Kojak Variety | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 9 May 1995 | |||
Recorded | 1989–1994[ citation needed ] | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 53:57 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | Kevin Killen and Elvis Costello | |||
Elvis Costello chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Blender | [2] |
Chicago Tribune | [3] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | B− [5] |
The Guardian | [6] |
Los Angeles Times | [7] |
Mojo | [8] |
Q | [9] |
Rolling Stone | [10] |
Uncut | [11] |
Kojak Variety is an album by English musician Elvis Costello, released in 1995 through Warner Bros. Records. It is composed of cover songs written by others. In 2004, Rhino Records reissued an expanded, double-CD version of the album, containing a bonus disc. [12]
Costello said in the liner notes this was a "record of some of my favourite songs performed with some of my favourite musicians." [13] but that he didn't want to record songs that were too familiar. Costello had searched independent record shops: Potter's Music in Richmond, Probe in Liverpool, Rock On in Camden Town, and many American thrift stores and pawn shops to discover albums that he previously had only known from singles or compilations. Costello said he made his best discoveries in what he called "the greatest record collecting store in the world", Village Music in Mill Valley, California. [13]
The first song recorded for the album was "Running Out of Fools", while the last was a new rendering of "Days" by The Kinks, which he had previously recorded for the album soundtrack album Until the End of the World, for the Wim Wenders' film of the same name. The title Kojak Variety refers to the name of a variety store in Barbados near where the album was recorded; Costello was amused by the seemingly random name of the enterprise, and in a similar spirit, decided to apply the name to his album. [14]
No. | Title | Original artist | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Strange" (Screamin' Jay Hawkins) | Screamin' Jay Hawkins | 2:39 (2:49 on 2004 reissue) |
2. | "Hidden Charms" (Willie Dixon) | Willie Dixon | 3:29 |
3. | "Remove this Doubt" (Brian Holland / Lamont Dozier / Edward Holland, Jr.) | The Supremes | 3:52 |
4. | "I Threw It All Away" (Bob Dylan) | Bob Dylan | 3:23 |
5. | "Leave My Kitten Alone" (Little Willie John / Titus Turner) | Little Willie John | 3:10 (3:18 on 2004 reissue) |
6. | "Everybody's Crying Mercy" (Mose Allison) | Mose Allison | 4:05 |
7. | "I've Been Wrong Before" (Randy Newman) | Cilla Black | 3:01 |
8. | "Bama Lama Bama Loo" (Richard Penniman) | Little Richard | 2:45 |
9. | "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face" (Bill Anderson) | Louvin Brothers | 3:49 |
10. | "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" (Drew Baker / Dani McCormick) | James Carr | 3:39 |
11. | "The Very Thought of You" (Ray Noble) | Ray Noble featuring Al Bowlly | 3:42 |
12. | "Payday" (Jesse Winchester) | Jesse Winchester | 2:57 |
13. | "Please Stay" (Burt Bacharach / Bob Hilliard) | The Drifters | 4:49 |
14. | "Running Out of Fools" (Richard Ahlert / Kay Rogers) | Aretha Franklin | 3:04 |
15. | "Days" (Ray Davies) | The Kinks | 4:54 |
No. | Title | Original artist | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Ship of Fools" (Jerry Garcia / Robert Hunter) | The Grateful Dead | 5:21 |
2. | "My Resistance Is Low" (Harold Adamson / Hoagy Carmichael) | Hoagy Carmichael | 2:00 |
3. | "Innocent When You Dream" (Tom Waits) | Tom Waits | 4:30 |
4. | "I'm Coming Home" (T-Bone Burnett) | T-Bone Burnett | 3:13 |
5. | "The Dark End of the Street" (Chips Moman / Dan Penn) | James Carr | 3:10 |
6. | "Congratulations" (Paul Simon) | Paul Simon | 2:47 |
7. | "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" (Dylan) | Bob Dylan | 2:13 |
8. | "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man (Alternate Version)" (Baker / McCormick) | James Carr | 2:54 |
9. | "Still Feeling Blue" (Gram Parsons) | Gram Parsons | 2:23 |
10. | "Brilliant Disguise" (Bruce Springsteen) | Bruce Springsteen | 4:03 |
11. | "How Long Has This Been Going On?" (George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin) | Bobbe Arnst | 2:31 |
12. | "Sleepless Nights" (Felice Bryant / Boudleaux Bryant) | The Everly Brothers | 3:58 |
13. | "Step Inside Love" (John Lennon / Paul McCartney) | Cilla Black | 2:49 |
14. | "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (Lennon / McCartney) | The Beatles | 2:38 |
15. | "Sally Sue Brown" (Arthur Alexander) | Arthur Alexander | 2:19 |
16. | "Sticks and Stones" (Turner) | Ray Charles | 1:36 |
17. | "That's How You Got Killed Before (with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band)" (Dave Bartholomew) | Dave Bartholomew and His Orchestra | 3:14 |
18. | "The Night Before Larry Was Stretched" (Traditional) | Johnny Moynihan | 5:10 |
19. | "But Not for Me (with Larry Adler)" (Gershwin / Gershwin) | Ginger Rogers | 5:04 |
20. | "Full Force Gale" (Van Morrison) | Van Morrison | 2:59 |
Chart (1995) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200 [15] | 102 |
Declan Patrick MacManus, better known by his stage name Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to Rolling Stone, Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical traditions of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison with the raw energy and sass that were principal ethics of punk", noting the "construction of his songs, which set densely layered wordplay in an ever-expanding repertoire of styles." His first album, My Aim Is True (1977), spawned no hit singles, but contains some of Costello's best-known songs, including the ballad "Alison". Costello's next two albums, This Year's Model (1978) and Armed Forces (1979), recorded with his backing band the Attractions, helped define the new wave genre. From late 1977 until early 1980, each of the eight singles he released reached the UK Top 30. His biggest hit single, "Oliver's Army" (1979), sold more than 500,000 copies in Britain. He has had more modest commercial success in the US, but has earned much critical praise. From 1977 until the early 2000s, Costello's albums regularly ranked high on the Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll, with This Year's Model and Imperial Bedroom (1982) voted the best album of their respective years. His biggest US hit single, "Veronica" (1989), reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.
