''Almost Blue'' is the sixth studio album by the English singer-songwriter

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

, and his fifth with

the Attractions The Attractions were an English backing band for the English new wave musician Elvis Costello between 1977 and 1986, and again from 1994 to 1996. They consisted of Steve Nieve (keyboards), Bruce Thomas (bass guitar), and Pete Thomas (drums ...

—keyboardist

Steve Nieve Steve Nieve ( "naïve"; born Stephen John Nason, 21 February 1958) is an English musician and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Nieve has been a member of Elvis Costello's backing bands the Attractions and the Imposters, as w ...

, bassist

Bruce Thomas Bruce Thomas may refer to: * Bruce Thomas (musician) (born 1948) * Bruce Thomas (actor) Bruce Thomas is an American actor. He is well known for being the motion capture actor of Master Chief in ''Halo 4'', '' Halo 5: Guardians'' and ''Halo Infin ...

and drummer Pete Thomas (no relation). It was recorded in May 1981 in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, and released in October the same year. A departure from Costello's previous works, it is a covers album composed entirely of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

songs, including works written by

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

and

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

. The project originated with Costello's desire to record a collection of covers after his two previous studio albums commercially underperformed following ''

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

'' (1979). Produced by

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger associated with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regar ...

, the recording sessions were marked by a fraught atmosphere, including resistance from Sherrill himself.

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...

member

John McFee John McFee (born September 9, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist, and long-time member of The Doobie Brothers. Biography Some of McFee's early and non-Doobie Brothers work includes pl ...

contributed

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

as a way to add an authentic country sound. Most of the songs are relatively straightforward renditions of their original counterparts; a few were based on other covers of the originals. Costello's poor health during recording and troubled personal life reflected in the song choices. All of the tracks express a "blue" state of mind, reflected in the cover artwork, an homage to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

guitarist

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

's ''

Midnight Blue Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue named for its resemblance to the apparently blue color of a moonlit night sky around a full moon. Midnight blue is identifiably blue to the eye in sunlight Sunlight is the portion of the electromag ...

'' (1963). The

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

, a cover of Jones's " Good Year for the Roses", received heavy airplay and reached the UK top ten. ''Almost Blue'' was released to little promotion, reaching number 7 in the UK and number 50 in the US. It received mixed reviews from music critics, who were divided on the vocal performances and debated on Costello's success as a country singer. It has continued to receive mixed reactions in later decades from critics and has placed low on lists ranking the artist's albums. Nevertheless, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' argued in 2016 that the album predicted numerous unexpected musical excursions Costello took later in his career. It has been reissued multiple times with bonus tracks.

Background

By 1981,

had experimented with

throughout his entire career. While he did not grow up listening to country music, his discovery of

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973), known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. He recorded with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds, and the Flying Bu ...

' work with both

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

and

the Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1968, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is known for its connection to band f ...

inspired him to explore other country acts such as

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

and

the Louvin Brothers The Louvin Brothers were an American musical duo composed of brothers Ira and Charlie Louvin (''né'' Loudermilk). The brothers are cousins to John D. Loudermilk, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member. The brothers wrote and performed ...

. He played

country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...

songs during his time with the

pub rock Pub rock is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, which incorporated roots rock, pub rock was a reaction against the expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock ...

band Flip City in the mid-1970s and recorded the country tracks "Radio Sweetheart" and " Stranger in the House" during the sessions for his debut album ''

My Aim Is True ''My Aim Is True'' is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, originally released in the United Kingdom on 22July 1977 through Stiff Records. Produced by Stiff artist and musician Nick Lowe, the album was recorde ...

'' (1977). At the suggestion of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

' executive Greg Geller—who signed Costello to Columbia in America in 1977—Costello sang "Stranger in the House" as a duet with country musician

in 1979, which appeared on the latter's '' My Very Special Guests'' album the same year. Costello first met Jones's longtime producer,

, during an initial session in

a year earlier. When Jones failed to show up, the two became friends and agreed to work together if Costello desired to create a country album. The weaker commercial performances of both '' Get Happy!!'' (1980) and ''

Trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit * Trust (bu ...

'' (1981) following the successful ''

'' (1979) made Costello question where he was at in his career. He was unable to express his current thoughts in his own music and stated that he "just wanted to sing other people's songs". Intending to explore his capabilities as a performer of cover versions, he recorded acoustic demos of several popular songs, including "

Gloomy Sunday "Gloomy Sunday" ( Hungarian: ''Szomorú Vasárnap''), also known as the "Hungarian Suicide Song", is a song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933. The original lyrics were titled "Vége a világnak" (' ...

