Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 328 - Elvis Costello

Girls Girls Girls - Elvis Costello

Demon

Released 1989

UK Chart #67

Album Notes

This compilation was released in three formats: Double Vinyl Album, 2CD and Double Cassette. All three had different tracklistings and the amount of songs. I have included all the songs above in the playlist. Each format also had songs that were exclusive to it:

Double Vinyl - 31 Tracks

2 Songs Exclusive to it:

I'll Wear It Proudly

Stranger In The House 

2CD Tracklisting

2CD - 47 Tracks

9 Songs Exclusive to it:

Uncomplicated

Black and White World

Big Sister's Clothes

Motel Matches

Tiny Steps

Love Field

Possession

Sunday's Best

Less Than Zero

Double Cassette Cover

Double Cassette - 51 Tracks

15 Songs Exclusive to it:

Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?

Girls Talk

Poor Napoleon

Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head

Turning the Town Red

Sleep of the Just

Our Little Angel

The Long Honeymoon

Crimes of Paris

Jack of All Parades

Little Palaces

Night Rally

American Without Tears

Suit of Lights

Clowntime is Over

***********************

(Elvis Costello in Derry 2013. Photo from The Belfast Telegraph)

I appear to have more than a few compilations of Elvis Costello and I thought today's choice I'd go for the 1989 offering Girls Girls Girls. I actually still have this on vinyl despite not having a record player these days and managed to keep in pretty good condition as well.

One of the things I really love about this particular album is that Elvis Costello chose all the songs for it, he laid out the order he wanted them in (not chronological by any means) and he also wrote extensive liner notes for the album. It's absolutely nothing like a conventional "Best Of" and I think that's why I find it a charming album because you get such a wide range of styles and you come to grasp just how good he was/is as a songwriter. Like he says below, a lot of credit goes to The Attractions "without whom this would be a blank record".

The thing I was not particularly keen on with regard to it was the fact that the three different formats it was released in had very different tracklistings. So if you wanted all the songs you would have had to have purchased it three times!

Now, if I was one of those crazy dudes who feels they must own every release (including those from other countries), in every format, every coloured vinyl, or different coloured sleeve etc I probably would have indulged myself and splashed out on all three but as I am not like that at all (with any artist that I enjoy!) I stuck with the Vinyl Edition and although unable to play it to my heart's content these days I am happy to know that I have pretty much all the tracks scattered throughout the extensive discography that I own of Declan P. MacManus, his Attractions and pretty much most of the other guises that he has released under.

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

The Soundtrack4Life Concert Series: Elvis Costello

I think it's about time to unleash some Elvis Costello live footage on The Soundtrack4Life Concert Series. I honestly thought I had posted at least one concert of his as part of this series but it seems not.

Let us rectify that with not one but two Elvis Costello shows, the first from 1978 featuring The Attractions. This was filmed in Germany as part of the Rockpalast Series for German TV.

The second is pretty much an acoustic performance from Woodstock 99. It's interesting seeing the difference between the two and how much confidence Costello has mustered over the course of 21 years!

 Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Rockpalast
15th June 1978
 

Elvis Costello
Woodstock 99 East Stage
25th July 1999
 

Setlist:
Pads, Paws And Claws/Mystery Dance
Accidents Will Happen
(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea
New Amsterdam / You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
Veronica
Everyday I Write the Book
I'll Never Fall In Love Again
(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
Radio Sweetheart / Jackie Wilson Said
God's Comic
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding
Alison
Pump It Up

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 204 - Elvis Costello

My Aim is True - Elvis Costello

Stiff Records

Produced by Nick Lowe

Released 22nd July 1977

UK Album Chart #14

US Album Chart #32

Original Tracklist
Side One
    "Welcome to the Working Week" – 1:22
    "Miracle Man" – 3:31
    "No Dancing" – 2:39
    "Blame It on Cain" – 2:49
    "Alison" – 2:54
    "Sneaky Feelings" – 2:09

Side Two
    "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" – 2:47
    "Less Than Zero" – 3:15
    "Mystery Dance" – 1:38
    "Pay It Back" – 2:33
    "I'm Not Angry" – 2:57
    "Waiting for the End of the World" – 3:22

"Watching the Detectives", released in the UK as a single in October 1977, was not on the original UK release of the album, but was added to the US release as the last track on Side One. On the version above it is placed at the end of the album.

