Almost Blue [Ryko Bonus Tracks] by Elvis Costello (CD, Aug-1994, Ryko Distribution)

Album Features
UPC:	014431027727
Artist:	Elvis Costello
Format:	CD
Release Year:	1994
Record Label:	Ryko Distribution
Genre:	Country Rock, Rock & Pop

Track Listing
1. Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do) ?
2. Sweet Dreams
3. Success
4. I'm Your Toy (Hot Burrito No. 1)
5. Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down
6. Brown to Blue
7. Good Year for the Roses, A
8. Sittin' and Thinkin'
9. Colour of the Blues
10. Too Far Gone
11. Honey Hush
12. How Much I've Lied
13. He's Got You - (previously unreleased, live)
14. Cry Cry Cry - (previously unreleased, live)
15. There Won't Be Anymore - (previously unreleased, live)
16. Sittin' and Thinkin' - (previously unreleased, live)
17. Honey Hush - (previously unreleased, live)
18. Psycho - (live)
19. Your Angel Steps Out of Heaven - (live)
20. Darling, You Know I Wouldn't Lie - (previously unreleased, live)
21. My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You - (live)
22. Tears Before Bedtime - (previously unreleased, alternate take, live)
23. I'm Your Toy (Hot Burrito No. 1) - (live)

Details
Playing Time:	64 min.
Producer:	Elvis Costello, Billy Sherrill
Distributor:	Ryko Distribution
Recording Type:	Studio
Recording Mode:	Stereo
SPAR Code:	n/a

Album Notes
Personnel: Elvis Costello (vocals, guitar); John McFee (guitar, pedal steel); Tommy Millar (fiddle); Steve Nieve (piano, organ); Bruce Thomas (bass); Pete Thomas (drums); Nashville Edition (background vocals).Recorded at CBS Studios, Nashville, Tennessee in May, 1981; live at the Mean Machine, Aberdeen, Scotland on July 30, 1981; live at The Palomino Club, North Hollywood, California on February 16, 1979; live at The Royal Albert Hall, London, England on January 7, 1982. Includes liner notes by Elvis Costello.This is where Costello began to display the chameleonic tendencies that would serve him so well throughout his career. Abandoning snappy, "new wave"-associated rock for the first time, Elvis decided to visit Nashville and record his take on the country classics he loved so much. Enlisting the services of George Jones producer Billy Sherrill, Costello cloaked himself and the Attractions in countrypolitan trappings (including lush strings) for some distinctive version of country evergreens like "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" and "Sweet Dreams." Only the punk-derived fervor of "Why Don't You Love Me Like You Used To Do" and the bar-room raunch of "Honey Hush" interrupt the elegant, emotional balladry. Costello also pays tribute to a more recent generation on aching covers of Gram Parsons' "I'm Your Toy" and "How Much I Lied." Ryko's bonus cuts sweeten the pot considerably, especially the live version of Leon Payne's self-explanatory "Psycho."

Editorial Reviews
4 stars out of 5 - ALMOST BLUE could not have made a bigger counter-mainstream splash.
Mojo

3 stars out of 5 - Part novelty, part Gram Parsons/George Jones kick, and all covers, its performances are workmanlike and soulful...
Uncut

4 stars out of 5 - [I]t's proven durable...sounding as warm and nasty as ever.
Uncut

3 Stars - Good - ...its exact power eluded most of us, although it arguably turned many other on to the genre from which it drew...
Q (19941101)