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| vinyl cover |
release date: Dec. 4, 1987
format: vinyl (X Fiend 67) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: various
label: Demon Records - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: A) 1. "Seven Day Weekend" (Guest Star Jimmy Cliff) - 2. "Turning the Town Red" - 3. "Heathen Town" - 5. "So Young" (previously un-issued) - 6. "American Without Tears No. 2" (Twilight Version) - 7. "Get Yourself Another Fool (Out of Our Idiot Mix)" (5 / 5) - - B) 1. "Blue Chair" (Single Version) - 2. "Baby It's You" (Guest Star Nick Lowe) - 3. "From Head to Toe" - 8. "Imperial Bedroom" (demo)
Compilation album by Elvis Costello advertised as 'Rare and Unreleased Cuts'. The vinyl version is a 17 tracks single album - the cd issue contains 21 tracks.
The album is credited to "Various Artists" (on record spine) rather than to Elvis Costello because the tracks were recorded and credited under a variety of names, including The Costello Show, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Elvis Costello and the Confederates, The Coward Brothers, Napoleon Dynamite & the Royal Guard, The Emotional Toothpaste, The Imposter, and recorded with a variety of collaborators. Most tracks are featuring The Attractions and several of the strange band names are credited single songs only.
It reflects anything but self-sufficiency and comes out as that extra dimension to his songwriting - if you want it. Yes, it's a bit of a wide and strange compilation without head or tail but it shows us nicely how wide the man grasps in terms of styles, and I have always found it quite enjoyable - perhaps because of its lightness and funny takes, and then you can always hear that Costello puts a whole lot of sincerity into his songs, also the most corny ones, which then makes them meaningful.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]