Singles on My Aim is True

Less Than Zero / Radio Sweetheart
Released: 25thMarch 1977

Stiff (BUY 11)

Did Not Chart

Alison / Welcome To The Working Week
Released: 27th May 1977

Stiff (BUY 14)

Did Not Chart

(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes / Mystery Dance
Released: 29th July 1977

Stiff (BUY 15)

Did Not Chart

*****************************

Between 1974-1976 D.P. Costello (as he was known then) was living in London and had formed a band called Flip City (you can hear some of the early demos they recorded by Clicking Here). Some of the songs he was performing with them went through a process of re-writing and became the songs that he would perform as he came to make his debut album My Aim is True. The song Radio Soul which was recorded in 1975 at the Attic Studio at the Hope and Anchor Pub in Islington would later be transformed to become Radio Radio.

Not totally sure when Flip City packed it in but by 1976 Costello was looking for a possible solo deal. At the time when he was working as a Data Entry Clerk for the Midland Bank he plucked up the courage to pass on a demo tape of some of his songs to the newly formed Stiff Records and on the basis of that tape they signed him. It was Jake Rivera who had suggested dropping the D.P. and adding Elvis to his name.

Stiff Records had originally want Costello as a songwriter for Dave Edmunds but the Welsh rocker seemed to be unwilling to be involved and even a demo of some songs recorded with Nick Lowe producing didn't move him. I'm not 100% sure if those demos are known as The Pathway Demos that were laid down in January 1977 (though I think maybe not as I'm sure that the backing band was used on those recordings whereas these Pathway demos are just Costello on guitar). Whatever the case, whilst maybe not appealing to Edmunds the songs were very appealing to Rivera and those at Stiff Records.

The first suggestion had been to record a Split Debut with labelmate Wreckless Eric but Costello had plenty of songs to be able to fill an album on his own. He had called in sick at work in order to rehearse with the band Clover who would be recording with him. The album would be recorded over six four hour sessions costing about £1,000.

Personnel
Elvis Costello – vocals, guitar, piano and drumsticks on "Mystery Dance"
John McFee – lead guitar, pedal steel guitar, backing vocals
Sean Hopper – piano, organ, backing vocals
Johnny Ciambotti – bass, backing vocals
Mickey Shine – drums
Stan Shaw – organ on "Less Than Zero"
Nick Lowe – backing vocals, piano, drumsticks and bass on "Mystery Dance"

A quick word should maybe said about Clover, who were the backing band on the album (this was before the formation of The Attractions). The band were a  Country Rock outfit from California and had been on the go since 1967. By the time they had come to work with Costello they had recorded and released four albums and a bucket load of singles (you can listen to their 1976 album Unavailable by Clicking Here). They supported Thin Lizzy on tour during the 1970s. They disbanded in 1978 and returned to the USA. Sean Hopper and Huey Lewis were instrumental in forming Huey Lewis and the News. McFee joined Southern Pacific and then the Doobie Brothers. Johnny Ciambotti had played on sessions with Lucinda Williams, John Prine and Carlene Carter before becoming a Doctor serving as a Chiropractor in Toluca Lake, Calfornia (he passed away in 2010).

One last thing regarding Clover. In November 2007 Costello reunited with members of Clover to perform some songs from My Aim is True (you can watch some of it by Clicking Here). This was the first and only time to date that the original ensemble who had recorded them got to play them live together. This is absolutely fascinating to watch so please take the time to do so, you won't be disappointed.

