Bulldog

Last post in here from yours truly for a while guys...


That's right, it's time I finally posted some dodgy bootleg from Elvis Costello's pre-fame years. I won't lie, this isn't really something I'd recommend to anyone who hasn't got a few albums already, as it's basically definitive 'fans-only' material. True, it's also not the complete collection of every demo Costello's old pub-rock band made (there are two more larger such bootlegs I don't actually have), but if you're wondering for some reason what kinda music Elvis Costello was writing and singing way back when he was the unsigned, plain old Declan MacManus, look no further than the above link

Enjoy!

mazymay

A one year + one month later reply, but...I was thrilled to find your audio recording of this classic VHS-only "Sessions at West 54th." In 2000 after hearing that there would be no CD release of this Bacharach/Costello once-in-a-lifetime performance I had my 1998 Mercury Records video release professionally transferred to CD at great expense (digital track $$$eparation...Yikes!). After making copies for all my friends I thought it would be a good idea to make a back-up copy for myself in the event that the original CD were to be damaged down the line. The bad news is that I was too late! The good news is that the mysterious scratch (gouge) I found only wiped out two tracks ("This House Is Empty Now" & "Such Unlikely Lovers") - and now because of your generous forum I have the complete performance again!

That said, your audio upload is missing 4 songs from the original 1998 Mercury Records VHS release (which I've owned since the first day of it's USA release - perhaps yours is a version I'm unaware of?). The first 2 missing tracks ("Just A Memory" & "My Little Red Book") are performed in between "Accidents Will Happen" & "My Thief." The other 2 missing tracks from your upload are performed at the end of "Sessions...." Costello closes the audio/visual portion of the VHS with the most brilliant, heartbreaking rendition of "Anyone Who Had A Heart" EVER recorded. The screen goes dark as the applause fades, and as the credits role Costello is heard (off-camera) giving another classic performance of another classic Bacharach/David song, "Make It Easy On Yourself."

Curiously you add a song ("God Give Me Strength") that (to my disappointment) was not recorded for this "Sessions" VHS...or was not on the version I bought. In any case, as a fellow Costello fanatic you absolutely MUST track down Costello's "Sessions at West 54th" rendering of "Anyone Who Had A Heart"! - the London 10/29/98 version is average in comparison. If I could upload or email it somewhere/somehow I'd be more than happy to do so.

PS - I can't thank you enough sharing the 1998 London concert which closes with "God Give Me Strength," THE Costello/Bacharach masterpiece.

Bulldog

I can't imagine how much of a pain in the arse it must have been having to get that bootleg in circulation through digital track seperation. More often than not some kind soul's already done all that work for you already and uploaded to a random blog somewhere - one of a few reasons why the internet's as awesome as it can be.

Unfortunately, as you say, four tracks are missing. For some reasons a lot of Costello bootlegs I've come across aren't full versions either. I'm pretty sure that even the other Costello/Bacharach bootleg I uploaded he Royal Festival Hall one) isn't complete either. You can get each of the missing pieces from the latter though, which gives you some idea of what they must sound like, and's why I uploaded it. It's hardly ideal, but it's the closest I can get to the real thing

As for God Give Me Strength, I wasn't shifty enough to add it myself - it came with the CD of the recordings I found. Great song as you say, although not quite my favourite Costello/Bacharach tune - that'd be In the Darkest Place or the Sweetest Punch. I've been listening to a lot of Painted From Memory and the Royal Festival Hall bootleg lately as well. They were a fantastic partnership...at least when they got things dead on anyway (which to me was a lot of the time).

And talking of bootleggy things, when I've got enough time to stick around a bit more, I'll be updating the bootleg section a few more times, so watch this space!

WTDK

Just curious if any boots have shown up for the two shows that EC did at Amoeba in San Francisco and L.A.

I was at the SF show and EC was terrific (although during the autograph session he wasn't all that talkative I imagine he hates those).

Bulldog

Not to my knowledge, no. Although I'll confess I haven't really had my ear to ground for such things - been a wee bit busy this last week.

Talking of bootlegs of Costello performances and record stores though, I'll tell you what I actually have got and that's his performance with practically an army of collaborators in Sweetwater, Mill Valley CA in celebration of Village Music's 21st anniversay...it's kinda relevant

Been a while since I last upped a bootleg, so I might do just that sometime soonish. I'll keep an eye peeled for the Amoeba shows for ya at the same time

Bulldog

So, turns out I've got a bit too much on for a few days to get any album reviews that need doing done (next week's the best bet for those), so here's that bootleg I promised a whole post ago...


