September
30,
2011
Elvis Costello and the Attractions' complete performance from August
23, 1980 at the Heatwave Festival in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, is
available at Wolfgang's
Vault for free streaming or paid download (including in FLAC
format). Whether this release is authorized by Elvis Costello is
unclear.
A soundboard recording of this show has circulated for years. The
Wolfgang's Vault version is clearly the same basic recording, but it
seems to be from a lower generation tape, resulting in a noticeable
upgrade in sound quality over any version I have heard before. Overall
it's a first-rate recording of a first-rate performance. However, the
FLAC files are marred by one annoying flaw: a split-second of silence
at the end of each track, causing a "hiccup" sound at the track
changes when burned to CD. This is a relatively minor problem which
will go unnoticed by some listeners, and it can be fixed fairly easily
with audio editing software. Still, there is no excuse for the files
having this flaw in the first place.
Should you choose to purchase the show, use the code FABWV for 10%
off.
May
29,
2011
My Aim Is True
has just been released in Japan on the SACD
format. It has reportedly been mastered from the Japanese tape rather
than the UK original, which seems slightly incompatible with the goal
of presenting the album in the best possible quality. It can be
ordered from CD
Japan.
September
7,
2010
The My Aim Is
True page has been revised and updated throughout.
April
22,
2010
MusicTAP
reports that Hip-O will release the Costello compilation Pomp
&
Pout: The Universal Years
(presumably a "best of" covering the 1998-2008 albums) June 29. (This
has been pushed to 2011.)
March
26,
2010
Added Momofuku
to the Hypothetical Reissues
section.
March
20,
2010
Live
At Winterland, San Francisco has been canceled, according
to CD
Japan and HMV
Japan.
March
12,
2010
It looks like the reports that Live
At Winterland, San Francisco will be a Japanese exclusive are
true. According to a very reliable source, Live
At Winterland, San Francisco is not a Hip-O project. The next
titles planned in The Costello Show series
are the promised Live
At The Royal Albert Hall and Live
At The Royalty Theatre.
March
10,
2010
Well, this is unexpected. HMV
Japan, eil.com,
and Amazon Japan
indicate that Live At Winterland,
San Francisco will be released June
23 in Japan. This much-bootlegged concert comes from June 7,
1978, and, not surprisingly, covers similar territory to Live
At Hollywood High (recorded only three days earlier), Live
At The El Mocambo (March 6, 1978), and the Warner
Theatre concert on disc 2 of This
Year's Model: Deluxe Edition (February 28, 1978).
The set list:
- Mystery
Dance
- Lip
Service
- (The
Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
- Goon Squad
- Less Than
Zero
- Blame It
On Cain
- The Beat
- This
Year's Girl
- (I Don't
Want To Go To) Chelsea
- Pump It Up
- Radio,
Radio
- Lipstick
Vogue
- Watching
The Detectives
- Party Girl
- You Belong
To Me
- I'm Not
Angry
eil.com calls
this release a "Japanese exclusive limited edition." I imagine
we'll find out soon whether that is accurate.
While the Winterland concert is a good one, I know I am not alone in
wanting more variety in live releases. Live
At The Royal Albert Hall and Live
At The Royalty Theatre sound much more enticing than
yet another 1978 show.
January
12,
2010
Live At Hollywood
High is out Tuesday. The best price is $9.97 from Deep
Discount.
In a new interview with MSN,
Elvis has a somewhat negative take on recent reissues: "Well, as for
the reissues, I'm nominally involved, in that my name is on them, but
I really have nothing to do with it. And my honest opinion is that,
with these live albums, they've gotten off on the wrong foot. They're
doing too many records from the same time period and the same
repertoire. But it costs too much to produce them, so if they can
release something that's just lying around gathering dust, that's what
they will do."
(Thanks to Dave.)
December
13,
2009
Speculation about recently announced future installments in The
Costello Show series can be found on the new pages Live
At The Royal Albert Hall and Live
At The Royalty Theatre.