Costello had remained at his job with the release of the first two singles and then quit his job becoming a professional musician. Stiff Records matched his office wages and gave him and advance of £150, an amp and a tape recorder. Within three weeks of the release of the album he was on the front pages of the music press! He described this situation as being "an overnight success after seven years".

It's a great debut album loaded with some tasty tunes, magnificent Cover Art designed by Barney Bubbles that cheekily declared "Elvis is King" all over the black and white checks and the picture is so iconic. He looks anything but a rocker, more a Science Teacher pretending to be a Pop star in front of his bedroom mirror. The old maxim of don't judge a book by looking at its cover rings true because it was the songs that blew everything up. With the crazy rocking tunes like album opener Welcome to the Working Week to the sensitive Alison, you just knew that Costello was bound for stardom.

The release of the single (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes somehow or another got him on Top of the Pops, this was most unusal as the single did not actually chart. He performed with his Musician's Union Card in his top pocket just incase someone asked him if he should actually be on the show!

With the release of Watching the Detectives single Elvis Costello would become a household name and since My Aim is True he has gone on to release another 29 studio albums (11 of them Top 10 in the UK), 6 live albums, and 62 singles (37 of which have charted in the UK). There at least 16 official Compilations of the music of Elvis Costello.

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

Rewind: 1989 Spike - Elvis Costello

The 12th Studio album by Elvis Costello and his first for his new label Warner Bros. was entitled Spike or Spike - The Beloved Entertainer (according to Mr C himself).

I don't know what got me thinking about this album today. When I looked it up I noticed that it was a February release way back in 1989 and so seeing it's February maybe it's a good time to share it.

I was happy to see on You Tube that the BBC programme 'Everything About Spike' had been uploaded. I vaugely remember the show when it was broadcast but it was brilliant and insightful to watch again after all these years. Some great performances by EC are included amid the interview and Let Him Dangle and Tramp The Dirt Down are particularly powerful.

Recorded over the space of a year in four different studios with four different collections of musicians it contains some of Costello's finest songwriting I think. 'God's Comic' in particular is brilliant and 'Veronica', a co-write with Paul McCartney is very powerful dealing with the issue of Alzhiemer's inspired in part by his own Grandmother. 'Tramp The Dirt Down' is probably the most famous song on the album, mainly due to the subject matter - Thatcher!

 Spike - Elvis Costello

Warner Bros

Produced by Elvis Costello, Kevin Killen and T-Bone Burnett

Released 6th February 1989

UK Chart #5

US Chart #32

 01.  "...This Town..."
 02.   "Let Him Dangle"
  03. "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror"
    04. "Veronica" (Costello, Paul McCartney)
    05. "God's Comic"
    06. "Chewing Gum"
    07. "Tramp the Dirt Down"
    08. "Stalin Malone"
   09. "Satellite"
    10."Pads, Paws and Claws" (Costello, McCartney) - Could only find the Demo version or live versions so included the Demo here.
    11."Baby Plays Around" (Costello, Cait O'Riordan)
    12. "Miss Macbeth" - included Demo version as I can't find studio version.
    13. "Any King's Shilling" - included a live version here as I can't find the studio version.
    14. "Coal-Train Robberies" - Included the Demo version as I can't find the studio version.
    15. "Last Boat Leaving" - Live version included as I can't find the studio version.

 Personnel
    Elvis Costello – vocals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, piano, bells, acoustic bass guitar, organ, melodica
    T-Bone Burnett – acoustic guitar, bass, national steel guitar
    Cait O'Riordan – maracas, bells

Dublin
    Derek Bell – Irish harp, hammered dulcimer
    Frankie Gavin – fiddle
    Dónal Lunny – acoustic guitar, bouzouki, electric bouzouki
    Davy Spillane – pipe, uilleann pipes, Low whistle
    Steve Wickham – fiddle
    Christy Moore – bodhran
    Pete Thomas – drums

