Elvis Costello returned to the stage in 2011 with his celebrated Spinning Wheel tour and now comes the definitive document of this tour: The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!!.
This Deluxe Edition of The Return Of The Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!! includes a CD, DVD and 28 page booklet filled with musings from Napoleon Dynamite (aka Elvis Costello), the MC of The Spectacular Spinning Songbook show. Recorded over a 2-night stand at The Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles on May 11 and 12, 2011, the CD was culled from both nights' performances, shows which The Los Angeles Times said were "the kind of uniquely invigorating experience that warrants a buzzword all its own: inspiring." and includes popular songs such as Everyday I Write The Book, God Give Me Strength, Watching The Detectives, (What's So Funny `bout) Peace, Love and Understanding plus a cover of the Rolling Stones' Out Of Time; an extended I Want You; and the return of the Bangles on Tear Off Your Own Head.
The DVD is from Costello's show on May 12, 2011 and includes a special guest appearance by the Bangles. The DVD contains bonus footage including an alternate intro by Napoleon Dynamite (aka Elvis Costello), and behind-the-scenes moments captured with the Imposters--Steve Nieve, Davey Faragher and Pete Thomas--as well as extra performances not included in the main set of the show.
The CD and DVD are also available individually.
National Ransom Music Artist : Elvis Costello Music Label : HEAR MUSIC Release Date : 2010-11-02 Artistopia's Price :$12.52
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Album Summary
On National Ransom Elvis Costello once again teams up with Grammy award winning producer T Bone Burnett and engineer Michael Pierante. Recorded in eleven days between Los Angeles and Nashville, Elvis is joined by all the members of the Imposters and Sugarcanes along with special guests Vince Gill, Marc Ribot, Buddy Miller and Leon Russell. All of these songs are newly composed by Costello with the exception of "I Lost You," co-written with Jim Lauderdale and "All These Strangers," for which Costello and T Bone Burnett collaborated on the lyrics. Costello and Burnett also provide the lyrics for "My Lovely Jezebel," a Leon Russell rock and roll tune.
THIS YEAR'S MODEL is packaged with a 28-page booklet that includes rare photos and printed song lyrics. For his second album, Costello fine-tuned his aesthetic by abandoned the California studio cat accompanists of his debut for the more aggressive, quirky and very British Attractions, who would virtually define EC's sound over the next several years. Where MY AIM IS TRUE highlighted Costello's rootsy influences (the Band, etc.), THIS YEAR'S MODEL wholeheartedly embraces the "new wave" out-with-the-old mindset, favoring tightly-wound ferocity over back-porch-isms.
Irresistibly catchy, in a twitchy, neurotic, white-knuckled way, THIS YEAR'S MODEL is Costello at his edgiest. The classic "Pump It Up" pummels the listener with garage-band organ, pounding drums, and HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED-style ranting. "Radio, Radio" turned into something of an anti-authoritarian anthem for Costello. The snaky guitar and reggae-tinged drums of "I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea" complement Costello's verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown vocal performance nicely. Come to think of it, so does nearly everything else here.
The record was produced by T Bone Burnett and recorded by Mike Piersante during a three-day session at Nashville's Sound Emporium Studio.
Joining Costello were Jerry Douglas (dobro), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Mike Compton (mandolin), Jeff Taylor (accordion) and Dennis Crouch (double bass), some of the most highly regarded recording artists and musicians in traditional American country music, Bluegrass and beyond.
The album includes ten previously unrecorded songs. "Sulphur to Sugarcane" and "The Crooked Line", were co-written with T Bone Burnett while, "I Felt The Chill" marks Costello's second recorded songwriting collaboration with Loretta Lynn.
Costello revisits two songs from his catalogue in string band style. Both songs were originally written for Johnny Cash. "Hidden Shame" was indeed included on Cash's album, "Boom Chicka Boom".
The album title makes reference to "The Secret Songs", Costello's unfinished commission for the Royal Danish Opera about the life of Hans Christian Andersen.