December
9,
2009
Billboard
says future releases in "The Costello Show" series will "include,
among others, concerts performed at the Royal Albert Hall and Royalty
Theater in London."
Costello has played the Royal Albert Hall many times. His first
appearance January
7,
1982 is probably the most likely candidate, as it is known to
have been professionally recorded with an official release in mind.
(Only "I'm Your Toy" has been released so far, originally as a 1982
single and later on the Rykodisc and Rhino versions of Almost
Blue.) Another possible Royal Albert Hall show is December
24,
1982, the source of the live versions of "The World And His
Wife" and "Everyday I Write The Book" on the Rykodisc Punch
The Clock).
Elvis played a string of six concerts at the Royalty Theatre in
November 1986. The November
23 show is the source of the bootleg CD This
Is Tomorrow.
December
8,
2009
CD
Universe has posted the track listing for Live
At Hollywood High.
Amazon
has the cover art, which is nearly identical to the original EP from
1979.
November
30,
2009
Live At Hollywood
High is now available for pre-order
on
Amazon
.
November
21,
2009
Direct
Current reports that the second volume of "The Costello Show," Live
At Hollywood High, will be released January
12.
September
29,
2009
Live At The El
Mocambo is out now and its page has been updated.
September
7,
2009
Added The River
In Reverse to the Hypothetical
Reissues section.
Added "Bedlam (Frankincense/Nashville Mix)" and "My Flame Burns Blue
(Studio Version)" to The
Delivery Man page.
August
18,
2009
A press release just out from Universal suggests that the Live
At The El Mocambo reissue will not include any bonus
material. On the bright side, it does reveal a future release in "The
Costello Show" (singular!) series: the Hollywood High concert from June
4,
1978. Nine songs from that show previously appeared on Rhino's Armed
Forces reissue.
The press release in full:
1978
Recording
Live at the El Mocambo Kicks Off The Costello Show Series of Live
Albums From Elvis Costello
SANTA MONICA,
Calif., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The first edition in The Costello
Show live performance series of complete concerts featuring Elvis
Costello finds one of the most eclectic and acclaimed artists at the
fiery start of his career. Live
At The El Mocambo (Hip-O/UMe), to be released September 29,
2009, marks Volume 1 of his Elvis
Costello - The Costello Show series of albums. During the
next year or so, The
Costello Show series will continue with the album releases
of significant classic Costello concerts including a performance at
Hollywood High in California and other shows to be announced.
Recorded March
6, 1978, at the sold-out El Mocambo in Toronto, Canada, and
broadcast live by CHUM-FM, this Elvis Costello and The Attractions
concert was released the same year on about 300-500 pressings of a
Canadian promotional album that became highly collectible--and
heavily bootlegged. In fact, it may have been the most bootlegged of
all Costello albums. The album was officially released in 1993 as a
bonus disc in the four-CD box set 2
1/2 Years, and was also made available to those who bought
the other three CDs separately.
At the time of
the concert, the band was touring North America in support of My
Aim Is True, Costello's 1977 debut disc, and just days
before the release of This
Year's Model, the first album with The Attractions:
keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete
Thomas. The raw, energetic live performance in the midst of the late
'70s punk/new wave movement captured a band and an artist at their
most impassioned. The concert included My
Aim Is True's "Watching The Detectives," "Less Than Zero"
(with new lyrics Costello penned for American listeners), "Mystery
Dance," "Waiting For The End Of The World," "Welcome To The Working
Week" and "Miracle Man," and This Year's Model's anthemic "Pump It
Up," "The Beat," "Lip Service," "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea"
(only on the original U.K. album), "Little Triggers," "Radio Radio"
(only on the U.S. edition), "Lipstick Vogue" and "You Belong To Me."
In 2003,
Costello was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the
following year was ranked by Rolling Stone among its 100 Greatest
Artists of All Time. Live
At The El Mocambo flashes back to a performance when Elvis
Costello was just beginning.
SOURCE
Universal Music Enterprises
August
17,
2009
It looks like that speculation about "The Costello Show" being the
name of a series of live releases was correct! To be precise, the name
is reportedly The Costello Shows.