New Orleans
    Lionel Batiste – bass drum
    Gregory Davis – trumpet
    Willie Green – drums
    Kevin Harris – tenor saxophone
    Charles Joseph – trombone
    Kirk Joseph – sousaphone
    Roger Lewis – baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone
    Jenell Marshall – snare drum
    Allen Toussaint – grand piano
    Efrem Towns – trumpet

Hollywood
    Michael Blair – glockenspiel, marimba, tambourine, xylophone, bells, timpani, vibraphone, Chinese drums, Oldsmobile hubcap, Parade drum, anvil, whiplash, crash-box, temple bells, snare drum, "magic table", metal pipe, "Martian dog bark"
    Ralph Forbes – electric drums, drum programming
    Mitchell Froom – organ, harmonium, electric piano, chamberlin, Indian harmonium
    Roger McGuinn – twelve-string guitar, Rickenbacker bass guitar
    Jim Keltner – tom-toms, snare drum, Chinese cymbal
    Jerry Marotta – drums
    Buell Neidlinger – cello, double bass
    Marc Ribot – banjo, electric guitar, Spanish guitar, sounds
    Jerry Scheff – electric bass, double bass, fuzz bass
    Benmont Tench – piano, clavinet, spinet, Vox Continental
    Tom "T-Bone" Wolk – accordion, bass

London
    Chrissie Hynde – harmony vocals
    Nick Lowe – bass
    Paul McCartney – Hofner bass guitar, Rickenbacker bass guitar
    Pete Thomas – drums

45RPM: #67 American Squirm - Nick Lowe (1978)

Between October - December 1978 (not totally sure of the date as some sites just have October, others have 24th November and others still 1st December! - the November one seems reasonable to me but honestly I have no idea!) Nick Lowe released his third single for Radar Records. He previously released three singles and an EP for Stiff Records before jumping ship with Jake Riviera to the new label. He had the first release on the label with I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass which reached #7 in the charts, follow-up Little Hitler didn't trouble the charts and neither for that matter did American Squirm which is a real shame because whilst it is a pretty decent track it would have been worth buying for the B-Side alone! American Squirm was not included on the UK release of the album Jesus of Cool but did feature on the US release.

Don't you just love it when you've bought a single and you flip it over to hear what the B-Side is like (around the time of the whole Punk/New Wave scene the emphasis on good B-Sides really came to the fore) only to be blown off your feet because it is actually way more superior to the A-Side? The B-Side of American Squirm did just that! Credited to Nick Lowe and His Sound it is remarkable because the band playing is actually Elvis Costello and The Attractions performing a song that Nick Lowe had written and released in 1974 with his band Brinsley Schwarz.

I do not say this lightly and I will say it loudly with great confidence:

"(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding is quite possibily The Greatest B-Side Ever to have been released!"

A-Side: American Squirm

B-Side: (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding - Credited as Nick Lowe and His Sound (But it's Elvis Costello on the Vocal and The Attractions as backing band!)

45RPM: #1b Elvis Costello - 1982-85 Pt 2

We pick up where we left off last time. Remember to click on those links to enjoy the music of Mr Costello and his Attractions. There's a couple of tracks that I couldn't find links for but there's a link for pretty much everything else.

Costello having done the whole Country vibe returned to what he did best as he about to release a new album in July 1982 entitled Imperial Bedroom. As preparation he released a brand new single:

1982

June

A-Side: You Little Fool

B-Side: Big Sister / Stamping Ground

Stamping Ground was credited to The Emotional Toothpaste!

The single actually faired no better than the previous two as it stalled outside of the Top 50 at #52.

July

A-Side: Man Out of Time

B-Side: Town Cryer (Alternative Take)

There's something incredibly wrong with the Record Buying Public when they don't get behind a really great song. I can't understand why on earth this single never broke the Top Fifty (stuck at #58) as it is one of Elvis Costello's greatest songs!

September

A-Side: From Head To Toe

B-Side: The World of Broken Hearts

A non-album single and a cover of a Smokey and The Miracles track that appeared on their 1965 album Going To A Go-Go. The B-Side was also a cover of a Doc Pormus and Mort Shuman song that had first been released in 1966 by Cissy Houston. The Amen Corner had released it as a single also in 1967. I recall that the tour dates for The Imperial Bedoom Tour were on the back cover of the single.

