What does it sound like?:
By 1986, many Costello fans were confused. Where was the spittle-flecked, forehead-beaded ball of fury of This Year’s Model and Armed Forces? On Kings Of America, he is gazing cautiously through new facial hair and wire spectacles, with a crown on his head. His name has changed to The Costello Show or The Little Hands of Concrete when he plays guitar. The songs are credited to Declan MacManus but Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus co-produced, the Aloysius appearing from nowhere. The Attractions, who had done so much to sharpen his music into a frenzy, are restricted to one song out of fifteen tracks on an album just shy of an hour long. A casual observer might think Costello was suffering an existential crisis. He was concluding a divorce, had fallen out with his band, was in a chaotic relationship with Cait O’Riordan, and had ‘retired’ after his previous album flopped. Musically, the enfant terrible of New Wave was unrecognisable, even so soon after a detour into Country Music, a shot at Pure Pop and an ill-judged effort at over production as art. Many of his post Punk fans may not have been able to name it, but *this* is Americana, and they turned their nose up at it. Slick Yankee Confederates had tamed him into simplified songs, acoustic string instruments, brushes for drumsticks, a cool standup bass and a warm snug of a production.
King Of America is the sound of Elvis Costello growing up. It’s full of melody. The lyrics are more direct but remain clever, witty and literate. His singing is superb, possibly the best of his career. He is emotionally invested in these songs. Dropping the smart-alex sneer helps them carry more weight. As time goes by, the musicianship suits the ear more, little details revealing themselves. When the likes of T-Bone Burnett, Jim Keltner, Mitchell Froom and members of Elvis Presley’s TCB band are involved, the result is bound to ooze class. It is an album of inner turmoil, presented in best bib and tucker. It was a lot to digest in 1986, and quickly superseded by its caustic follow-up the same year, Blood & Chocolate. It was easy to move on, but, if you kept coming back, you would find a lot to cherish in King Of America. It is now one of the fans’ firm favourites.
This box is a third upgrade. It was expanded by eleven tracks on Rykodisc in 1995, then a further ten on Rhino in 2005. The big box consists of six CDs, a format forcibly rejected for the recent Armed Forces reissue. The alternative cover photo is disconcerting, the original close headshot panned back to reveal an embroidered denim jacket and a quizzical look, and the Americanised font is garish. There is a 57 page booklet, 35 of which are taken up by a rambling Costello essay that is less pithy than his notes on previous reissues. Disc one is a remaster from the original tapes that sounds like a remix. The clarity is remarkable, really bringing out the Country sounds. Disc two, subtitled in French, King Without Clogs, is seventeen outtakes and extras, including a couple of Coward Brothers tracks, Costello and Burnett, and six previously unreleased demos recorded at Red Bus Studios in London before the move to Los Angeles. One song after another, performed raw, Costello accompanying himself with basic strumming, hang heavy in the air. Its a harrowing but valuable experience. A Royal Albert Hall concert with The Confederates from 1987 fills disc three, or, at least, half of it does. The band is excellent and Costello is on top form. The box could easily accommodate the other half, even if it means another disc.
So far, so standard but, then, things stray into other realms for the last three discs. None of it has anything to do with Kings Of America or Costello in 1986. The logic seems to be that it is a selection of 48 songs recorded in America or with Americans; a mixture of demos, live tracks and studio recordings. Only seven are previously unreleased but three are new recordings of old songs. It’s like a supplementary compilation, curated by the man himself, demonstrating that, despite his genre-hopping, his true love remains Americana. There is no doubting the quality of music on display but, as all of them are post Blood & Chocolate, they are effectively deep cuts. The live tracks with the likes of Allen Toussaint, Emmylou Harris, Roseanne Cash and Gillian Welch are actually good fun and, as a whole, it’s a pleasurable romp through an aspect of his later work.
Nevertheless, the last three discs are an indulgence that will have doubled the price and unbalanced the box. Completists will have almost all of it and feel aggrieved they have to fork out for the whole lot to obtain disc three, and, maybe close to a dozen other tracks. Enthusiasts might enjoy discs four to six, but they are unlikely to persuade them into a purchase when it is discs one to three where their real interest lies. The bonus disc of the slimmed down two CD set is a poor summary. Either the entirety of disc two or three would have been a better bet. The single vinyl is worth considering because the remaster is very different.
King Of America is probably Elvis Costello’s most personal and heartfelt album and one of his very best. It certainly deserves the lavish box set treatment. And Other Realms is peculiar and eccentric but has a lot to commend it.
What does it all *mean*?
The Costello reissue programme continues on its contrary and chaotic way. Who knows what Blood & Chocolate will bring?
Goes well with…
Kit that can cope with multiple formats. It’s great to see CD making a comeback but it might be Blu-Ray only next time.
