ORIGINAL
ALBUM (53:03)
- On Your Way Down (4:51)
- Nearer To You (3:30)
- Tears, Tears And More Tears
(3:26)
- The Sharpest Thorn (4:14)
- Who's Gonna Help Brother Get
Further? (5:03)
- The River In Reverse (4:28)
- Freedom For The Stallion
(2:54)
- Broken Promise Land (4:32)
- Ascension Day (2:57)
- International Echo (4:55)
- All These Things (4:04)
- Wonder Woman (3:07)
- Six-Fingered Man (4:29)
Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint's
The
River In Reverse was recorded over two weeks in Los Angeles and
New Orleans in November and December 2005. The Japanese CD and the
iTunes release each featured an outtake from the album sessions, and
two more are known to remain in the vault.
Because of the collaborative nature of the album, it seems unlikely
that the songs in the "Additional Extras" section would be seriously
considered as bonus material for a reissue of
The River In Reverse, but this is
where they fit chronologically.
RELATED
EXTRAS
THE GREATEST LOVE
[The
River In Reverse
Japanese CD bonus track]
A remake of an older Allen Toussaint song (recorded by Willie West in
1965 and Lee Dorsey in 1966), this has yet to be released outside of
Japan.
WHERE IS THE LOVE
[The River In Reverse
iTunes bonus
track]
This Costello/Toussaint original is available as a standalone
download in some markets (including the UK), while others (such as the
US) require purchase of the full album. It has not been released in any
physical format.
PEACE LIKE A RIVER (LIVE,
MONTREAL, JUL. 4, 2006)
[Tribute
To Paul Simon
album by
various artists]
AMERICAN TUNE (LIVE,
MONTREAL,
JUL. 4, 2006)
[Tribute
To Paul Simon
album by
various artists]
In truth, only "American Tune" belongs in the "Related Extras"
section, but they are listed together for simplicity's sake. A day
after their appearance at the Montreal Jazz Festival (filmed for
the
Hot
As A Pistol, Keen As A Blade
DVD), Elvis and Allen were among the acts at a Paul Simon tribute
concert. Elvis performed "Peace Like A River" without Allen, and they
shared the stage for "American Tune," sung largely by Allen, with Elvis
briefly taking the lead late in the song. The backing on both songs is
provided by a house band led by Daniel Thouin. The
Tribute To Paul Simon CD seems to
have only been issued in Canada.
ADDITIONAL EXTRAS 2005-2007
BEAUTIFUL
[House
M.D.: Original
Television Soundtrack
album by various artists]
Elvis covered Christina Aguilera's 2002 hit especially for an episode
of the TV series
House
first
aired September 20, 2005. The song was recorded July 13, 2005 at New
York's Avatar Studios. The soundtrack album was released in 2007.
ARE YOU HAVIN' ANY FUN? with Tony Bennett
[Duets:
An American Classic
album by
Tony Bennett]
Elvis and Tony's version of the Sammy Fain/Jack Yellen-penned standard
was recorded in February 2006 at Bennett Studios in Englewood, New
Jersey.
LITTLE
BOXES
[Weeds: Music From The
Showtime Original
Series, Volume 2 album by
various artists]
For the second season of the TV series
Weeds,
the theme song "Little Boxes" was performed by a different artist each
week. Elvis' version appeared in the season premiere, broadcast August
14, 2006, and on the soundtrack CD issued two months later. The
song was written by Malvina Reynolds in 1962.
WHEN I STOP DREAMING with Charlie Louvin
[Charlie
Louvin
album by Charlie
Louvin]
Elvis remakes the Louvin Brothers song with the surviving brother. This
was recorded in June 2006 at the Beech House in Nashville.
RING OF FIRE
[Anchored
In Love: A
Tribute To June Carter
Cash album by various artists]
The Johnny Cash hit (but first recorded by Anita Carter and written by
June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore) was part of the Coward Brothers'
live repertoire in 1985 and 1986. The studio version was recorded in
2006 at the Cash family property in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
TROUBLEMAKER
[Welcome
To The Voice
album by
various artists]
DESPAIR
[Welcome
To The Voice
album by
various artists]
Elvis played the lead role in the first performance of Steve Nieve and
Muriel Téodori's opera
Welcome
To The Voice in 2000. In the
2007 CD version, he sings the
smaller role of the Chief of Police. He does most of the singing on
"Troublemaker" (Robert Wyatt sings the slower interlude) and is one of
several singers (including Sting) on "Despair." Because of the
shared spotlights and the songs' role in the album's larger storyline,
these don't really work as standalone "Elvis Costello songs," and they
seem unlikely candidates for an Elvis Costello album.
UNRELEASED
& UNRECORDED
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE GIRL
TO DO?
The bonus DVD included with
initial copies of
The River In Reverse
includes 90
seconds of studio footage of this outtake from the album sessions, but
it is otherwise unreleased. Elvis and Allen share the vocals on this
song first recorded by Toussaint on his 1975 album
Southern Nights.
WITH
YOU IN MIND
The other known outtake from
The
River In Reverse sessions was
written by Toussaint and first
recorded by Frankie Miller in 1974. In a radio interview prior to the
release of
The
River In Reverse,
Allen Toussaint said the outtake would appear "on the next release of
whatever we would put out, whether it be an extra single or something
like that," but that has yet to occur.
WHO'S GONNA HELP BROTHER
GET FURTHER? (ALTERNATE VOCAL)
A December 22, 2005 report on
ABC News'
Nightline about
the making of
The River In Reverse
included footage of the "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further?"
recording session. While the album version is sung largely by
Allen, with Elvis not taking the lead until the fourth verse, the
Nightline
footage has Elvis singing from the start. Since only one verse
is shown, it is unclear whether Elvis sang the entire song or if any of
the later verses were handled by Allen. The performance is largely
obscured by dialogue in the
Nightline
broadcast.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Initial copies of
The River In Reverse
CD included a DVD of
Putting The
River In Reverse, a 32-minute documentary on the making of
the album
.