November

A-Side: Party Party

B-Side: Imperial Bedroom

Released on A&M Records this was the lead single for the Soundtrack of the Movie Party Party - a British version of the type of films John Hughes was making in the States (but by all accounts a good cast and quite funny but not up to the same standard as say The Breakfast Club etc, watch it here!).

The Soundtrack is quite interesting in the film as it opens with The Rezillos' Flying Saucer Attack (but that wasn't on the Album) and The Clash's Brand New Cadillac and Death or Glory (also not on the album). There's also a number of other songs in the film that I'm guessing they couldn't get permission to use for the album. The actual Soundtrack album is probably worth tracking down for obsucre things like Bananarama doing Sex Pistols' No Feeling, The Selecter's Pauline Black doing No Woman No Cry, and Midge Ure performing Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World!

Elvis' single though was not a big smash peaking at #48!

1983

May

A-Side: Pills and Soap

B-Side: Pills and Soap (Extended Version)

Released as The Imposter on the single but when Punch the Clock was released in August it was on the album as Elvis Costello and the Attractions.

July

A-Side: Every Day I Write the Book

B-Side: Heathen Town

This is another Single that I cannot understand why it wasn't bigger. It only reached #28 in the UK and gave Elvis his first Top Forty placing in the US (#36). It is clearly one of his best songs that he had released up to that date.

September

A-Side: Let The All Talk

B-Side: The Flirting Kind

A month after the album release another new single and yet another that didn't even break the Top Fifty (#59).

1984

April

A-Side: Peace in our Time

B-Side: Withered and Died

Released once again as The Imposter and just snuck into the Top 50 (#48).

June

A-Side: I Wanna Be Loved
B-Side: Turning the Town Red
Once again it was another cover version that took Elvis Costello and the Attractions into the Top 30. It peaked at #25. Green of Scritti Politti sings backing vocals on it.

August

A-Side: The Only Flame In Town
B-Side: The Comedians
Daryl Hall featured on the next single to be released from the Goodbye Cruel World album (a release that Elvis Costello does not like himself). The single bombed (#71) and although the album had reached #10 in the UK it was a pretty miserable affair! Elvis' own personal life was unravelling fast and he was on the verge of bankruptcy!

1985
April

A-Side: Green Shirt
B-Side: Beyond Belief
No doubt released alongside the Demon Records Best of but the single didn't chart.

July

A-Side: The People's Limousine
B-Side: They'll Never Take Her Love From Me
Released as The Coward Brothers (who featured T Bone Burnette). It never charted.

Okay, we'll leave it for there for the moment. There's still lots more to come and it looks more like there will be at least another two parts to this but we'll get back to it soon.

45RPM: #1a Elvis Costello - 1977-82 Pt1

45RPM is a brand new series spotlighting artists who have put together a tremendous body of work through the release of their Singles. Now, not all of them have to be massive hit records but it certainly helps.

The light shines on Elvis Costello for our first post. He's released over 60 Singles since 1977 (hence the need for three posts!), some of them are considered classics (even the ones that didn't chart!).

There's loads of links as I've included the B-Sides as well. Click on them to enjoy the music.

We begin at the beginning:

1977

March

A-Side: Less Than Zero.

B-Side: Radio Sweetheart.

The debut single from Elvis Costello came out 25th March 1977 and would also appear on his debut album 'My Aim is True' released two months later.

The song was also involved in Costello's infamous performance on Saturday Night Live. Following pressure from his record company to play the song on the show, Costello began to play the song, but he stopped after only a few bars, saying that "there's no reason to do this song here." He then launched into an unannounced performance of 'Radio Radio', a song he had promised not to play. As a result, he was banned from the show until 1989.

 May

A-Side: Alison.

B-Side: Welcome to the Working Week.

