KING OF AMERICA
Original album released 1986

King of America (58:04)
  1. Brilliant Mistake (3:45)
  2. Lovable (2:51)
  3. Our Little Angel (4:04)
  4. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (3:18)
  5. Glitter Gulch (3:14)
  6. Indoor Fireworks (4:06)
  7. Little Palaces (3:48)
  8. I'll Wear It Proudly (4:19)
  9. American Without Tears (4:31)
  10. Eisenhower Blues (3:43)
  11. Poisoned Rose (4:05)
  12. The Big Light (2:32)
  13. Jack of All Parades (5:17)
  14. Suit of Lights (4:02)
  15. Sleep of the Just (3:51)
(click arrows below to show/hide bonus material)
Rykodisc version (2CD) released 1995
Disc 1 Extended Play (16:51) [total 74:34]
  1. The People's Limousine The Coward Brothers (3:38)
  2. They'll Never Take Her Love From Me The Coward Brothers (2:52)
  3. Suffering Face (solo demo) (3:05)
  4. Shoes Without Heels (4:15)
  5. King of Confidence (2:46)
Disc 2: Live on Broadway (23:55)
  1. That's How You Got Killed Before (live) (2:41)
  2. The Big Light (live) (2:50)
  3. It Tears Me Up (live) (3:24)
  4. The Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line (live) (2:37)
  5. Your Mind Is on Vacation / Your Funeral My Trial (live) (5:14)
  6. That's How You Got Killed Before (reprise) (live) (7:08)
Rhino version (2CD) released 2005
Disc 2: Bonus Disc (76:47)
  1. Having It All (solo demo) (3:53)
  2. Suffering Face (solo demo) (3:05)
  3. Deportee (solo demo) (3:31)
  4. Indoor Fireworks (solo demo) (3:46)
  5. I Hope You're Happy Now (solo demo) (3:02)
  6. Poisoned Rose (solo demo) (4:09)
  7. I'll Wear It Proudly (solo demo) (3:23)
  8. Jack of All Parades (solo demo) (3:29)
  9. The People's Limousine The Coward Brothers (3:38)
  10. They'll Never Take Her Love From Me The Coward Brothers (2:52)
  11. King of Confidence (2:46)
  12. Shoes Without Heels (4:15)
  13. End of the Rainbow (solo demo) (3:25)
  14. Betrayal (2:22)
  15. That's How You Got Killed Before (live) (3:13)
  16. The Big Light (live) (3:08)
  17. It Tears Me Up (live) (3:26)
  18. The Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line (live) (2:42)
  19. Your Mind Is on Vacation / Your Funeral My Trial (live) (5:16)
  20. That's How You Got Killed Before (reprise) (live) (7:00)
  21. True Love Ways (live) (3:32)
King of America & Other Realms (6CD) released 2024
Disc 2: Le Roi Sans Sabots: Demos, Outtakes & Other Realms
  1. The People's Limousine The Coward Brothers (3:39)
  2. Next Time Round (Red Bus demo) (3:54)
  3. Deportee (Red Bus demo) (3:22)
  4. Brilliant Mistake (First Draft, Red Bus demo) (3:11)
  5. Suffering Face (solo demo) (3:06)
  6. Poisoned Rose (solo demo) (4:09)
  7. Jack of All Parades (solo demo) (3:30)
  8. Sleep of the Just (Red Bus demo) (3:11)
  9. Blue Chair (Red Bus demo) (2:59)
  10. I Hope You're Happy Now (solo demo) (3:03)
  11. I'll Wear It Proudly (solo demo) (3:25)
  12. Indoor Fireworks (solo demo) (3:45)
  13. Having It All (solo demo) (3:54)
  14. Shoes Without Heels (Red Bus demo) (3:26)
  15. King of Confidence (2:46)