" (1933) and

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

's " Love for Sale" (1930). His initial vision was not limited to country music but rather "a collection of melancholy songs of many styles", similar to

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

's ''

Only the Lonely "Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)" is a 1960 song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. Orbison's recording of the song, produced by Fred Foster for Monument Records, was the first major hit for the singer. It was described by ''The Ne ...

'' (1958). In an interview with

Nicky Campbell Nicholas Andrew Argyll Campbell OBE (born Nicholas Lackey; 10 April 1961) is a Scottish broadcaster and journalist. He has worked in television and radio since 1981 and as a network presenter with BBC Radio since 1987. Early life Campbell wa ...

, the artist said:

Development

While touring ''Trust'' in early 1981, Costello and his backing band

—keyboardist

, bassist

and drummer Pete Thomas (no relation)—conducted a session at Nashville's CBS Studio B with Sherrill producing and

Pete Drake Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988) was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anders ...

that foreshadowed ''Almost Blue''; the session yielded covers of

Hank Cochran Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran (August 2, 1935 – July 15, 2010) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting during the 1960s, Cochran was a prolific songwriter in the genre, including major hits by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy ...

's " He's Got You" (1962) and

Bobby Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was describ ...

's " I'll Take Care of You" (1959). The band also road-tested several country songs during the tour. The Attractions had hesitations about the project, but Costello did not want to work with session musicians, stating: "Then it would be just like going to the funfair and sticking your head through one of those little cut-out things and having your picture taken. I thought it could be a good emotional record. It was something that was very real to me when I did it." Rehearsals for the project commenced at

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave, Songs Costello chose for the project included tracks recorded by Jones,

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...

Janis Martin Janis Darlene Martin (March 27, 1940 – September 3, 2007) was an American rockabilly and country music singer. She was one of the few women working in the male-dominated rock and roll music field during the 1950s and one of country music ...

Webb Pierce Michael Webb Pierce (August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991) was an American country music vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number-one hits than any other country and western pe ...

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

and

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel. In the later part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname t ...

. Sherrill felt the chosen material was outdated and presented cassette tapes of songs he felt were better suited, such as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...

" (1956) and a

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

demo titled "I Just Can't Let You Say Goodbye". Sherrill was willing to see how the band would interpret the material "unless we write a new one". The producer also convinced Costello to record one of his own songs, "Too Far Gone".

Production

Recording

The album was recorded from 18 to 29 May 1981 at Nashville's CBS Studio A; Studio B was being renovated so operations were forced to move to the adjacent studio, which Costello said was more generic and less atmospheric. Sherrill produced while Ron "Snake" Reynolds engineered; it was Costello's first studio album not produced by Nick Lowe. Alongside the Attractions,

Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock music, rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their Vocal harmony, vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five d ...

member

was invited to contribute pedal steel and additional guitar

overdubs Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more a ...

to add an authentic country sound. Costello said: "We wanted the sound but we didn't necessarily want the main instrumental line which usually comes from the steel in country to be somebody we'd never heard before." The sessions were filmed by a camera crew, directed by Peter Carr, for the arts programme ''

The South Bank Show ''The South Bank Show'' is a British television arts magazine series originally produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new version of the series began 27 May 2012 on Sky Arts. Conceived, written, a ...

''. The sessions were marred by a tense atmosphere. Costello himself was in poor health: he looked pale, was overweight and constantly drinking, which led to the recording of Haggard's " Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" (1966) and Rich's "Sittin' and Thinkin". According to Costello, Sherrill was a poor producer. Compared to Lowe, Sherrill was distant, uncommunicative and more interested in personal ventures than producing. With different work ethics, the producer and artist clashed frequently, with the latter stating that "after a while it was less of a collaboration and more of a contest in cultural differences". Costello recalled at one point finding Sherrill and Reynolds comparing handguns behind the mixing desk. Sherrill had little faith in the project itself; he and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

saw the sessions as an "Englishman's indulgence ... in music he didn't really understand". He later recalled he lacked interest in Costello as an artist and failed to understand what he could contribute. McFee remembered an instance where Sherrill pulled him aside and asked him "What the hell does this guy think he wants to make a country record for?" The Attractions also disliked Sherrill. Nieve and Pete Thomas enjoyed country music and the project as a whole, while Bruce did not. One day the band ran through a fast rendition of

's " Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do)?", which Sherrill enjoyed. He later said that the way they played the track is what he thought the whole album itself would sound like. Despite the fraught atmosphere, Costello stated the sessions progressed quickly and productively, limiting the tracks to one or two takes before moving on to the next. According to Costello, over 25 songs were recorded during the sessions, although a good portion attempted were never in serious contention for inclusion on the album, recorded simply as backing tracks and lacking final mixes. The band attempted Costello's original "Tears Before Bedtime", a non-country number which Sherrill rejected. In the final days, Sherrill identified the recordings of Jones's " Good Year for the Roses" (1970) and

Don Gibson Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as " Sweet Dreams" and " I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjo ...

's " Sweet Dreams" (1955) as potential hits, adding strings by Tommy Millar and backing vocals by Nashville Edition. After mixing, Costello and the Attractions had dinner with

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

and his family to celebrate the occasion.

Composition

A departure from Costello's previous works, ''Almost Blue'' is composed of 12 country songs that all reflect a "blue" state of mind. In his review for ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'', Allan Jones stated that the tracks are divided between "driving, shitkicking

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

tunes and exquisitely poignant ballads". Costello's troubled personal life, including his failing marriage and alcoholism, were reflected in the song choices, particularly "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down", "Sittin' and Thinkin" and George Jones's "Brown to Blue". ''

'' Will Hodge argued that other than the fast-paced version of "Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do)?" that opens the album, the album itself bears little resemblance to the artist's previous works. The author Mick St. Michael added that the opening track does not represent the album as a whole, a statement supported by Costello, who said "the meat of the album is the ballads". The majority of the songs are mostly straightforward renditions of their original counterparts; "Sweet Dreams" and

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

's "

Honey Hush "Honey Hush", is a blues song, written by Big Joe Turner (although he assigned the copyright to his wife, Lou Willie Turner), recorded in May 1953 in New Orleans, Louisiana, and released that August by Atlantic Records. It was a number-one song on ...

" (1953) were based on the

Tommy McLain Tommy McLain (born March 15, 1940) is an American swamp pop musician, best known as a singer but who also plays keyboards, drums, bass guitar, and fiddle. Career McLain first began performing in the 1950s, along with country singer Clint West. ...

and

Johnny Burnette Trio John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny, his brother Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison, formed the band that became kn ...

renditions, respectively. Costello said Nieve devised new piano lines for "Brown to Blue" and "How Much I've Lied". Three tracks by George Jones appear: "Brown to Blue", "Good Year for the Roses" and " Color of the Blues" (1958). The band recorded the Johnny Mullins-penned

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...

number "

Success Success is the state or condition of meeting a defined range of expectations. It may be viewed as the opposite of failure. The criteria for success depend on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One person mi ...

" (1962) at the insistence of Nieve, who recalled: "We must have gone through hundreds of albums, trying to find that one song that we could make our own." Other tracks include Sherrill's "Too Far Gone" and Parsons's "How Much I've Lied" and "Hot Burrito No. 1", the latter retitled "I'm Your Toy". Costello commented that "Hot Burrito No. 1" was one of his favourites and "an ambition" of his to cover it. St. Michael states that Costello utilised looser and less formal vocal performances on the Parsons tracks, which aid in their successes.

Packaging and artwork

The album's design is an homage to

's ''

'' (1963) and was packaged in four different coloured sleeves, all with blue as the base. Photographed by

Keith Morris Keith Morris (born September 18, 1955) is an American singer and songwriter known for his role as frontman of the hardcore punk bands Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Off!. Born and raised in Hermosa Beach, California, he formed Black Flag at t ...

, the image depicts Costello with his glasses removed and face covered with one hand – a ring on his middle finger – appearing as though he is hiding tears. The original LP came with a removable sticker reading "Warning: This album contains country & western music and may produce radical reaction in narrow minded people". In his memoir, Costello stated the "warning" was a tease for listeners who desired "More New Wave Hits". On the back cover, Costello and the Attractions appear with small grins, along with an image of McFee in a

Stetson Stetson is an American brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, particularly in Scouting. John B. Stetson gained inspiration for his most famous ...

. A logo reads "no spoiler signal".