Quoting MusicTAP: "Hip-O Records
has Volume 1 of an ongoing series — Elvis Costello: The Costello Shows
— arriving on September 29. Volume One will be Live
at the El Mocambo, a show recorded on March 6, 1978. The show
was a support show for Costello's debut, My Aim Is True, released in
1977. Over 2010 (and perhaps beyond), Hip-O will release the remaining
series collection."
That still leaves a key question unanswered: Will any bonus material
be included? I'm hoping for the encore segment with Elvis and the
Attractions backing Nick Lowe on four songs.
August
16,
2009
Very few details have surfaced about the Live
At The El Mocambo reissue. Amazon
has actually dropped the intriguing "On The Road 1" portion of the
title, with the CD now being called The
Costello Show: Live At The El Mocambo. Elvis used the
name "The Costello Show" on King Of
America in 1986, but why that name would be applied to a 1978
concert is anyone's guess. CD
Universe is still using the On
The Road 1 title.
One
possible explanation is that "The Costello Show" has replaced "On The
Road" as the name for a series of live releases, but it must be
stressed that there has never been any official confirmation that such
a series is even under consideration. The Elvis
Costello
Information Service reported in 2007 that the May
14,
1980 and October
17,
1983 London concerts would be released in 2008, but that
obviously didn't happen.
According to Pause
&
Play, Live At The El Mocambo
will be on the Hip-O Select label, which typically means a limited
edition release available on the Hip-O
Select
website before it's offered elsewhere.
Rhino is reissuing the long-out-of-print
Extreme Honey: The Very Best Of The
Warner Bros. Years
on September 22 along with single-disc reissues of Spike
and Mighty Like
A Rose
without bonus tracks. (I say
skip them and get the versions with bonus discs!)
August
9,
2009
Added North
to the Hypothetical Reissues section.
August
3,
2009
The Hypothetical Reissues section
receives a long overdue update with the addition of The
Delivery Man.
August
1,
2009
This site has a new home at InAnotherRoom.com. Update your bookmarks!
Amazon has just added a preorder
listing for a CD entitled Live
At The El Mocambo/On The Road 1, due September 29. I hope to
have more details about this release soon. Is the "On The Road 1"
portion of the title intended to suggest that "On The Road 2" and "On
The Road 3" (and 4 and 5...) will follow? I sure hope so. January
17, 2008
Details
have just surfaced for This Year's
Model: Deluxe Edition, coming March 4.
September
9, 2007
My Aim Is True:
Deluxe Edition hits US stores Tuesday. That page will
remain under construction for at least the next few days.
June
20,
2007
Billboard
has the big news about the upcoming 30th anniversary edition of My
Aim Is True
March
18,
2007
The Rock
And Roll Music compilation includes two unreleased
tracks: a demo version of "Welcome To The Working Week" and an
alternate of "Honey, Are You Straight Or Are You Blind?"
March
10,
2007
MusicTAP.net
reports the latest reissue series (via Universal's Hip-O imprint) will
kick off May 1 with the first
11 albums — My Aim Is True, This
Years Model, Armed Forces,
Get Happy!!, Trust,
Almost Blue, Imperial
Bedroom, Punch The Clock,
Goodbye Cruel World, King
Of America, and Blood &
Chocolate — plus two new compilations, Rock
And Roll Music and The
Best Of Elvis Costello The First 10 Years.
Although there are rumors of a newly expanded My
Aim Is True, it appears that for the most part the main
albums will be reissued without any
bonus tracks. More details will be posted here as they become
available.
August
2,
2006
Today Universal Music Enterprises, Elvis' current record label, issued
a press
release announcing the acquisition of Elvis' 1977-1987 catalog
and plans for "definitive reissues, box sets, live albums, multiple CD
sets, compilations for the company's highly successful branded series
and rarities discs as well as limited editions via the award-winning
Hip-O Select imprint. DVD collections of music videos and concert/TV
performances are also anticipated."