  16. They'll Never Take Her Love From Me The Coward Brothers (2:53)
  17. American Without Tears No. 2 (Twilight Version) (3:31)
Disc 3: Kings of America Live at the Royal Albert Hall 27th January 1987
  1. The Big Light (3:02)
  2. Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line (2:47)
  3. Our Little Angel (4:28)
  4. It Tears Me Up (3:24)
  5. I'll Wear It Proudly (4:38)
  6. Lovable (2:53)
  7. Riverboat (4:05)
  8. Sally Sue Brown / 36-22-36 (4:56)
  9. American Without Tears (5:27)
  10. Brilliant Mistake (4:05)
  11. What Would I Do Without You (3:35)
  12. Your Mind Is on Vacation / Your Funeral, My Trial (5:41)
  13. Pouring Water on a Drowning Man (4:24)
  14. Payday (2:52)
  15. That's How You Got Killed Before (6:25)
  16. Sleep of the Just (5:17)
  17. True Love Ways (3:40)
Disc 4: Il Principe di New Orleans e le Marchese del Mississippi
  1. There's a Story in Your Voice with Lucinda Williams (3:45)
  2. Country Darkness (4:00)
  3. The Delivery Man (4:40)
  4. Nothing Clings Like Ivy (4:18)
  5. Heart Shaped Bruise (live at the Hi-Tone, Memphis) with Emmylou Harris (4:13)
  6. Bedlam (live at Montreal Jazz) (5:55)
  7. Either Side of the Same Town (4:02)
  8. Wonder Woman (3:10)
  9. In Another Room (3:49)
  10. The Monkey (rehearsal) with Dave Bartholomew & The Dirty Dozen Brass Band (3:10)
  11. Monkey to Man (4:30)
  12. Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (4:04)
  13. Clown Strike (live at Montreal Jazz) (4:08)
  14. Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further? (5:06)
  15. The River in Reverse (4:27)
  16. The Greatest Love (from Treme) (3:30)
  17. Ascension Day (2:59)
Disc 5: El Príncipe del Purgatorio
  1. Stations of the Cross (4:59)
  2. Quick Like a Flash (3:11)
  3. Sulphur to Sugarcane (5:57)
  4. Red Cotton (5:42)
  5. Lost on the River #12 (3:44)
  6. A Slow Drag With Josephine (2:43)
  7. I Felt the Chill (4:02)
  8. Complicated Shadows (Cashbox Version) (2:26)
  9. She's Pulling Out the Pin (3:24)
  10. Condemned Man (demo) (4:07)
  11. Hidden Shame (4:17)
  12. Red Wicked Wine with Dr. Ralph Stanley (2:23)
  13. The Scarlet Tide (live at the Grand Ole Opry) with Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings (5:06)
  14. One Bell Ringing (3:39)
  15. Bullets for the New-Born King (3:37)
  16. All These Strangers (5:52)
  17. For More Tears (demo) (4:00)
  18. You Hung the Moon (3:53)
Disc 6: Der Herzog des Rampenlicht
  1. Stella Hurt (4:46)
  2. Mr. Feathers (2:44)
  3. Under Lime (5:33)
  4. Jimmie Standing in the Rain (4:14)
  5. Down Among the Wines and Spirits (3:14)
  6. Dr. Watson, I Presume (3:40)
  7. Church Underground (demo) (5:27)
  8. A Voice in the Dark (3:33)
  9. April 5th with Rosanne Cash & Kris Kristofferson (4:32)
  10. Indoor Fireworks (Memphis Magnetic Version) (7:30)
  11. That's Not the Part of Him You're Leaving with Larkin Poe (4:10)
  12. Brilliant Mistake / Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Cape Fear Version) (7:01)
  13. That Day Is Done with The Fairfield Four (5:09)

