Wow, thanks. I've always wanted to see a picture of the box that's not an improper stock photo (the one that has the wrong spine color-codes and lists every artist simply as Elvis Costello instead of Attractions/Costello Show). Would you be able to post a picture? Thanks.
Speaking of cover variations, a visit to the local record store reminded me that there are two Armed Forces covers for the Columbia CD. Both feature the paint splatters, one like UltraSoundSquid's avatar, the other adds (what is designed to look like) a hand-stamp with the band and album names in clearer print in the lower left corner.
Almost certainly, but the weird thing is I *think* that the one with the "hand-stamp" is the older of the two. At least that's how it looked to me. So they decided to be LESS clear in phasing out that design (if I'm right with the chronology)?
Maybe they assumed people wouldn't be able to read the name, so they threw a stamp on it, then phased it out when the album got popular. Can you post a picture of the stamped cover? The only one I can find online is the one with the sticker with a picture of EC that says "ELVIS COSTELLO ARMED FORCES"
I don't have a copy. But next time I'm at the shop, I'll try to remember to snap a picture. It's probably already on the net SOMEWHERE.
No worries. Personally I'd prefer it if the paint splatter was the digipak cover. If my picture didn't already give it away...
Even though there's two or three songs that I don't "get" on it, I'd like to say that Imperial Bedroom is... how do I put this delicately...? ... absolutely mind-blowingly great. Every time I listen to it I discover something new. "All the movies and the papers feature the murders of lonely women..." is a line that I never noticed before, and the sinister piano roll that immediately follows it make "The Long Honeymoon" even more sinister than it already was (what is that creepy instrument in the background, an accordion?). Such a dynamic album. Immersive experience. If I'm to rank his albums, which I've given a bit of thought over the past few days... PERFECT: My Aim Is True, Get Happy!!, Trust EXCELLENT: Imperial Bedroom, This Year's Model (maybe King Of America, I haven't listened to it in a long time) VERY GOOD: Armed Forces, Almost Blue, possibly King Of America MIXED: Punch The Clock, Goodbye Cruel World, and probably Blood And Chocolate, although I only listened to that once and it was almost a year ago.
This thread inspired me to see what Rhino 2 cd versions I was lacking in my collection. Thanks to Sonnyrock, an excellent seller here in our classifieds, I was able to pick up an EXC/M- UK copy of ATUB yesterday here for $12, that was one I knew I was missing and wanted. So now I only lack : Spike Brutal Youth Mighty Like A Rose Juliet Letters Don't want the last two, but am considering Spike and Brutal Youth if I can find them for a reasonable price.
If you like the Brutal Youth album, definitely pick up the Rhino -- it has one of the best, most cohesive and and enjoyable bonus discs. You get a great peek at the originally planned album (referred to as Idiophone in the original Juliet Letters liner notes), before it turned into Brutal Youth and a quasi-reunion of the Attractions. The other three you listed above all have good bonus discs too, but they are more of the usual mish-mash of b-sides, demos and alternates. The Brutal Youth bonus CD plays like a real album.
I haven't listened to all of the bonus discs. I will say that I'm really disappointed that the Hip-O Deluxe Edition doesn't include the Charlie Gillett "Honky Tonk" demos. In addition to the proper album outtakes, those are my favorite of the bonus material. I'm not really a live-performance fan, so none of the live tracks really interest me. My favorite bonus tracks are all the studio outtakes - "Radio Sweetheart", "Big Tears", "So Young", "Hoover Factory", and the like. Then again, I primarily collect studio albums anyway, and since his studio albums are all of great quality...
That's interesting, i didn't realize that it looks like this title never came out? The catalog number places it well back in the sequence (MFSL 340), what did happen? Mofi is up to catalog number 450 now.
In most cases I'd much rather have studio outtakes or demos, but the solo live cuts on the "Goodbye Cruel World" bonus disc go far towards redeeming the reputation of those songs.
Oh yeah. I'd go further to say the live cuts on the Rhinos are exceptionally well compiled, with particular insight shown on the live tracks. They didn't take the approach of just throwing on a few live renditions of the biggest hits from any given album. Instead, they focused on unreleased songs, both original and (mostly) covers, or radically different arrangements of album tracks. Every fan should hear "Motel Matches" with almost completely different lyrics, "Opportunity" taken at a breakneck tempo, or "High Fidelity" in it's famous Bowie-style arrangement. The Hollywood High highlights on Armed Forces are something of an exception (only "Accidents Will Happen" and "Stranger In The House" contrast greatly from their studio counterparts) but at least it's a scorcher of a show-- but probably best appreciated in its entirety on The Costello Show Vol 2 (also note Armed Forces includes a terrific solo "Chemistry Class" from a diffent show, the Warner Theatre performance later released on the Hip-O This Year's Model: DE).
Since you mentioned "Idiophone" I need to ask - am I the only one who hears a twisted reference to "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" in there?
Definitely. And it's gotta be intentional. EC is so much smarter about this sort of thing than me, and it stood out like a sore thumb the first time I heard it. Speaking of "Idiophone," I was amused and pleased when it got used as the theme for EC's talk show Spectacle. Funny to see such an obscure and oddball b-side get a (relatively) prominent time in the spotlight.
Glad it's not just me. I also hear a reference to "Jingle Bells" at the beginning of "Wind on the Water" by Crosby/Nash, so I thought maybe I suffered from some carol obsessive syndrome.
With MoFi, you can't go by catalog numbers. There are plenty of titles with lower numbers than Trust that haven't been released yet. Funny, I saw a Facebook picture of Kurt (sic) cutting Trust back in February. I've had my order in since January at SoundstageDirect. I guess they're just too busy cranking out the same tired titles by Bob Dylan & Miles Davis. C'mon MFSL!
I've been listening to King Of America, mostly "Brilliant Disguise", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", and the final three songs, very much as of late. Those five songs alone are some of the best music ever recorded.
