Elvis Costello and the Imposters: Look Now (2018)

If you get a chance to read his response to the honor, it's typical Costello barbed humor. In a nutshell he said it confirms his long-held suspicion that no one really listens to the words.

 

Yes I read it this morning, it was pretty much what I expected.

 

I could resist looking and listening no longer. The 2LP green vinyl I am pleased with. Love the songs, album. But, found I don't listen to it as much as I enjoy it. Weird. Maybe the LPs are too heavy and the sleeve too thick . Enter this 'singles' box with its own Look Now adapter. This tidy (I assume) 'box' of 45's with singular picture sleeves, more colored vinyl(s) AND most importantly apparently for my growing attention deficit is I only have the option to listen to one song at a time and get a well-deserved break when flipping the 45 over all the while admiring the sleeve design, has finally arrived. Useful perhaps also in writing about the architecture of each song and how firmly does each stand on its own .

Yes, I have a winking problem as well apparently...

 

I’m assuming the digital download with the 45’s is as compressed as the CDs? Can you confirm it? I’d be in for this. If not, then I guess I’d just have to rip it myself.

 

I will try to. I missed the part about the digital download. And the compression. I liked the sound of Look Now on vinyl. I don't remember how loudly it was mastered? but I remember liking the mix and the EQ/tone of it in general, thought those aspects were top-shelf, and also enjoying the sound of the vinyl more than the digital download of the album (which is the 1st time I heard the Look Now album).

Ah, I see, so there is a digital download of those very same mastering of the 45's? That seems stranger still, to me. Well, at least I can watch the vinyl spin faster. Will try to look into it next week when listening to the 2LP album and the 8 45's and the digital download I have of the album. I don't think I will bother with a digital downloading of the 45's though for the sake of trying to get a better handle on the amount of files that I have.

I bought from a 'marketpalce' seller for a friendlier price than the EC website price and I must have missed reading the digital download part of the product description.

 

Did anyone get the socks? A review would be appreciated.

 

Yes it is. I compared the 'Purse' tracks with my needledrop of the RSD EP, and they're completely crushed in comparison.

Which reminds me that a needledrop of the album proper is probably well overdue. It's a great album, but it could sound so much better than the CD.

 

I am a fan of Elvis Costello but have no knowledge of his career and will read the threads in here as I go along.
My favourite track is:

 

Thanks. I’m looking for the best sounding version of the album so that answers my question as to where I should go for that.

 

A colorful, appealing set of 45's and pic sleeves. Visually pretty awesome. The box itself is ok I guess - one edge/corner was moderately to majorly disheveled and come apart some. The sleeves demand to be seen and the records accessed easily and quickly anyway imo and not hid away in a box so it wasn't a big deal to me and doesn't affect the storage of the 45's either. Sturdy, thick sleeves with artwork on each side. Sharp. An eyeful.

I enjoyed the sound of the 4 sides I listened to. Enjoyed seeing the different, solid colors for each 45 also. Other sets include individually multi-colored vinyl 45's, as opposed to the solid colored ones. Pleased with the overriding mix of the vocals and instruments and the sound of EC's voice and the band. I didn't find for me the volume unbearably loud in any way or lacking essential dynamics per the material so far. Was quite fun and useful to just grab a few sleeves and put the 45's on for play and focus on each song as an independent side. Stripping Paper, Burnt Sugar, Under Lime, and Don't Look Now, were all enjoyable to me on their own. I must have got the bare-bones edition of the set though as there was no 45 adapter which was well - a friggin' disappointment. The booklet and 'postcards' add some more visual candy and textual accompaniment to the set. I'd had the Purse RSD EP already and had managed to listen to 2 songs per side lol with no problem so didn't need the 10 disc vinyl set of 45's.

 

Look Now was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Look Now deserves all the recognition it can get. I never forgave the Grammy's for awarding Debbie Boone best new artist over Elvis in 1977.

 

The adapter was not inside the singles box, but in some way on its own in the shipping box. I know this because I haven't unsealed my box yet, but have the adapter sitting on a shelf with other novelty ones I've accumulated over the years.

This week I digitized the double album (I'm now working my way through a few pops and clicks and - so far - two brief bursts of non-fill that thankfully cleaned up okay), and it sounds so much better than the CD and download. Looking forward to burning a disc of this great album and the two EPs that I can listen to with enhanced pleasure.

 

Thanks for that info! I will follow up with the seller, maybe it was an oversight and he still has it, fingers crossed.

Total release of 20 songs between the Deluxe or Super Deluxe edition of Look Now (plus Purse)?

 

this is the very first thing that I KNOW I would love but I refuse to buy due to the compromised sound quality.

(sigh)

 

Unfortunately the release page from where I purchased at discogs doesn't list the adapter...


Sticker:
Special edition box set
Includes eight colored-vinyl 7" singles
Exclusive artwork by "Eamon Singer"

Box with ribbon
8 card sleeves
8 colored vinyl discs with wide spindle
2 tracks per disc,
4 postcards,
1 card ("Dear Listener")
and a 16 page booklet of lyrics and artwork.

Disc 1 bkue vinyl
Disc 2 pink vinyl
Disc 3 red vinyl
Disc 4 orange vinyl
Disc 5 blue vinyl
Disc 6 pink vinyl
Disc 7 red vinyl
Disc 8 orange vinyl

 

Yes. Should fit snugly on a CD.

The adapter isn't very special. Just a standard plastic one in a solid colour (red, I think), with "LOOK NOW" printed on it.

Certainly not as impressive as my wooden Songs: Ohia one!

 

I’m not usually one for waveforms, but this illustrates what I hear:

That's 'Stripping Paper', with the download on top and a needledrop from the 7" below. The LP needledrop was much of a muchness in terms of dynamics, but my copy had a glitch in the middle which led me to do a second attempt from the single. The needledrop has been normalized to 0 to make the comparison as direct as possible. To me (I'm no expert!) it looks and sounds as if the digital has been compressed AND clipped.

 

Taste of Honey.
But yeah -- it was horrifying to this teenager.

(I just looked it up. Costello wasn't nominated until the '79 Grammys. Debbie Boone won the year before...)

 

Played this through last night and my initial opinion mirrors that of most of his recent albums.
He’s an amazing wordsmith , I can’t believe he crams that many words into relatively short songs, but found myself feeling that the singing/lyrics needed to stop once in awhile to let the songs breathe. Makes it a bit of a difficult listen at times.
About half the album resonated with me which puts this into the ‘average’ category for an Elvis album.
Not sure I see the point of the EP considering all the music would have fit comfortably onto one CD and it made the deluxe edition considerably more expensive.
And I think I might have enjoyed it more if the sonics were better.
So, IMO not a great album, not a bad album

 

I usually pay little or no attention to the Grammy's, however this is one instance where they got it right. Congrats to Elvis and everyone involved for the Grammy in this years Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Look Now is a late career tour de force. I'm happy to see him get whatever recognition that comes his way.

 

Look Now! Elvis Costello Wins First Album Grammy - Best Classic Bands

 

I like "Look Now" quite a bit, but "Imperial Bedroom", "This Year's Model", "King of America" ... etc. etc. etc. must be staring at their empty trophy shelf in dismay this morning.

 

Elvis only wins Grammys if he works with Burt Bacharach — he previously won one for “I Still Have That Other Girl” from Painted from Memory.

 

That link title says all you need to know about the importance of the Grammy Award. Well, at least he didn't have to die first.

 

if the album was released in July of 2018, why was it eligible this year?

It made my year end best release for 2018.