King of America's nearly hour-long running time meant Rykodisc's 1995 reissue had less space than usual for bonuses, which may be one reason initial copies added a second CD with six live tracks. Even then, that did not allow enough room for all the non-album tracks from the period, let alone to give a real sense of the unreleased material. Elvis' liner notes more or less acknowledged this by referencing quite a few unreleased tracks from the album sessions. The subsequent appearance of bootlegs like King of Americana added to the perception that there was still a lot of King of America material in the vault.

With over half of Rhino's 2005 bonus disc devoted to repeating the 40 minutes' worth of bonus material from the Ryko release, Rhino's King of America offered fewer surprises than past Costello reissues, especially for fans already familiar with the bootlegs. It also had some puzzling omissions, even when the limited amount of space available is taken into account. Nevertheless, there is no denying that the overall quality of the bonus disc material was very high.

2024 brought a six-CD box set, King of America & Other Realms, but only its first three discs covered the King of America period, adding several unheard demos and 17 live tracks but nothing new from the band sessions for the album. The last three discs focused on Elvis' 21st century collaborations with American musicians and ongoing interest in American music. The material was, with a few exceptions, only distantly related to the King of America album.

REISSUE BONUS TRACKS

THE PEOPLE'S LIMOUSINE The Coward Brothers (3:38) RYKO RHINO REALMS
THEY'LL NEVER TAKE HER LOVE FROM ME The Coward Brothers (2:52) RYKO RHINO REALMS
The Coward Brothers' debut single was recorded at the Sound Factory and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles in early 1985. "The People's Limousine" was later included on Out of Our Idiot, while "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me" made its CD debut on the various artists collection From Hell to Obscurity.

KING OF CONFIDENCE (2:46) RYKO RHINO REALMS
Recorded July 29, 1985 at Sunset Sound, "King of Confidence" was released for the first time on the Ryko CD, although it had been played in concert a few times in 1985 and 1986 and came close to being included on the "Blue Chair" single in 1987. Elvis says in the Rhino liner notes that it nearly made the original album, before being dropped in favor of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

SHOES WITHOUT HEELS (4:15) RYKO RHINO
Recorded July 22, 1985 at Ocean Way, the same session that produced "Glitter Gulch," "Shoes Without Heels" did not make the album and instead turned up on the "Blue Chair" 12-inch single in 1987. It was included on Out of Our Idiot that same year.

BETRAYAL (2:22) RHINO
"Betrayal" was played several times in concert in 1985, but there was no indication that it had ever been attempted in the studio until it turned up on Rhino's reissue. It was recorded with the Attractions at Ocean Way on August 21, 1985, the same date they recorded "Baby's Got a Brand New Hairdo." The Rhino CD was the first official release of any version of "Betrayal," although many of the song's lyrics were reused in "Tramp the Dirt Down."

AMERICAN WITHOUT TEARS NO. 2 (TWILIGHT VERSION) (3:32) REALMS
This solo recording from Eden Studios in January 1987 appeared on Blood & Chocolate in the Ryko and Rhino reissue programs. It was originally the B-side of "Blue Chair," most notably on the 12-inch single which paired the sequel with the original "American Without Tears." It was also included on Out of Our Idiot.

Solo Demos
Sunset Sound, Feb. 14, 1985
The Sunset Sound solo demos were recorded February 14, 1985, during the same visit to Los Angeles that produced the Coward Brothers single.

SUFFERING FACE (3:05) RYKO RHINO REALMS
Elvis mentions in the Rhino liner notes that this performance was "briefly considered" for inclusion on the original album. "Suffering Face" was premiered in concert in 1984, but its first official release was on the Ryko CD. Some of its lyrics ended up in "Crimes of Paris" on Blood & Chocolate.

INDOOR FIREWORKS (3:46) RHINO REALMS
POISONED ROSE (4:09) RHINO REALMS
Elvis wrote in the Ryko liner notes of a "collision with a bottle of whiskey" leading him to record "several increasingly incoherent takes of 'Poisoned Rose,' 'American Without Tears,' and 'Indoor Fireworks'" at this session. In the Rhino notes he clarifies that the session went downhill after these particular performances were recorded.

I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY NOW (3:02) RHINO REALMS
The solo version of "I Hope You're Happy Now" was first released in 1986 as the B-side of "I Want You." Elvis alluded to the track in the Ryko liner notes ("A very ponderous reading of 'I Hope You're Happy Now' was briefly released from this session…") but did not include it on the CD. As it was also inadvertently omitted from the Singles, Volume 3 CD box set, with a previously unreleased band version appearing in its place, it made its long-overdue CD debut in 2005... but not in the UK. See below.

I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY NOW (Alternate) (3:15) EDSEL
What this site calls the "Rhino reissues" of Elvis' first 11 albums were actually released on the Edsel label in the UK. They were released more or less simultaneously with identical musical content — with one known exception. The solo version of "I Hope You're Happy Now" on Rhino's King of America bonus disc is, as intended, the performance released as a 1986 b-side. The Edsel release, however, contains a subtly different alternate version, notable for Elvis laughing as he sings the word "laughter." This appears to have been an error that was caught very late, as some pre-release promo copies of the Rhino version also have the alternate version.

Solo Demos
Red Bus, Apr. 15, 1985
Two months after the Sunset Sound session, Elvis recorded another batch of solo demos at London's Red Bus Recording Studios.

NEXT TIME ROUND (3:54) REALMS
BLUE CHAIR (2:59) REALMS
SHOES WITHOUT HEELS (3:26) REALMS
BRILLIANT MISTAKE (First Draft) (3:11) REALMS
SLEEP OF THE JUST (3:11) REALMS
Both "Brilliant Mistake" and "Sleep of the Just" have significantly different lyrics that had featured in early live performances, but only one bears the parenthetical "First Draft" title.