And here it is! In celebration of the 21st anniversary of the Village Music record store's birth, none other than our lad Elvis Costello was chosen to provide the main set in the nearby Sweetwater rock club.

To start with, we're served a juicy dish of solo acoustic readings of a few selections from Costello's back-catalogue, which make for a very good listen in itself, what with the lad being pretty chatty and fairly funny throughout that portion of the set (his running commentary on God's Comic being a personal highlight). Following that is a very nice duet between him and his old chum Nick Lowe, before his then-backing band the Confederates (or at least a slightly modified version of them) come onstage to get through themore band-suited numbers.

After that things get even more interesting when several other musicians who'd been invited to the Village Music party take to the stage to sing a few songs, play a few notes and so on. It really adds to what's already a very good bootleg, as a constantly-changing band makes its way through several blues classics and, at Costello's behest, a few Hank Williams tunes. Basically the thing, the final 13 tracks especially, are just pure, red raw music, and it all gives off the wonderful sound of a bunch of veteran singers, songwriters and musicians just really enjoying themselves.

Oh, and the sound quality's right out of the top drawer too. So, click the picture for the download link...what are you waiting for

Joey Michaels

Aloha!

I write a silly personal music blog. My conceit is that I've been trying to write about every song in my iTunes library. For slightly over a year now, I've been writing about Costello and I just finished today. Really, the entries aren't frequently much deeper than a Chris Farley-esque "you know that song? That was awesome."

I wanted to thank you, Bulldog, for this wonderful resource. I've referred to it and linked it and quoted you (always giving credit and linking back to here) innumerable times. I've occasionally agreed with you whole heartedly and disagreed with you vehemently, but your attention to detail and (frankly) scholarship has been an inspiration during the whole process.

Anyhow, as I said, just wanted to drop a note to thank you, so thank you!

Joey Michaels
[link removed by moderator]
(I can't post links, since I'm a new user, but you can find the index of all of the Elvis Costello entries by clicking on the 'Master Index' tab and then on 'Elvis Costello.' He's the only artist I've written about thus far with enough entries to justify his own index.)

VEGANGELICA

I've been meaning to comment for several weeks on Bulldog's excellent old thread! I hope he comes back to MB and finishes it.

One reason I first looked at this thread is that up until around 2 months ago, I thought Elvis Costello was some crooner from the 40s who had died decades ago. Then I noticed someone on MusicBanter listening to him, and read up a bit and learned...he's ALIVE!!

So far I don't care much for his songs that I've heard, although he has a nice crooner voice...maybe *too* pretty, warbly, and old-fashioned sounding for my tastes. Still, I've been listening to his newest album, National Ransom, to try to decide what I think. I don't like any song on it--too folksy, not rough enough, and lacking punch--except for one that appeals to me a bit because of the playful, light, bouncy melody:

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Bulldog

Thanks for the kind words good sir, and it's great to know this thread's been a good use to you - I've put a lot of time and effort into this thread over the years, and it's reading comments like this that make me realise it wasn't all a waste of time.

Nice blog as well by the way, and not half a bad idea now that I think about it. Dunno how you find the time to work on such a project, but the best of luck to you as it keeps going anyhow

...is a mistake I've made with just about every new artist I get into

I actually thought something similar when I first heard him on My Aim Is True as well. It's a very archaic-sounding record that one - like a bundle of tuneage from one of those obscure corners of 50s rockabilly you can only really find by accident!

I haven't really listened to National Ransom so much, as I haven't really had the time to devote to really getting inside the record if you know what I mean (basically, I've only listened to it end-to-end twice). Not that I think it's a bad album (although I don't like it as much as Secret, Profane and Sugarcane), but just that reviewing it hasn't really been very high on my list of priorities since it came out. Definitely one of the most interesting releases of the year at least though.

Good choice flagging up Slow Drag With Josephine there - it's one of my favourites off the album too, along with Church Underground, Dr Watson I Presume and Stations Of the Cross.

VEGANGELICA

I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one who thought that Elvis Costello was dead!

Only twice, huh? Slacker.

I tried listening to the three other National Ransom songs you like and still prefer Slow Drag. I'll listen and read more songs in your thread before I pass verdict on Elvis #2. It is always fascinating to learn about a famous musician I never knew existed until a short while ago.

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