When Elvis Costello and the Attractions played Toronto's El Mocambo club March 6, 1978, the concert was broadcast live by CHUM FM. Soon after, Elvis' Canadian label distributed Live At The El Mocambo as a very limited edition promo-only LP. The album was also heavily counterfeited before finally receiving an official release in 1993, both as part of the 2 1/2 Years box set and as a mail-away offer for those who bought the Rykodisc/Demon reissues of My Aim Is True, This Year's Model, and Armed Forces separately. With the end of the Rykodisc reissue program in the late '90s, the album was no longer available.

Although Rhino expressed an interest in reissuing it, the idea was rejected by Elvis himself. Only one song from the concert ("Less Than Zero") was released by Rhino, on the My Aim Is True bonus disc.

Hip-O's reissue, originally planned for late 2008 but ultimately pushed to September 2009, is the first standalone commercial release of Live At The El Mocambo. The album has been remastered by Ellen Fitton and restores brief spoken intros to "Less Than Zero" (Elvis twice asking the crowd "How are ya?"), "The Beat" ("This is dedicated to all you Canadians. We just wanted to tell you that we come here from England to ask for the country back.") and "Radio, Radio" (Elvis comparing American college audiences unfavorably to his current Canadian club audience and expressing his displeasure with the radio medium). These had appeared on the original Canadian promo LP but were omitted from the Rykodisc/Demon CD in 1993.

The Hip-O CD also includes fairly lengthy audience reactions after "Little Triggers" and "Radio, Radio" (the songs which ended each side of the original vinyl release). These did not appear on the 1993 CD either, but I have not yet confirmed whether they were on the 1978 vinyl. Additionally, the entire album runs at a very slightly faster (and seemingly more natural) speed than the earlier CD. Even with the speed difference, the Hip-O CD runs more than two minutes longer than the old CD despite the lack of any additional music.

Had there been additional music, the obvious choice would have been the concert's encore, at which surprise guest Nick Lowe performed four of his songs ("Nutted By Reality," "I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass," "Shake And Pop," and "Heart Of The City") backed by Elvis and the Attractions. These appeared on a promo-only Canadian release but have yet to receive a traditional release. Legal complications may have prevented their inclusion on Hip-O's CD.

This is the first in a series of vintage Costello concerts planned for 2009-2010 release under the name The Costello Show. The only other show announced so far is the Hollywood High concert from June 4, 1978.