DEPORTEE (#1) (3:22) REALMS
The first Red Bus demo to be released was "Deportee" on the Ryko version of Goodbye Cruel World, a reworking of "The Deportees Club" from that album. (Christy Moore would cover the song in 1989 using this basic arrangement but retaining the original title.) Rhino did not include "Deportee" on its Goodbye Cruel World, but it did include a different version on its King of America. (See below.) King of America & Other Realms reverts to the Ryko version.

I'LL WEAR IT PROUDLY (#1) (3:23) RHINO
I'LL WEAR IT PROUDLY (#2) (3:25) REALMS
When the King of America & Other Realms track listing was announced, the previously unreleased tracks were marked with an asterisk, but there was no asterisk next to the "I'll Wear It Proudly" demo. Perhaps the compilers did not notice it was different from the version released by Rhino in 2005. They are extremely similar, but they can be distinguished by the first line of the second verse: Elvis sings "well, you seem to be shivering" on the Rhino version and omits the "well" on King of America & Other Realms.

Solo Demos
Ocean Way, July 21, 1985
The Ocean Way demos were recorded just before the King of America band sessions began. The officially released demos had previously appeared on the bootleg King of Americana.

HAVING IT ALL (3:53) RHINO REALMS
Elvis accompanies himself on piano for a song he wrote to be sung by actress Patsy Kensit in the film Absolute Beginners but went unused. The Rhino CD was the song's first ever official release, although it was played in concert several times between 1984 and 1986, featured in 1989's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Spike BBC TV special, and even revived for 1995's Meltdown festival. At one point it was expected to appear on Ryko's 1995 King of America reissue, but it failed to make the cut. Elvis writes in the Rhino notes, "I have held it back from release in the past, always imagining that I might re-record it." At the time of the Ryko reissue, he may have imagined re-recording it for use on All This Useless Beauty. The full performance on bootlegs includes a false start not on the official releases.

DEPORTEE (#2) (3:31) RHINO
The second version of "Deportee" is very similar to the first. One way to tell them apart is to listen to the phrase "yankee wife." On the Ocean Way version, Elvis' voice cracks on the word "yankee." On the Red Bus, it cracks on "wife."

END OF THE RAINBOW (3:25) RHINO
A different version of this Richard Thompson cover was previously released on the charity album The Anti-Heroin Project — It's a Live-In World.

JACK OF ALL PARADES (Solo Demo) (3:29) RHINO REALMS
While Rhino's track notes reveal the exact recording date and location for the other demos, this one has a less precise identification of "Hollywood (July 1985)." In the liner notes, Elvis says he has "no memory of recording" it. This is the same performance that previously appeared on the bootleg King of Americana and is notable for opening with some lyrics which ended up in "Suit Of Lights."

Live on Broadway, Oct. 23, 1986
THAT'S HOW YOU GOT KILLED BEFORE (3:13) RYKO RHINO
THE BIG LIGHT (3:08) RYKO RHINO
IT TEARS ME UP (3:26) RYKO RHINO
THE ONLY DADDY THAT'LL WALK THE LINE (2:42) RYKO RHINO
YOUR MIND IS ON VACATION / YOUR FUNERAL MY TRIAL (5:16) RYKO
THAT'S HOW YOU GOT KILLED BEFORE (REPRISE) (7:00) RYKO RHINO
TRUE LOVE WAYS (2:06) RHINO
Initial copies of Ryko's King of America included the bonus disc Live on Broadway, 1986, featuring six tracks from a New York concert by Elvis and the Confederates (James Burton, Jerry Scheff, Jim Keltner, T Bone Burnett, Mitchell Froom, T-Bone Wolk, Michael Blair, and Ralph Carney). Although notable for including some covers which had otherwise gone unrecorded by Elvis (Percy Sledge's "It Tears Me Up," Waylon Jennings' "The Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line," Mose Allison's "Your Mind Is on Vacation," and Sonny Boy Williamson's "Your Funeral My Trial"), the overall effect of reducing a 30-song concert to a six-song excerpt (with one song appearing in two versions!) created a somewhat underwhelming listening experience. Rhino's bonus disc added a seventh song, Buddy Holly's "True Love Ways." Despite Elvis' suggestion in the liner notes that it was performed as an encore (and its placement at the end of the bonus disc), it actually featured closer to the show's midway point. Rhino's presentation of the six original tracks differs somewhat from Ryko's. On the Ryko CD, the first "That's How You Got Killed Before" fades in just before Elvis starts to sing, while Rhino restores the complete instrumental intro, which lasts about 30 seconds. Rhino also adds some previously unheard stage patter prior to "It Tears Me Up" and "Your Mind Is on Vacation." However, there are two brief bits included on the Ryko but missing from the Rhino: some extra drum taps just before the second "That's How You Got Killed Before" begins and a shouted "goodnight" from Elvis as that song ends (the latter presumably omitted because "That's How You Got Killed Before" no longer closes the disc).