Seeking a new connection from the author to the Anglophone world, Costello wrote about the Andersen's relationship with the world famous singer, Jenny Lind in "She Handed Me A Mirror" and "How Deep Is The Red".
"She Was No Good", relates some of the chaotic details of Lind's famous "All-American" concert tour of 1850, which was promoted by P.T. Barnum. In its aftermath, "Red Cotton" imagines Barnum reading an Abolishionist pamphlet, while manufacturing cheap souvenirs of the adventure.
These four episodes were newly adapted for the instrumentation of this record.
Indeed these are first Costello compositions to be predominantly rooted in acoustic music since his 1986 album, "King Of America", which was produced by T Bone Burnett. He also produced the 1989 album, "Spike".
T Bone adds his distinctive Kay electric guitar to several of numbers, the only amplified instrument on the recording.
Jim Lauderdale takes the close vocal harmony part throughout the record and Emmylou Harris contributed a third vocal part on the chorus of "The Crooked Line" on the final day of recording.
The record concludes with the waltz, "Changing Partners", a song made famous by Bing Crosby.
The cover artwork of "Secret, Profane & Sugarcane" is an ink drawing by the renowned cartoonist, illustrator and author, Tony Millionaire.
Elvis Costello first recorded in Nashville with George Jones in 1979 and returned to the city for "Almost Blue", his 1981 album of classic country covers.
He returned to the city in 2004 to record a duet rendition of "The Scarlet Tide" with Emmylou Harris.
This song, co-written with T Bone Burnett, received an Academy Award nomination for Alison Krauss' rendition in the motion picture, "Cold Mountain" in 2003.
Elvis Costello returned to the stage in 2011 with his celebrated Spinning Wheel tour and now comes the definitive document of this tour: The Return of The Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!!, recorded over a 2-night stand at The Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles on May 11 and 12, 2011, shows which The Los Angeles Times said were "the kind of uniquely invigorating experience that warrants a buzzword all its own: inspiring." Costello once again allowed his set-list to be chosen by "The Spectacular Spinning Songbook," a monumental game-show type wheel spun by select fans and featuring songs from his latest critically acclaimed release National Ransom, plus new renditions of hits, rarities and very unexpected covers.
This 16 track album includes popular songs such as Everyday I Write The Book, God Give Me Strength, Watching The Detectives, (What's So Funny `bout) Peace, Love and Understanding plus a cover of the Rolling Stones' Out Of Time; an extended I Want You; and the return of the Bangles on Tear Off Your Own Head.
The Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!! is also available on DVD and as a Deluxe Edition CD/DVD
Produced under the direct supervision of Elvis Costello. Housed in a slim-line package, each rerelease contains a deluxe 28-page booklet with brand-new liner notes by Elvis Costello, rare photos, reproductions of memorabilia, and printed song lyrics. Album includes an entire second disc of bonus material!
The Return Of The Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!! is a 3-disc (CD, DVD, 10" vinyl EP) live box set, recorded over a 2-night stand at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on May 11 and 12, 2011. Limited to 1500 copies worldwide, each set is individually numbered with a special commemoration card autographed by Elvis Costello. This super deluxe package includes a 40-page hardcover book packed with candid photos, a tour diary of Costello's musings from each tour stop, a 20" x 30" concert tour poster and a limited edition postcard.
The CD was recorded from both nights' performances at the Wiltern, shows which The Los Angeles Times called "the kind of uniquely invigorating experience that warrants a buzzword all its own: inspiring." The DVD is from Costello's show on May 12, 2011, and includes a special guest appearance by the Bangles, plus bonus footage including behind-the-scenes moments captured with the Imposters as well as extra performances not included in the main set of the show. The 10-inch vinyl record features four songs only available in this set.
All this is housed in a lavish box with a working spinning replica of "The Spectacular Spinning Songbook" on the front cover! Only 1500 copies were printed and autographed so don't miss out.
Since the super deluxe Elvis Costello & the Imposters: The Return Of The Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!! is a limited edition set, a single CD, DVD, and double-disc version (CD/DVD) will be available next year.