It is unclear whether the "definitive reissues" will be straight
reissues of the Rhino CDs or something else entirely. Hopefully
details will be coming soon.
March
15,
2006
The Juliet Letters
page has been updated throughout. It will almost certainly remain
"under construction" until at least March 21.
(Also, the Painted
From Memory page received a very minor update: the
addition of the "explicit version" of "Who Are These People?")
March
13,
2006
"Sweetest Punch" on the Elvis
Costello
Fan Forums points out that online retailers now show an April
24 UK release date for The
Juliet Letters. The US release date remains March
21.
February
2,
2006
Where can you find a basic list of all the previously released tracks
from 1977 to 1997 not included on the Rhino CDs? That's now answered
on the Frequently Asked Questions page.
(Will we see some of these tracks on an official "mop up" release from
Rhino? Or will it merely be a guide to create our own CD-Rs? I wish I
knew!)
January
31,
2006
The track listing for The
Juliet Letters bonus disc is revealed!
January
26,
2006
Rhino's reissue of The
Juliet
Letters is scheduled for March
20 in the UK and March 21
in the US. Details will be coming soon.
December
4,
2005
Added a page for When
I
Was Cruel to the Hypothetical
Reissues section. (And thanks to Larry C. for convincing me to
add a mention of "I Throw My Toys Around" to the Painted
From Memory page.)
November
3,
2005
As we wait for news about The
Juliet Letters (still scheduled for 2006), this site is
being expanded with a new section, The
Hypothetical Reissues. The idea is to catalog the non-album and
unreleased material since 1998, meaning after the period covered by
the Rhino reissues. So far there is just one album in this section,
but the plan is to add to it soon. Feedback
regarding this section would be particularly appreciated.
August
31,
2005
Now Billboard
is showing the old date of September
27 for the US release of The
Right Spectacle: The Very Best Of Elvis Costello — The Videos.
This should be the final date.
August
25,
2005
The good news: Both Amazon
and Deep
Discount
DVD now show the earlier September
20 US release date for The
Right Spectacle: The Very Best Of Elvis Costello — The Videos.
(Thanks to "snarling pup" at the Elvis
Costello
Fan Forums.)
The bad news: Rhino's reissue of The
Juliet Letters won't be out until 2006.
August
19,
2005
According to Amazon.com,
the US release date for The
Right Spectacle: The Very Best Of Elvis Costello — The Videos,
is now September 27. The UK
date remains September 5.
July
20,
2005
The Elvis Costello Home Page
shows a US release date of September
20 for The
Right Spectacle: The Very Best Of Elvis Costello — The Videos
(two weeks later than previously reported).
July
8,
2005
The DVD The
Right Spectacle: The Very Best Of Elvis Costello — The Videos
will (finally) be released September
5 by Demon in the UK and September
6 by Rhino in the US.
Rhino's expanded version of The
Juliet Letters is scheduled for release this fall.
Further details are not yet available.
May
28,
2005
Thanks to Phil D. for correcting an error on the King
Of America page. "Why Don't We Try Anymore," the song
Elvis co-wrote with John Doe, is not entirely unreleased, as it
appears in a version by The Knitters on the 1999 album Poor
Little Knitter On The Road: A Tribute To The Knitters.
Strangely, John Doe is the only credited writer, but it is the same
song Elvis did in concert in 1985.
May
22,
2005
Today's New
York
Times has an interesting article about the Rhino reissues
(including a reference to this website!).
The Jewish
Journal features a profile of reissue co-producer Gary Stewart.
(The Costello content is minimal.)
April
8,
2005 (second update)
Added a mention of the alternate mix of "Little Palaces," which few
people seem to have noticed was mistakenly used on the 1995 King
Of America reissue.
April
8,
2005
Major "construction" on the King
Of America page is pretty much finished.
March
26,
2005
Although it should be considered "under construction" for the next
month or so, the King
Of
America page has been updated throughout.
101cd.com
reports that a limited-edition 7-inch vinyl single featuring
"Brilliant Mistake" and "True Love Ways" from the King
Of America reissue will be released April 18. It is
reportedly limited to 2,000 copies. (This may be a UK-only release.)
