Elvis Costello releases

[schwenko]

not my reviews mind you, rather from the Downtown Music Gallery mailing list:

ELVIS COSTELLO With CLOVER & JOHN McPHEE - My Aim Is True: Deluxe
Edition with Live At The Nashville Rooms and The Pathway Demos 1977
[2 CD set] (Hip-O; USA) The most stunning songwriter debut album
since the first Bob Dylan album - and first of three-in-a-row "Album
Of the Year"s both here in the U.S. and abroad! What more needs to be
said about the opening line "Now that your picture's in the paper
being rhythmically admired..." or the too-well known "Allison" which
remains one of his top hits among a world populace lulled by the
trappings of a heartbreak-over-lost-love song but is really a
sociopathic statement of desire to murder an ex-lover? Elvis is
backed by members of the country-rock group Clover (later the "News"
of Huey Lewis And.. fame) and pedal steel maestro John McPhee . Bonus
cuts on the first disc are the 8 Pathway Studios demos from 1977,
never before issued!
The heart of the second disc is a legendary 17-song live performance
by Elvis Costello and The Attractions from The Nashville Rooms in
London on August 7, 1977, just a little more than two months after
their first-ever performances. The complete concert is followed by
five songs from the show's soundcheck earlier that day, all available
on CD for the first time. These have never been commercially
available before, except for three songs issued as the B-side to the
1977 release of the Watching The Detectives single. Other than the
limited-release 'Live At The El Mocambo' [available only in the Ryko
box set of two decades ago], this marks the first official release of
a complete Costello concert!
Extreme recommendation! - MannyLunch
2 CD set for $30

ELVIS COSTELLO And THE ATTRACTIONS - This Year's Model: Deluxe
Edition with Warner Theatre 1978 + Demos [2 CD set] (Hip-O; USA) The
second [1978] of three-in-a-row "Album Of the Year"s both here in the
U.S. and abroad, this was the first to feature the
powerful-in-all-styles backing group assembled to tour the first
album, that would come to be known as the Attractions [Bruce Thomas,
Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas].
Darker and more intense than the first, with razor edge humor from
Hell. This incredible package's first disc includes 10 bonus tracks:
B-sides, demos, live tracks and alternate takes including - the
B-sides 'Big Tears' and 'Tiny Steps' - the soundtrack-only, 'Crawling
To The USA'- the demos 'Running Out Of Angels', 'Green Shirt'
and 'Big Boys' - the live recordings 'Neat Neat Neat 'and 'Roadette
Song' - the alternate versions of 'This Year's Girl' and (I Don't Want
To Go To) 'Chelsea' .
The second disc features the complete legendary February 28, 1978
performance from Washington, DC's Warner Theater featuring 17
performances, 16 of them never before issued! Expanded packaging
features rare photos, memorabilia & lyrics. Extreme Recommendation! -
MannyLunch
2 CD set for $30

ELVIS COSTELLO And THE ATTRACTIONS et al - The Right Spectacle: The
Very Best Of Elvis Costello - The Videos [DVD] (Rhino; USA) This
DVD, a unique collection of the visual works of Elvis Costello,
boasts a grand total of 27 videos and includes material rarely seen
since the original release of the singles they supported. From his
first Radar Records single in 1978, "I Don't Want To Go To
(Chelsea)," to his final video for Warner Bros., "13 Steps Lead Down"
(from 1994's Brutal Youth), this is a must purchase for all serious
Elvis Costello enthusiasts and fans alike.
"Elvis Costello is the guy who, in 2003, reissued a recording (Get
Happy!!) containing no less than 50 tracks, including 30 that weren't
on the original release. So it should come as no surprise that The
Right Spectacle, a compilation of Costello videos spanning the years
1978 to 1994, is a similarly generous offering from an artist with
one of the longest and most prolific resumes in contemporary pop
music. And "generous" is putting it mildly. There are 27 videos
(arranged in chronological order), along with an additional 18 live
performances, with a TOTAL RUNNING TIME OF NEARLY THREE HOURS!
Quantity alone won't cut it, of course, but there's a lot of quality
material here, especially considering that by his own admission,
making videos was never exactly a high priority for Costello and his
band the Attractions. The early, geeky stuff is pretty primitive, but
Costello is such a great songwriter that the sheer number of quality
tunes overrides most quibbles one might have about the videos
themselves. And there are some real gems along the rest of the way,
like "New Lace Sleeves," filmed in elegant black & white; the surreal
and emotionally raw "I Wanna Be Loved"; and "Veronica," which
brilliantly brings to life Costello's song about his grandmother's
battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Every track includes Costello's wry,
witty commentary (available as an audio track and/or as subtitles),
filled with tales of bad fashion choices and drunken high jinks.
Meanwhile, the 18 "TV archive selections" range from '77-'83,
all of them live and of varying degrees of interest; Costello adds thousands more words about them in the accompanying booklet. All in all, Elvis Costello fans could hardly ask for more than this terrific
collection."- Sam Graham
DVD $20