James Edward Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001, Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. He was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2024. Critic Mark Deming writes that "Burton has a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest guitar pickers in either country or rock ... Burton is one of the best guitar players to ever touch a fretboard." He is ranked number 24 in Rolling Stone list of 250 greatest guitarists of all time.
Almost Blue is the sixth studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his fifth with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas. It was recorded in May 1981 in Nashville, Tennessee, and released in October the same year. A departure from Costello's previous works, it is a covers album composed entirely of country music songs, including works written by Hank Williams and George Jones. The project originated with Costello's desire to record a collection of covers after his two previous studio albums commercially underperformed following Armed Forces (1979).
Mighty Like a Rose is the 13th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1991 on compact disc as Warner Brothers 26575. The title is presumably a reference to the pop standard "Mighty Lak' a Rose", and although that song does not appear on the album, the words of its first stanza are quoted in the booklet of the 2002 reissue. It peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart, and at No. 55 on the Billboard 200.
Spike is the 12th studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1989 by Warner Bros. Records. It was his first album for the label and first release since My Aim Is True with no appearance by the Attractions. It peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and also reached the Billboard 200 at No. 32, thanks to the single and his most notable American hit, "Veronica", which reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the US Modern Rock chart. In The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for the year's best albums, Spike finished at No. 7.
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Punch the Clock is the eighth studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his seventh with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas. It was released on 5 August 1983 through F-Beat Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States. Produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, the album was Costello's attempt at making a commercial record following years of dwindling commercial success. It was recorded at London's AIR Studios in early 1983 and features contributions from the TKO Horns and Afrodiziak.
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When I Was Cruel is the 19th studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released in the US by Island Records on 23 April 2002. Although formally credited as solo Costello album, this was the first album to feature his new band, the Imposters featuring Steve Nieve on keyboards, Davey Faragher on bass guitar and Pete Thomas on drums. Their only difference from his previous band, the Attractions, was Faragher replacing Bruce Thomas, with whom Costello had feuded.
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All This Useless Beauty is the seventeenth studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1996 by Warner Bros. Records. It is his tenth and final album with his long-standing backing band the Attractions, and the last album he delivered under his contract to the Warner Bros. label, his contract expiring with a further compilation album, Extreme Honey. It peaked at number 28 on the UK album chart, and at number 53 on the Billboard 200.
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"Girls Talk" is a new wave song written by Elvis Costello and first recorded by Dave Edmunds in 1978. Costello gave an early version of the song to Edmunds, who reworked the song and released it on his album Repeat When Necessary. Edmunds' version peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and number 12 in Ireland, becoming one of Edmunds' most successful career singles.
"The Only Flame in Town" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and recorded by Costello with his backing band the Attractions. The song appeared on Costello's 1984 album, Goodbye Cruel World. Originally written in the style of a classic torch song, "The Only Flame in Town" was reworked by producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley in a more pop-friendly style. This final version features Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates on backing vocals.
Luís Alberto Figueira Gonçalves Jardim is a Portuguese percussionist born on the island of Madeira. He is best known for his work with producer Trevor Horn.
"The Other End (Of the Telescope)" is a song by American band 'Til Tuesday, which was released in 1988 on their third and final studio album Everything's Different Now. The song was written by Aimee Mann and Elvis Costello. Costello recorded his own version of the song for his 1996 album All This Useless Beauty.
"Riot Act" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and performed by Costello and the Attractions for his 1980 album Get Happy!!. Costello wrote the song as a response to the controversy that had surrounded him in his professional and personal life, particularly relating to his incident in Columbus, Ohio. Recorded originally as a stripped-down acoustic demo, the song was fleshed out in the studio with the Attractions.
"Jack of All Parades" is a song by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, which was released on his tenth studio album King of America (1986). The song was written by Costello, credited under his real name Declan MacManus, and produced by T Bone Burnett, Costello and Larry Kalman Hirsch. As a musician, Costello is credited on the track as "The Little Hands of Concrete". It is a love song, inspired by his new relationship with Cait O'Riordan of the Pogues, and is unusual in Costello's catalogue for being a positive love song.