March
19,
2005
The UK release date for the King
Of America reissue is April
25.
February
22,
2005
ICE
magazine has spilled the beans about the King
Of America reissue, due April
26 in the US. (The article is in ICE's
March issue but not on the magazine's website. The text can be found
at CostelloNews.com.)
The track listing for the bonus disc, according to ICE:
"Having It All," "Suffering Face," "Deportee," "Indoor Fireworks," "I
Hope You're Happy Now," "Poisoned Rose," "I'll Wear It Proudly," "Jack
of All Parades," "The People's Limousine," "They'll Never Take Her
Love From Me," "King of Confidence," "Shoes Without Heels," "End of
the Rainbow," "Betrayal," "That's How You Got Killed Before," "The Big
Light," "It Tears Me Up," "The Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line,"
"Your Mind is on Vacation/Your Funeral My Trial," "That's How You Got
Killed Before (Reprise)," and "True Love Ways."
Unlike past reissues, which grouped Costello albums into threes, King
Of America will be a stand-alone release.
Additional details can be found on the King
Of America page.
February 14, 2005
In the tour program available at his recent UK shows, Elvis provides a
teaser for the upcoming King
Of America reissue. He promises "a definitive edition
including a number of previously unreleased outtakes and highlights
from an 'Elvis Costello and His Confederates' concert at the Broadway
Theatre, New York City. Once again, I have tried to write accompanying
notes that may interest those who enjoy this record."
January
25,
2005
The only real news is bad news: The UK release of The
Right Spectacle: The Very Best Of Elvis Costello — The Videos
has been delayed due to unspecified "legal reasons." Although there
has been no official confirmation, this is expected to delay the US
release as well. (Since Rhino never really publicized the US release
in the first place, there is little reason for them to call attention
to a delay.)
As for future CD reissues, no new details have surfaced. I'd love to
be wrong, but I suspect the next release is still several months away.
November
17,
2004
The DVD The Right Spectacle: The
Very Best Of Elvis Costello — The Videos will be released
January 17, 2005 by Demon in the UK and February 15, 2005 by Rhino in
the US. Play.com has a detailed
listing of what's included. (Note that Play.com is selling the
UK version, which will not work on most US and Canadian DVD players.)
The King Of
America and The
Juliet Letters reissues are expected in 2005, but a
more precise release date is not yet available. The previously
reported date of February 2005 seems extremely unlikely.
September
5, 2004
Site updates: Confirmed that the version of "I Just Don't Know What To
Do With Myself" on The Love Songs Of
Burt Bacharach is not
a unique mix. (See the My
Aim Is True page.) Added "That's What Friends Are For
(demo)" to the Armed
Forces page. Added several demos ("I'll Wear It
Proudly," "Sleep Of The Just," "Blue Chair," "Next Time Round," and
"King Of Confidence") to the King
Of America page. Corrected a point regarding "Pills And
Soap (extended version)" on the Punch
The Clock page.
August 8,
2004
It appears the UK release of Kojak
Variety will actually happen August 16.
August 3,
2004
The expanded editions of Almost
Blue, Goodbye
Cruel World, and Kojak
Variety are in stores now.
August 1,
2004
Added a few more details to the Almost
Blue, Goodbye
Cruel World, and Kojak
Variety pages, most notably concerning "Darling, You
Know I Wouldn't Lie" and the live "Sittin' And Thinkin'" on Almost
Blue and "Strange" and "Leave My Kitten Alone" on Kojak
Variety. Finally added a long overdue comparison of the
various mixes of "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" to the My
Aim Is True page, which also now has a new quote from
Dave Robinson about some early Costello recordings.
July 22,
2004
The new issue of ICE magazine confirms that "Deportee," the missing Goodbye
Cruel World bonus track, will be on King
Of America instead.
July 16,
2004
Added two new sections: one for Edsel Records'
Singles box sets and
another for The Unreissues. Also, "You
Want Her Too" has been added to the Spike
page by popular demand.