Kings of America
Live at the Royal Albert Hall 27th January 1987
THE BIG LIGHT (3:02) REALMS
THE ONLY DADDY THAT'LL WALK THE LINE (2:47) REALMS
OUR LITTLE ANGEL (4:28) REALMS
IT TEARS ME UP (3:24) REALMS
I'LL WEAR IT PROUDLY (4:38) REALMS
LOVABLE (2:53) REALMS
RIVERBOAT (4:05) REALMS
SALLY SUE BROWN / 36-22-36 (4:56) REALMS
AMERICAN WITHOUT TEARS (5:27) REALMS
BRILLIANT MISTAKE (4:05) REALMS
WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOU (3:35) REALMS
YOUR MIND IS ON VACATION / YOUR FUNERAL MY TRIAL (5:41) REALMS
POURING WATER ON A DROWNING MAN (4:24) REALMS
PAYDAY (2:52) REALMS
THAT'S HOW YOU GOT KILLED BEFORE (6:25) REALMS
SLEEP OF THE JUST (5:17) REALMS
TRUE LOVE WAYS (3:40) REALMS
King of America & Other Realms ignores the Live on Broadway, 1986 material in favor of a London concert three months later with a smaller lineup of Confederates: returnees James Burton, Jerry Scheff, Jim Keltner, and T-Bone Wolk, plus newcomer Benmont Tench. Like Live on Broadway, 1986, this is an excerpt from a much longer show (32 songs), but it is also a much longer excerpt.

INDOOR FIREWORKS (4:26) REALMS *2CD*
King of America & Other Realms was also released in a less expensive two-CD edition pairing the King of America remaster with a 12-track distillation of the other five CDs, plus one exclusive track from the Royal Albert Hall concert. If this was a cynical scheme to get fans to buy both sets, it may have been undermined by packaging and promotion that made no apparent effort to call attention to the exclusive, leaving many fans unaware of its existence.

NOT ON THE REISSUES (BUT OFFICIALLY RELEASED)

I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY NOW (Confederates Version) (2:59)
["I Want You" CD single included in Singles, Vol. 3]
The original 1986 vinyl single of "I Want You" featured a solo version of "I Hope You're Happy Now" on its B-side. However, the 2003 CD box set Singles, Volume 3 CD box set mistakenly included this previously unreleased (but bootlegged) band version in its place. This seems to be the version Elvis describes in the Ryko and Rhino liner notes as featuring Jim Keltner, Jerry Scheff, and Mitchell Froom, and coming from the same session which produced the album version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

END OF THE RAINBOW (3:16)
[The Anti-Heroin Project — It's a Live-In World album by various artists]
Elvis submitted a simple guitar/vocal recording for use on an anti-heroin charity album. However, by the time of its 1986 release, the original recording had been overdubbed (without Elvis' permission!) by producer Charley Foskett with a bass part and harmony vocal, which Elvis believes "utterly ruined" the song. Rhino sidestepped the issue of whether to include this song in its original or overdubbed state by including a different solo take. It is unclear when or where the charity version was recorded, but Elvis' liner notes suggest it predates the July 21 version featured on Rhino's bonus disc.

DON'T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD (Live, New York, Feb. 11, 1986) (3:17)
[A-side of promo-only 12-inch single; also on Singles, Vol. 3]
This solo live recording made a somewhat unexpected CD debut (arguably its first ever commercial release) on the "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" CD single included in the Singles, Volume 3 box.

DON'T GET ABOVE YOUR RAISING (Live, London, May 1985) with Ricky Skaggs (6:36)
[Live in London album by Ricky Skaggs]
Although technically a duet, Elvis' contribution to this track is fairly minor, and it is not surprising that it has yet to appear on a Costello album. Elvis appeared at Skaggs' London shows on both May 18 and 19, and it seems to remain undetermined which show this came from.

