According
to a Hip-O
press
release, a concert from London's
Royal Albert Hall is planned as a future
release in
The
Costello Show series.
But
which
Royal Albert Hall concert? Not counting brief sets at benefit concerts
and guest spots at other
artists' shows, Elvis has performed there at least 17 times!
JANUARY 7, 1982
The most obvious candidate for official release is the one known to
have been recorded with an official release in mind: Elvis' first
Albert Hall appearance from
January
7, 1982. The 110-minute show
is
most notable for its second half, during which Elvis, the Attractions,
and
guitarist John McFee are joined for 14 songs by the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra. This was the first time Elvis had performed his music with
an orchestra. One song, "I'm Your Toy," was released as a single that
April and included as a bonus track on the Rykodisc and Rhino reissues
of
Almost Blue.
The rest have remained in the vault, although a soundboard recording
circulates unofficially. (Some copies are marred by static, but a
static-free version has circulated more widely in recent years.)
While it lacks the historic nature of the second half, the first half
of the show is a strong set in its
own right. Featuring McFee but not the orchestra, this portion
circulates only as a below average audience recording, so the sonic
upgrade of an official release would be especially welcome. That is
assuming, of course, that an official release would be a two-disc set
with the entire concert, since it is not difficult to imagine a
standalone release of the show's second half. Encouragingly, Hip-O has
consistently described The Costello Show series as featuring "complete
concerts."
It is worth noting that this concert was also filmed
professionally, although there is no evidence that plans for The
Costello Show series include DVDs.
Setlist:
EC/Attractions/McFee: Big Tears; Strict Time;
Secondary Modern; Green Shirt; Kid About It; Watch Your Step; Shabby
Doll; Almost Blue; Success; Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down; Colour Of
The Blues; How Much I Lied; The Long Honeymoon; Clowntime Is Over; Big
Sister's Clothes
EC/Attractions/McFee/Orchestra: Shot With His Own Gun;
Accidents Will Happen; Sweet Dreams; Just A Memory; Too Far Gone; I
Can't Stand Up For Falling Down; Watching The Detectives; New Lace
Sleeves; Brown To Blue; Town Cryer; Alison; Good Year For The Roses;
I'm Your Toy; (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
DECEMBER 1982
Elvis and the Attractions returned to the Albert Hall for two shows in
December 1982, this time with the Imperial Horns (the precursor to the
TKO Horns, with a slightly different lineup). Two songs —
"The
World And His Wife" and "Everyday I Write The Book" — from
the
epic 38-song performance from
December
24, 1982 were released on the
Rykodisc
Punch The
Clock.
However, the
fact they did not make the transition to the Rhino version, with Elvis
dismissing them as "lo-fi" in the Rhino liner notes, may not be a good
sign for an official release of the full show unless higher quality
tapes exist. (My view is that the real problem with the tracks on the
Ryko CD is that they run 3% too slow, and that is a problem that can
easily be fixed. The
fidelity is acceptable if not
exceptional.)
A second show
December
27 ran an even longer 40
songs,
but it is unclear whether it was
recorded professionally. Both shows include the original ballad version
of "Baby Pictures," a song which was drastically reworked for its
ill-fated studio version (eventually released on the Rhino
Punch The Clock).
December
24 setlist:
EC solo:
New Amsterdam; The World And His Wife
EC/Attractions:
Pidgin English; Hand In Hand; Green Shirt; Shabby Doll; Back
Stabbers/King Horse; ...And In Every Home; Watching The Detectives/Help
Me; Kid About It; Temptation; Mouth Almighty; From Head To Toe; Two
Steps From The Blues; Everyday I Write The Book; You Belong To Me; New
Lace Sleeves; Good Year For The Roses; Almost Blue; Alison; Beyond
Belief; Clubland; Imperial Bedroom; Shot With His Own Gun; Baby
Pictures; Big Tears; Shipbuilding; Oliver's Army; Big Sister's Clothes
EC/Attractions/Imperial
Horns: Possession; Secondary
Modern; High Fidelity; Town Cryer; Watch Your Step; Man Out Of Time;
Clowntime Is Over; I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down; Pump It Up
December
27 setlist:
EC
solo: New Amsterdam;
The
Comedians; The World
And His Wife
EC/Attractions:
Pidgin English; Hand In
Hand; Green Shirt;
Shabby Doll; Back Stabbers/King Horse; ...And In Every Home; Watching
The Detectives/Help Me; Kid About It; Temptation; From Head To Toe;
Mouth Almighty; The Long Honeymoon; Everyday I Write The Book; You
Belong To Me; New Lace Sleeves; Good Year For The Roses; Almost Blue;
Alison/Living A Little, Laughing A Little; Beyond Belief; Clubland;
Imperial Bedroom; Just A Memory; Baby Pictures; Shot With His Own Gun;
Big Tears; Big Sister's Clothes; Shipbuilding; Oliver's Army
EC/Attractions/Imperial
Horns: Possession; Secondary
Modern; High Fidelity; Town Cryer; Watch Your Step; Man Out Of Time;
Clowntime Is Over; I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down; Pump It Up
JANUARY 1987
Elvis next appeared at the Albert Hall for a six night run during the
Costello Sings Again tour in 1987. There were three nights with the
Attractions (
January
22, 23,
and 24),
then three with the Confederates
(
January
26,
27,
and 28). It is unknown
whether any of these shows were recorded
professionally.
While I would certainly welcome the release of any of these shows, I
doubt that one is planned for the
Royal
Albert Hall CD. If a
Confederates show from the Costello Sings
Again tour were to be released, the obvious choice would be the October
23, 1986 New York concert previously released in part on the Rykodisc
and Rhino versions of
King Of America.
And if, as
seems likely, the planned
Royalty
Theatre release features an
Attractions
concert from November 1986, another Attractions show from only two
months
later would risk being seen as redundant.
Granted, there is plenty of the variety between the November 1986 and
January 1987 setlists, and fear of redundancy
did not prevent
Hip-O from issuing concerts from February, March, and June of 1978 on
This Year's
Model: Deluxe Edition,
Live At The El
Mocambo,
and
Live At
Hollywood
High.
The January 1987 setlists can be found at the Elvis Costello Home Page:
1989-1994
Elvis played seven full-length concerts at the Royal Albert Hall during
his time with Warner Bros. Records: three solo shows in May and
June 1989 (only the
June
1 setlist is available online),
an October 11, 1992 appearance with the Brodsky Quartet (the setlist is
not available, but presumably they played
The Juliet Letters),
and three shows with the Attractions during the
Brutal Youth
tour in July 1994 (
July
5,
6,
and
7).
Since Hip-O's reissue program only covers Costello's 1977-1987 catalog,
these would appear to be off limits for The Costello Show series.
APRIL 15, 1999
Elvis' last headlining appearance at the Royal Albert Hall to date was
April
15, 1999, as part of the Lonely
World Tour with Steve Nieve. All indications are that Hip-O's reissue
program does not cover this period, but the fact that Elvis was under
contract to Hip-O's parent company at the time at least makes an
official release slightly
more likely than the 1989-1994 concerts mentioned above
.