July 15,
2004 (second update)
The Kojak Variety
page has been updated as well.
July 15,
2004
The Goodbye Cruel
World page has been updated throughout. I also
corrected an error regarding "The Town Where Time Stood Still" in my review
of the new bonus discs.
July
14, 2004 (third update)
A few extremely nitpicky observations about the difference between
Rhino and Ryko's presentation of the live tracks from Aberdeen on Almost
Blue have been added to that page.
July
14, 2004 (second update)
The Almost Blue
page has been updated throughout. The other two will follow within the
next day or two.
You can now read my gushing review of all
three of the new bonus discs. (This review was originally posted to
the costello-l
listserv.)
July 14,
2004
The UK release date for Kojak
Variety is August 2. Stay tuned for a more extensive
update in the near future.
June
17, 2004
It looks like the July 20 release date was short-lived, as Billboard
is now reporting a US release date of August
3.
June
15, 2004
Finally! The track listings are
revealed!
June
14, 2004
The long wait is nearing an end. It now looks like Almost
Blue, Goodbye
Cruel World, and Kojak
Variety will be released in the US July 20. (Yes,
earlier than previously reported! Let's hope that date sticks.)
In the UK, where the reissues are divided between two separate
companies, Edsel's versions of Almost
Blue and Goodbye
Cruel World are scheduled for July 26. The UK date for
Rhino's Kojak
Variety has not yet been revealed, although it should
be at roughly the same time.
March 31,
2004
The Elvis Costello Home Page
reports that Almost
Blue, Goodbye
Cruel
World, and Kojak
Variety are now scheduled for an August 17 release
date.
March
30, 2004
Although Rhino has not announced a new release date for the next set
of reissues (Almost
Blue,
Goodbye
Cruel World, and Kojak
Variety), it is clear that the previously announced
April date is not going to happen. Bonus disc details have not been
finalized, but Kojak
Variety is reportedly scheduled to include all of the
demos Elvis recorded for George Jones in 1992.
The Elvis Costello Home Page
reported earlier this month that the set of reissues after
the next one will be King
Of America,
The
Juliet Letters (apparently incorporating The
Gwendolen Letters as bonus material), and Taking
Liberties in February 2005. Since the date is so far in
advance, that should probably be considered a tentative plan.
Site updates:
Added a mention of solo demos for "Radio Sweetheart," "Living In
Paradise," and "Radio Soul" to the My
Aim Is True page. Also
added a mention of the "Wave A White Flag" guitar intro which can be
found on the Rhino My
Aim Is True but not the Ryko. Moved "Living A Little,
Laughing A Little" (originally on the King
Of America page) to the more chronologically
appropriate Goodbye
Cruel World page.
January
28, 2004
Site updates: Moved "May 17th" (originally on the Brutal
Youth page) to the Mighty
Like A Rose page and explained why. Added unreleased
Flip City songs (all information taken from the
Flip City website) to the My
Aim Is True page. Added a mention of the unfinished
song "World Without End" to the Goodbye
Cruel
World page. Added a disclaimer about two songs which
probably weren't
recorded during the Get
Happy!!
sessions, "Slow Down" and "First I Look At The Purse." Added a mention
of the cover sticker to the "Price Of Love" entry on the This
Years Model page.
Added recording dates for "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself"
and "Less Than Zero (Dallas version)" to the My
Aim Is True page (which should have been there all
along!).
December
23, 2003
Billboard.com has confirmed what
was previously rumored: The next set of reissues will be Almost
Blue, Goodbye
Cruel
World, and Kojak
Variety. (The
previous lineup included King
Of America instead
of Goodbye
Cruel
World.) They are
currently scheduled for release in April
2004.
Site updates: "Mighty Man (home demo)" and "True Love (home demo)"
have been added to the Get
Happy!! page. A mention of an "Instant Karma!" jam has
been added to the listing for "The Bridge I Burned (with 'Pop Life'
quotes)" on the All
This Useless Beauty page.
December
10, 2003
This website is launched!