Release Date:
1st November 2024
Might suit people who like…
Untidy shelves. The boxes don’t fit together well. This one isn’t even 12″x12″, it’s 12″x11.5″.
Elvis Costello and The Confederates – Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line (live)
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=w2a0DXVGxtA&feature=shared
Probably my favourite Elvis Costello album and so this is a probable purchase.
However, it does leave me with a major dilemma – how to file digitally ? For reissues / boxsets / etc I would usually tag and file with the date of the original album release – in this case 1986. But with the ‘compilation’ nature of the last three discs, should I file as 2024 ?
A fair review I took delivery of my copy on Wednesday and have only so far played disc two. It is my favourite Costello album by far and if I had to name my top 10 Costello songs 5 of them would be from this album.
I am not sure about adding songs from National Ransom. Look now and Secret profane and the Sugarcane.
When the album was announced I was really hoping he would include the star studded charity concert from Austin of 2 years ago. No such luck but maybe for another time.
In the meantime there is a new Coward brothers album in a couple of weeks.
Thanks for the overview. Motley live tracks from disparate decades don’t have me scouring about for the dosh to replace my Rhino 2005 set. Indeed, that and the similarly expanded Almost Blue are possibly my 2 favourites of the SHM, if a soft spot still for My Aim and the early cassette compilation 10 Hail Marys etc.
Bought this on CD a couple of times and recently on vinyl, so I can’t seem me getting this – especially not given the rather ramshackle way the set seems to have been thrown together.
Bit down on EC at the moment. Having bought a ticket to see him and Steve N on one of their four nights in Dublin during their recent songbook tour, was pissed off to find that EC had decided to do the concert with the Brodsky Quartet instead. Relegated to the back of the stage for all bar a couple of numbers in the second half of the show, poor old SN barely got a look in.
EC’s habit of barreling his way to the front of the stage and showing his arms wide to acknowledge the audience’s approbation for his genius every two or three songs also began to grate as the evening wore on.
While have no problem with acts playing what songs they want how they want, would not have wasted time and money seeing EC with the fucking Brodsky Quartet, And certainly not when I could have gone to see Nick Lowe across town a couple of nights earlier
@Jaygee it is rare for me to stick the boot in on Costello but I too would have been pissed off with having to endure ‘the fucking Brodsky quartet’. Saw them with him once and it was shite but then I do not like the Juliet Letters.
Thankfully I saw him with Steve in Wolverhampton on this tour and he was superb.
The second non Brodsky Quartet show in Dublin had a superb setlist – shame you wasn’t at that one.
Not bothered about the arms wide stance – seems like an affectation more than arrogance. I thought he was quite expansive on this tour and amusing too.
Hmmm. Fan of his early singles but then lost interest. Last song of his I liked was ‘Veronica.’ The phrase “full of melody” has piqued my interest however.
I remember the NME publishing a coruscating review of the lead-off single, ‘Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’, suggesting it showed he was bereft of ideas, his voice was shot, and basically that his career was fucked.
Oh, how we laughed a month later…
NME, innit?
I’ve read before, and again just now in the album’s Wiki page, that the cover was at the behest of the label who didn’t hear any obvious singles on the album. Like others I would put KoA at the very top of my list of Elvis Costello but don’t am happy to stick with my 2 disc version, and I can’t remember the last time I played the second disc of that.
Happy with the 2 disc set I have, this seems to be a ludicrous effort. He doesn’t mean as much to me as he did back then either. Saw a show on the tour in Cardiff which was great, but an Attractions gig in Liverpool a year or so later was superior (almost 3 hours long). I like the album, but it is overlong
Try skipping Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood and Suit Of Lights. Knocks it down to 50 minutes.
😉
Or not and enjoy both those tracks. (well, it isn’t the worst (OL)PDLMBM version in the world, even if he was trial running the voice he has now.)
A and B of stand alone single?
I could probably lose Glitter Gulch and Eisenhower Blues
Me too @dai – certainly wouldn’t lose Suit of lights and Misunderstood is a very good cover.
Incidentally he wasn’t trial running his current voice when this was recorded – he had a sore throat but they decided to keep it. Glad they did.
Incidentally, I know that. 😉
If Tom Waits had done Misunderstood, there would be no flack. EC places it in a similar mould … “it’s not very good is it”.
Critics eh
Given that he sold his catalog a couple of years ago, then I guess his label is free to come up with ideas like this one. From their perspective it’s a way of drawing attention to those later releases like National Ransom, at the time when his appeal had become more selective and even some fans might have missed those albums.
The cover gives me hives though. What’s going on with that picture? Is it real? That lettering too. Ugh.
Seems to be competing with Van Morrison for naff covers.
Van the Clip Art Man