UNRELEASED & UNRECORDED

Solo Demos
AMERICAN WITHOUT TEARS (Demo) (3:56)
HAVING IT ALL (Alternate Demo) (3:47)
KING OF CONFIDENCE (Demo) (2:33)
INDOOR FIREWORKS (Alternate Demo) (3:47)
It is difficult to identify when and where the unreleased King of America demos were recorded with any certainty, but a couple of clues point to these coming from the February 14, 1985 session at Sunset Sound. Elvis wrote in the Ryko liner notes of recording "several increasingly incoherent takes" of "American Without Tears" and "Indoor Fireworks" at this session, but these are strong performances, as is "King of Confidence." "Having It All" is similar to its officially released counterpart but has Elvis banging a few high notes on the piano at the end. "Indoor Fireworks" is extremely close to the officially released demo recorded at the same session, with perhaps the most significant difference being that he sings "I swore our love was fireproof" on the released version and "I thought our love was fireproof" on the unreleased one.

OUR LITTLE ANGEL (Demo) (3:51)
The first of two circulating demos of "Our Little Angel" lacks the lyric flub in the alternate described below. It was likely recorded April 15, 1985 at Red Bus.

THE BIG LIGHT (Demo) (2:25)
OUR LITTLE ANGEL (Alternate Demo) (3:33)
SHOES WITHOUT HEELS (Alternate Demo #1) (3:25)
BRILLIANT MISTAKE (Alternate Demo) (3:25)
MY YOUNGEST SON CAME HOME TODAY (Demo) (3:00)
LOVABLE (Demo)
GLITTER GULCH (Demo) (3:35)
LITTLE PALACES (Demo) (2:27)
FEEL LIKE GOING HOME (Demo) (7:05)
RUNNING OUT OF FOOLS (Demo) (3:37)
SHE MOVED THROUGH THE FAIR (Demo) (3:26)
Fifteen King of America demos were bootlegged in 2001, first on the CDR set Oh Shit! The Elvis Costello Demos …and Other Rarities and shortly thereafter on the factory-pressed King of Americana. Four demos would be officially released in 2005 on Rhino's King of America, three identified as recorded July 21, 1985 at Ocean Way ("End of the Rainbow," "Having It All," and "Deportee") and one ("Jack of All Parades)" identified only as "recorded in Hollywood (July 1985)." The 11 demos still unreleased likely also date from this period. There are no real duds among these performances, but perhaps the most notable are two songs otherwise unrecorded by Elvis — Eric Bogle's "My Youngest Son Came Home Today" and Charlie Rich's "Feel Like Going Home." Unlike the official "first draft" version, this "Brilliant Mistake" has its final lyrics in place. In "Our Little Angel" Elvis seems to jumble the words "sweetheart" and "stranger" in the line "you'll come in a sweetheart and you'll go out a stranger" and sings what sounds like "straightheart."

SLEEP OF THE JUST (Alternate Demo) (2:57)
LITTLE PALACES (Alternate Demo) (2:16)
SHOES WITHOUT HEELS (Alternate Demo #2) (3:18)
There are few clues connecting these demos to any particular session, but "Sleep of the Just" must have been recorded later than its April Red Bus demo, since it now has its final lyrics. "Little Palaces" has a lyric variation ("pin-pricked pupils crying" rather than "mother's crying") that suggests it may predate the other demo listed above. The third available demo of "Shoes Without Heels" is not wildly different from the other two, but they can be differentiated by checking whether Elvis sings "drink until I drown" (versions 1 and 3) or "dream until I drown" (version 2) and "wretched men" (version 1) or "worthless men" (versions 2 and 3).

BRILLIANT MISTAKE (Alternate Version) (3:35)
BLUE CHAIR (Basic Take of Single Version) (3:34)
Disc 2 of King of Americana includes quite a lot of unreleased material from the King of America sessions, but the vast majority of it was never really suitable for the reissues. In addition to the band take on "I Hope You're Happy Now" (first heard on bootlegs but subsequently released on Singles, Volume 3), the most interesting tracks are a completely different band arrangement of "Brilliant Mistake" and the original version of "Blue Chair," which includes some different lyrics and was substantially reworked prior to its 1987 release as a single (available on Blood & Chocolate reissues). The rest of the bootlegged studio material has the album performances presented in an unfinished state. Some of the variations are interesting ("Suit of Lights" minus keyboard overdubs, "Jack of All Parades" without Steve Nieve's distinctive keyboard part and some production effects, "Lovable" without the organ and harmony vocal, "Eisenhower Blues" before Elvis redid his vocal, "Poisoned Rose" with some different vocals), but with plenty of more substantially different unreleased material available from this period, it is not surprising that these tracks remain unreleased. (As for the rest of  King of Americana, "Baby's Got a Brand New Hairdo," "Indoor Fireworks," and a second "Brilliant Mistake" seem to have only minor mixing variations, while "Our Little Angel," "The Big Light," "American Without Tears," "Glitter Gulch," "King of Confidence," "Shoes Without Heels," "I'll Wear It Proudly," and "Sleep of the Just" are seemingly identical to their officially released incarnations.)

