC live I was really confused as to why he was doing all these covers!

A few years later when "KOJAK VARIETY" came out and I learned that it was recorded a few years earlier I understood!

 

Yeah, when I saw him on the Mighty Like a Rose tour, he did "Must You Throw Dirt In My Face," "Hidden Charms," "Strange," "Everybody's Crying Mercy," and "Bama Lama Bama Loo." It's like he was promoting both Kojak Variety and Mighty Like a Rose, but only one of those albums could be found in stores.

 

I no longer have the cassette of the show I saw so can't confirm exactly how many "KOJACK" songs he played that night but I remember the version of "Bama Lama Bama Loo" just about shredded his vocal chords. It was great!

Unfortunately the reviews from around that time seemed to concentrate on talking about his beard more than any actual music being performed.

 

If you saw the Toronto show, the set list is here (aside from one unidentified song, which is probably something from Kojak!):

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Concert_1991-06-13_Toronto

 

That's the show I was at (and taped).

Now I really wish I still had my recording because I was able to figure out the complete setlist and could let that site know what the unidentified song was!

And thats why I don't lend stuff out anymore!

Thanks for the link.

 

My bet would be "Hidden Charms". It often seemed to be played in this slot in the other nearby shows.

 

Next we have Elvis Costello & Bill Frisell's Deep Dead Blue.



01. Weird Nightmare (3:35)
02. Love Field (3:24)
03. Shamed Into Love (4:26)
04. Gigi (4:16)
05. Poor Napoleon (4:05)
06. Baby Plays Around (3:08)
07. Deep Dead Blue (3:51)

Recorded June 25, 1995 at the Meltdown Festival and released seven weeks later, Deep Dead Blue is more of an EP than an album, with only seven songs and a running time of just under 27 minutes.

The set list is notable for including "Weird Nightmare," a song Elvis had previously recorded for a Charles Mingus tribute album, the showtune "Gigi," which Elvis had never recorded (although he would do it again on Piano Jazz), "Shamed Into Love," which EC had co-written for a Rubén Blades album and not previously recorded himself (it too would be recorded again with Anne Sofie von Otter on For the Stars), and the "Deep Dead Blue" title track, a newly written Costello/Frisell original.

The remaining songs — "Love Field," "Poor Napoleon," and "Baby Plays Around" — were familiar from Goodbye Cruel World, Blood & Chocolate, and Spike, respectively. "Poisoned Rose" was also played at the original concert but not included on the CD.

"Gigi" and "Deep Dead Blue" appear on Rhino's The Juliet Letters bonus disc.

 

Just coming to this thread. DDB isn't one I listen to often, but I remember enjoying the Poor Napoleon version here. I think I prefer it to the B&C original.

Question - There are 50 pages of posts in this thread. I've got the 2cd Rhino versions for most of the EC catalog. Will I find discussion in these 50 pages of best sounding versions of these cd's? If so, I'll wade through, but if that isn't a topic here, I'd appreciate someone saving me the trouble and I'll find another thread.

 

Not really. Just a lot of discussion of the music.

 

Never heard of this disc. Just got done listenting to clips on Amazon, though. It sounds nice enough, though not something I'd probably listen to a lot.

 

I enjoy Kojak Variety. It's a good listen, imo. I guess I think of it as kind of another "side-project." I think it makes for an effective change-up from the more arty, literate, and sophisticated Juliet Letters and Brutal Youth. I don't have to concentrate at all to appreciate and enjoy it.

Deep Dead Blue features some incredibly intricate and finely detailed guitar playing by Bill Frisell. Imo, Elvis is off with his pitch, noticeably so in some sections, for the first three songs. In so much as this might be a little distracting - to me anyway - I wish the guitar had been mixed louder so as to possibly better complement and support the vocal. The last half of Gigi, and all of Poor Napoleon and Baby Plays Around, sound especially good, imo. I like the idea and sound of the actual recording itself - together the sound of EC's voice and Frisell's guitar is very effective. I'd definitely buy an additional recording pairing just the two of them.

 

The promo "live at the el macambo" lp doesn;t sound that great but i think they are the killer versions of the "My aim is true" tracks.

 

For me, Frisell's guitar work saves this album. ECs vocal work leaves me cold on this one - just seems unnaturally forced in places.

Best Wishes
David

 

We're just about at the 1,000 post limit for this thread. Discussion continues in part 2.