The second single from Elvis Costello didn't even dent the chart and yet it is, in my honest opinion, one of his finest.

July

A-Side: Red Shoes.

B-Side: Mystery Dance.

'Red Shoes' is another that for some strange reason totally escaped the charts and yet Elvis found himself on Top of the Pops performing it!

October 

A-Side: Watching the Detectives.

B-Side: Blame It On Cain (Live)/Mystery Dance (Live).

Stiff's first Top 20 single in the UK and of course Elvis Costello's first hit single after three previous attempts. The single spent 11 weeks on the chart peaking at #15.

 1978

March

 A-Side: (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea

B-Side: You Belong to Me

The first single released as Elvis Costello and the Attractions. #16 in the UK charts. It was also the first on Radar Records after his departure from Stiff Records.

May

A-Side: Pump It Up

B-Side: Big Tears

#24 in the charts. The video for the single was shot on the same day as the previous single.

October

A-Side: Radio Radio

B-Side: Tiny Steps

Peaked at #29 on the charts.

The song is a protest song concerning the commercialisation of radio broadcasts and the restrictions that prevented many punk songs from being played. It includes a reference to the BBC's ban of the Sex Pistols' 1977 single "God Save the Queen".

1979

February

A-Side: Oliver's Army

B-Side: My Funny Valentine

Their biggest hit single to date smashing it at #2.

May

A-Side: Accidents Will Happen

B-Side: Talking in the Dark/Wednesday Week

2nd single from Armed Forces album that only reached #28 in the charts.

1980

February

A-Side: I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down

B-Side: Girls Talk

 A fantastic cover version of the classic Sam and Dave song backed by Girls Talk (an Elvis Costello penned song) that Dave Edmunds had a hit with in 1979.

Originally the single was going to be released on Two-Tone but due to contractual difficulties it never was (though there are some copies of it out there somewhere!). F-Beat released it eventually. Another huge hit peaking at #4.

April

A-Side: High Fidelity

B-Side: Getting Mighty Crowded

Second single from the Get Happy album only made it to #30. Really thought this would have gone a lot higher as it's a fantastic single.

June

A-Side: New Amsterdam

 B-Side: Dr Luther's Assistant.

#36 in the charts this one, released as Elvis Costello (without the Attractions).

December

 A-Side: Clubland

 B-Side: Clean Money/Hoover Factory

A forerunner to the new album Trust that would be released in January 1981 and infact the opening track to the album. The single is once again credited to Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Only hobbled into the charts at #60 (the album reached #9).

1981

February

A-Side: From A Whisper To A Scream

B-Side: Luxembourg

This Single release bears the uncanny label of being the first release by Elvis Costello and the Attractions not to chart! Featured on the single are Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, Billy Bremner (no, not the football but the guitarist from Rockplie) and Martin Belmont (The Rumour).

September

A-Side: A Good Year For The Roses

B:Side: Your Angel Steps out of Heaven

Just like it had taken a cover version of Sam and Dave to bust into the Top Ten it was another cover that gave Elvis Costello and the Attractions a massive hit that peaked at #6 in the UK. A Good Year For The Roses was written by Jerry Chesnut and originally recorded by George Jones in 1970! Hold on a minute, EC has gone country!! An album of Country Covers recorded in Nashville would hit the stores in October of 1981.

December

A-Side: Sweet Dreams

B-Side: Physco (Live)

The follow-up was another Country Cover, this time of a Don Gibson song originally written in 1955! The Album 'Almost Blue' made it to #7 but the single could do nothing and hung just outside the Top Forty at #42.

1982

April

A-Side: I'm Your Toy

B-Side: Cry Cry Cry/Wondering

The last single release from the Almost Blue album. It's an old Gram Parsons tune. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra join EC and the Attractions. The flip side sees Elvis tackle Johnny Cash and off the top of my head I can't recall who did Wondering.

We'll finish up there as a new album etc would follow in July 1982 and it will be a good place to kick off in part 2.