Product Description

Costello was always something of a musical sponge, soaking up an eclectic bunch of influences and assimilating them into an original vision that was fed by tradition but pointed straight to the future. Here he pays tribute to the musical heroes of his youth, with cover versions of songs both obscure and familiar. The accent is on blues and R&B, as EC tackles James Carr's anguished, soulful "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" and Willie Dixon's vibrant "Hidden Charms". Along the way, Elvis redefines some of his favourite tunes by radically recasting them. Dylan's "I Threw it All Away" become a soul torch ballad. The Louvin Brothers' "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face" is turned into an R&B lament. Session monsters like Jim Keltner and James Burton inject the proper amount ofgrit into the proceedings, making this a surprisingly fresh-sounding walk through the American roots of one of Britain's finest singer-songwriters.

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Strange
2. Hidden Charms
3. Remove This Doubt
4. I Threw It Away
5. Leave My Kitten Alone
6. Everybody’s Crying Mercy
7. I’ve Been Wrong Before
8. Bama Lama Bama Loo
9. Must You Throw Dirt In My Face
10. Pouring Water On A Drowning Man
11. The Very Thought Of You
12. Payday
13. Please Stay
14. Running Out Of Fools
15. Days

Disc 2:

1. Ship Of Fools
2. My Resistance Is Low
3. Innocent When You Dream
4. I’m Coming Home
5. The Dark End Of The Street
6. Congratulations
7. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
8. Pouring Water On A Drowning Man (Alt. Version) - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
9. Still Feeling Blue
10. Brilliant Disguise
11. How Long Has This Been Going On
12. Sleepness Nights
13. Step Inside Love
14. You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
15. Sally Sue Brown
16. Sticks And Stones
17. That’s How I Got Killed Before - Elvis Costello & The Attractions & The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
18. The Night Before Larry Was Stretched
19. But Not For Me - Elvis Costello Feat. Larry Adler
20. Full Force Gale

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75838 in Music
• Released on: 2004-08-16
• Number of discs: 2

Album Description
With Kojak Variety, Elvis Costello is a crooner, picking forgotten tunes by both minor and major artists (anyone from Screamin' Jay Hawkins to Bob Dylan). From his song selections to the pseudo-avant-rock/R&B band, Costello doesn't make any obvious moves. Yet that doesn't mean that the record is difficult--it just shows the depths of Costello's affection for music and record collecting (which is also clear from his loving, detailed liner notes). Costello and his band featuring guitarists James Burton and Marc Ribot, drummer Jim Keltner and Attraction Pete Thomas play with gusto, tearing through the songs with the vigour of a bar band on a Friday night. What matters here is the performances, and the majority of Kojak Variety is filled with fine interpretations. This album does what any good covers record should do: it makes you want to seek out the originals. Now considerably expanded with a complete second disc of 20 outtakes and collaborations--one with the New Orleans' Dirty Dozen Brass Band and one with harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler, this album gives considerable insight into Elvis Costello's taste in music and his inspirations.

Customer Reviews

Best edition is the first
The songs added to this are NOT from the original sessions and are either previous Costello B sides,album tracks or unofficial releases such as the Beatles songs which came from the McCartney/McManus Collection.
The contents of this CD are as explained in Costello's own notes and represent an album called KOJAK VARIETY.
Some of the songs came from publishers demos sent to his father when he was a band singer-I've been wrong before was one of these and was picked up for Cilla Black at the time.
Possibly some of these songs are obscure enough to have never been covered before

Elvis's "Pin Ups" !
Like David Bowie on "Pin Ups", Elvis Costello has done the attractive and appealing thing of choosing a bunch of songs to cover from other artists than many listeners may well never have heard in their original inccarnations. This gives the overall effect of an album of originals.

There's lots of styles on here - R'n'B (that's rhythm N Blues by the way !); jazz, ballads, country, 50s musicals, rock n roll...

Costello shows his versatility as he copes with every challenge the songs throw at him. On CD two he even makes Cilla Black's "Step Inside Love" sound cool ! He also covers songs by Springsteen, Tom Waits, Dylan, the Kinks and even Robin Sarstedt.

Recorded in 1989 between "Spike" and "Mighty Like A Rose" this is a great "lost classic", much undervalued in the wake of EC's original work. Any EC fans who are yet to get this are advised to do so forthwith, but ensure you get this 2CD version as disc two, formed of tracks rejected for the original release, is the better one !

I'd love to know what is "unhelpful" about this review !!