LOVABLE (Alternate Version)
INDOOR FIREWORKS (Alternate Version)
The Ryko and Rhino liner notes mention initial attempts at these songs during the session which produced "Glitter Gulch" and "Shoes Without Heels" with James Burton, Jerry Scheff, and Ron Tutt backing Elvis. Since the album versions come from later sessions and feature some differences in the musicians and instrumentation (Scheff, Jim Keltner, and Mitchell Froom on "Lovable" and Burton, Scheff, and Froom on "Indoor Fireworks"), the alternates could be significantly different.

BRILLIANT MISTAKE (Attractions Version)
NEXT TIME ROUND (Alternate Attractions Version)
BLUE CHAIR (Alternate Attractions Version)
Elvis had originally planned to feature the Attractions on about half of King of America, but plans were scaled back when their sessions did not live up to his expectations. Only three songs from the Attractions sessions have surfaced: "Suit of Lights," "Baby's Got a Brand New Hairdo," and "Betrayal." How much else was actually recorded remains a mystery. In the Rhino liner notes, Elvis recalls recording "lacklustre versions" of "Next Time Round" and "Blue Chair," both of which they ultimately re-recorded for Blood & Chocolate. He also writes of wanting the album to open with an Attractions performance of "Brilliant Mistake," but it is less clear whether it made it past the rehearsal stage.

WHY DON'T WE TRY ANYMORE
Elvis played this song in concert a couple of times in 1985, explaining that he wrote it with John Doe of the band X. Elvis says he never recorded it himself, but a version by Doe's other band The Knitters eventually turned up on the 1999 album Poor Little Knitter on the Road: A Tribute to The Knitters,  and they re-recorded it for 2005's The Modern Sounds of The Knitters. Curiously, Doe is the only credited writer on these releases.

OTHER REALMS

The last three discs of the King of America & Other Realms box set focus on Elvis' 21st century work, with some rarities sprinkled among numerous tracks from albums like The Delivery Man, The River in Reverse, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, and National Ransom. This material will eventually be discussed on this website on pages devoted to those albums, but for the time being, a quick overview of the rarities and not-so-rarities will have to suffice.

HEART SHAPED BRUISE (Live at the Hi-Tone, Memphis) with Emmylou Harris (4:13)
The first of several tracks previously available on video but receiving their first audio-only release on King of America & Other Realms, this was recorded September 17, 2004 and released on the Club Date: Live in Memphis DVD in 2005 and the Blu-ray in 2006.

BEDLAM (Live at Montreal Jazz) (5:55)
CLOWN STRIKE (Live at Montreal Jazz) (4:08)
Recorded July 6, 2006, both songs appeared that year on the DVD Hot as a Pistol, Keen as a Blade.

IN ANOTHER ROOM (3:49)
This track was released in 2005 on the vinyl-only The Clarksdale Sessions and the two-CD deluxe edition of The Delivery Man with an uncredited snippet of "Tipitina" at the end. On both King of America & Other Realms and the obscure 2011 compilation Pomp & Pout: The Universal Years, the song fades just before that.

THE MONKEY (Rehearsal) with Dave Bartholomew & The Dirty Dozen Brass Band (3:10)
This rehearsal is previously unreleased, but the show they were rehearsing for — a multi-artist benefit concert held September 20, 2005 in New York — was released on the DVD From the Big Apple to the Big Easy: The Concert for New Orleans in 2006.

THE GREATEST LOVE (From Treme) with Allen Toussaint (3:30)
The video of this performance recorded for the HBO series was released as an iTunes download in 2010.

QUICK LIKE A FLASH The New Basement Tapes (3:11)
The New Basement Tapes — Elvis, Rhiannon Giddens, Taylor Goldsmith, Jim James, and Marcus Mumford — set previously unheard Bob Dylan lyrics from around 1967 to music and recorded them as a band for the 2014 album Lost on the River. That album includes a version of "Quick Like a Flash" sung by Jim James and set to his music, but this outtake is a very different setting written and sung by Elvis.

COMPLICATED SHADOWS (Cashbox Version) (2:26)
The "Complicated Shadows" demo first appeared on some copies of the 1996 "The Other End of the Telescope" CD single before appearing on Rhino's 2001 All This Useless Beauty.

SHE'S PULLING OUT THE PIN (3:24)
This track appeared on most editions of The Delivery Man, including the UK and Japanese CDs, the two-CD deluxe edition and the US vinyl, but it just barely qualifies as a rarity because it was absent from the original US CD.

CONDEMNED MAN (Demo) (4:07)
The previously unreleased demo was recorded April 1, 2009 at Vancouver's Armoury Studios. The finished "Condemned Man" is itself something of a rarity, appearing only on 2010's National Ransack EP.

RED WICKED WINE with Dr. Ralph Stanley (2:23)
Elvis shares the vocals on a track from Ralph Stanley's 2014's album Man of Constant Sorrow.

THE SCARLET TIDE (Live at the Grand Ole Opry) with Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings (5:06)
This February 18, 2006 performance of the closing song from The Delivery Man was broadcast on radio and television shortly after the event, but this is its first release on record.

FOR MORE TEARS (Demo) (4:00)
Elvis played this song live occasionally between 2011 and 2014, but this is its only release to date. It was recorded April 2009 at Armoury Studios.

CHURCH UNDERGROUND (Demo) (5:27)
The unreleased demo for the National Ransom track was recorded March 27, 2010 at Armoury Studios.

APRIL 5TH with Rosanne Cash & Kris Kristofferson (4:32)
Elvis, Rosanne Cash, and Kris Kristofferson recorded the song they named after its recording date in 2008. Its public debut was a two-minute excerpt accompanying a article written by Cash on the New York Times website. (The article is still available, but the sound clip is gone.) The full recording eventually turned up on Cash's SoundCloud in 2013 and Costello's Unfaithful Music & Soundtrack Album in 2015.

INDOOR FIREWORKS (Memphis Magnetic Version) (7:30)
One of only two songs on the second half of King of America & Other Realms with an obvious connection to the original King of America, this slowed down remake is an outtake from The Boy Named If (Alive at Memphis Magnetic), the companion album to The Boy Named If recorded by Elvis, the Imposters, and Charlie Sexton during tour rehearsals in October 2021 and February 2022 and released in November 2022. Elvis' essay accompanying Alive at Memphis Magnetic's release had mentioned "lighting 'Indoor Fireworks' with a different match and finding a minor mood in 'Brilliant Mistake' and filed them away for a future collection called King of America & Other Realms" when the box set was still two years away. (But see below for more on "Brilliant Mistake.")

THAT'S NOT THE PART OF HIM YOU'RE LEAVING with Larkin Poe (4:10)
Elvis had performed this National Ransom song regularly with Larkin Poe's Rebecca and Megan Lovell in their 2014-2016 concerts. This version was apparently recorded especially for this collection. The track was recorded during tour rehearsals with the Imposters and Charlie Sexton at Full Sail University (producer Sebastian Krys' alma mater) in early January 2024 with vocals added at The Lilypad Studio in Nashville later that month.

BRILLIANT MISTAKE / BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS (Cape Fear Version) (7:01)
Having hinted in 2022 that a Memphis Magnetic version of "Brilliant Mistake" was slated for this collection (see "Indoor Fireworks" above), Elvis ended up choosing a February 2, 2024 live performance with the Imposters and Charlie Sexton in Wilmington, North Carolina, instead. It might be mistaken for a studio recording since the quick fade just about hides the crowd noise at the end.

THAT DAY IS DONE with The Fairfield Four (5:09)
Recorded in Nashville in 1996 and released in 1997 on the Fairfield Four's album I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray, this track appeared on two previous Costello albums: 1999's The Very Best of Elvis Costello and Rhino's 2001 All This Useless Beauty.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Although few seem to have noticed, Ryko's 1995 King of America reissue (and its UK equivalent on the Demon label) mistakenly used an alternate mix of "Little Palaces" on the main album, lacking a bass overdub. All other releases of King of America have the correct mix.

Two tracks which originate from the King of America sessions — "Baby's Got a Brand New Hairdo" and the single version of "Blue Chair" — appear instead as Blood & Chocolate bonus material.

Elvis Costello Reissues

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