Release

"Good Year for the Roses" was issued as the

, backed by a cover of Jack Ripley's "Your Angel Steps Out of Heaven", in September 1981. It received heavy airplay on

BBC Radio One BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, hi ...

and Radio Two and charted at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, proving Costello's prediction that it "would probably reach a lot of people that don't buy our records normally". It was promoted with a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

that was filmed at the Meldrum House. According to Costello, they could not take a piano onto the wood floor of the saloon so Nieve mimed the string parts using a violin. The video was played frequently on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

in America during the programme's early days. "Sweet Dreams" was released as the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in December, backed by a live version of

Leon Payne Leon Roger Payne (June 15, 1917 – September 11, 1969), "the Blind Balladeer", was an American country music singer and songwriter. Life He was born in Alba, Texas, United States. He was blind in one eye at birth, and lost the sight in the other ...

's "Psycho", and reached number 42 in the UK. ''Almost Blue'' was released on 23 October 1981 through

F-Beat Records F-Beat Records was a record label set up by Andrew Lauder (music executive), Andrew Lauder and Jake Riviera in 1979. Its first release, "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" by Elvis Costello & the Attractions, reached number 4 in the UK charts, th ...

in the UK and Columbia in the US. It reached number 7 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and number 50 on the US ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape chart, the latter of which Costello attributed to the lack of promotion from country radio stations. F-Beat released an interview album subtitled ''Elvis Introduces His Favorite Country Songs'' to selected journalists and DJs as a promotional tool. The ''South Bank Show'' special filmed during the recording sessions aired shortly after its release. The band took time off after recording, with occasional live performances in late-July that mostly featured Costello's previous work and less country material. By August, he had begun writing original compositions and demoed several songs that would appear on his next album, ''

Imperial Bedroom ''Imperial Bedroom'' is the seventh studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his sixth with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas (musician), Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas (drummer), Pete ...

'' (1982).

Critical reception

''Almost Blue'' received mixed reviews from music critics on release. In the UK, it was greeted with mostly positive reactions. In ''Melody Maker'', Allan Jones positively compared the artist's vocal performances to ''Trust'', arguing that Costello's voice "has rarely enjoyed such freedom and expressive scope", concluding that ''Almost Blue'' "unashamedly evoke memories of all the places you thought you'd never leave but did, all the lovers you thought you'd still know, don't, but can't forget."

Paul Du Noyer Paul Du Noyer (born Paul Anthony Du Noyer; 21 May 1954) is an English rock journalist and author. He has written and edited for the music magazines ''NME'', '' Q'' and '' Mojo''. Du Noyer is the author of several books on the music industry, ro ...

deemed it "a richly satisfying sidestep" in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', saying that "it has the feel of being both a homage and a holiday". In a five-star review, ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Mike Nicholls proclaimed that taken on its own terms, "it's as flawless an LP as has been released all year", although he felt Costello's fans would be disappointed due to the lack of originals. Costello's vocal performances proved divisive in America. Many deemed some renditions as successes and others as failures. In ''Rolling Stone'', Martha Hume argued that "a truly great country singer" possesses both control of their own voice, the ability to broadcast a character and—ideally—is able to convey their own personality onto the listener. She stated that Costello succeeds at this on "Sweet Dreams", "I'm Your Toy" and "Good Year for the Roses", while failing on "Brown to Blue", "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" and "Color of the Blues". Hume noted that the LP stood as the artist's first album on which the lyrics are easily understandable. Writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...

wrote that Costello's singing "exposes his own technical limitations", a comment supported by

Robert Hilburn Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As music critic and editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays, and profiles have appeared in publications worldwide ...

in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', who wrote that Costello's voice is ideal for "expressing ironies and nuances" in his own songs, but "lacks the purity and range" to effectively compete with the original versions of the tracks. More positively, ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' argued that the singer's "distinctive vocals fit perfectly into the country framework" and the songs are "rendered with conviction and emotion". American critics were mixed on ''Almost Blue'' as a whole. Carrie B. Cooper found that Costello was "settling for love rather than passion" in ''

Boston Rock ''Boston Rock'' was a tabloid format entertainment magazine published in Boston, Massachusetts. Its focus, as stated on the cover was: fashion, style, and entertainment. The main focus was on the local music scene and indie rock. History and ...

''. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' announced that the album "does for country what the band's ''Get Happy!!'' did for R&B—respect the music's form and essence, yet link both to Costello's own writing". More negatively, Hilburn deemed it a "major disappointment" that would serve as an intriguing piece for hardcore fans, but provide little enjoyment to everyone else, exhibiting "little of Costello's usual vision". Hilburn asserted that although ''Almost Blue'' is not a bad country album, it "simply lacks the power and originality we have come to expect from this invaluable figure". In ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'', Jon Young felt that the artist would be a worthy participant in country as a whole once he presented more of himself into the genre. Young and Ira Robbins later labelled the album "surprisingly clumsy" and a "dud". Additionally, several noted the continued absence of Costello's angry persona featured prominently in his earlier works, while some gave positive mentions to the performances of the Attractions. In ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'', critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

positively compared ''Almost Blue'' to other covers albums such as

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's ''

Pin Ups ''Pin Ups'' (also referred to as ''Pinups'' and ''Pin-Ups'') is the seventh studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 19October 1973 through RCA Records. Devised as a "stop-gap" album to appease his record label, it is a ...

'' (1973) and

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

's ''

Rock 'n' Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

'' (1975), records that "also seemed 'important' when they appeared".

Subsequent events and legacy

After recording ''Imperial Bedroom'' in November 1981, Costello and the Attractions underwent the Almost Blue Tour from December to January 1982, playing major cities in the US and the UK. The setlist was composed of country songs from ''Almost Blue'', as well as older and newer originals. On 7 January, Costello played to a sold out show at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, fronting the 92-member

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

. The show received praise from Allan Jones, who hailed that "Costello's voice raided every emotional avenue on its way to the heart." A live version of "I'm Your Toy" from the show was released as a single in April, backed by renditions of Johnny Cash's "

Cry! Cry! Cry! "Cry! Cry! Cry!" is the debut single by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. The song was originally released in 1955 and reached number 14 on the Hot Country Songs, Best Sellers charts. Background In 1954, before the release of the song "Cry! Cry! ...

" (1955) and

's " Wondering" (1951). Costello and the Attractions continued touring throughout 1982 before ''Imperial Bedroom'' was released in July. Although ''Get Happy!!'' had represented Costello's first instance of shifting musical styles, ''Almost Blue'' stood as his first true departure, predicting a career of ever-changing songwriting approaches, musical styles and experimentation. Hodge commented in 2016 that since ''Almost Blue'', Costello has released several "unconventional and unexpected" albums amidst his "normal" albums, from the orchestral instrumental of '' G.B.H.'' (1991) and the jazz ballads of ''

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

'' (2003), to a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

score (''

Il Sogno ''Il Sogno'' is the 20th studio album by Elvis Costello, released in 2004 by Deutsche Grammophon. It is performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. It peaked at No. 1 ...

'', 2004) and a collection of classical string quartet pieces ('' The Juliet Letters'', 1993). Hodge further acknowledges the artist's collaborative records with

the Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

(''

Wise Up Ghost ''Wise Up Ghost'' is a collaborative studio album by British singer/songwriter Elvis Costello and American hip hop group the Roots. The album was released on 17 September 2013, by Blue Note Records. The album's first single "Walk Us Uptown" was re ...

'', 2013),

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...

('' Painted from Memory'', 1998) and

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descr ...

(''

The River in Reverse ''The River in Reverse'' is a collaboration album by Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint, released in 2006. It received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album. Track listing All songs written by Allen Toussaint unless otherwise indicated. ...

'', 2006). Costello returned to country music in the late-2000s with the back-to-back releases of '' Secret, Profane & Sugarcane'' (2009) and ''

National Ransom ''National Ransom'' is a studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 25 October 2010 (2 November in the US) through the Hear Music label. It was recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with American songwriter and produc ...

'' (2010). Hodge summarises:

Retrospective appraisal

Retrospectively, ''Almost Blue'' has received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. In 1994, '' Q'' magazine's

David Cavanagh David Cavanagh was an Irish writer and music journalist. He was editor of '' Select'' magazine in the 1990s and wrote ''My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize'' (2000), which detailed the rise and fall of Creation Records. Cavanagh was born in D ...

acknowledged that "its exact point eluded most of us, although it arguably turned many others on to the genre from which it drew", further remarking that its first expanded reissue presented it as "a little too good to class as a career blip". Senior

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

agreed, arguing that ''Almost Blue'' stands as "one of the most entertaining cover records in rock & roll" due to the enthusiasm behind the project. Reporting on the 2004 reissue, '' Uncut'' magazine's Chris Roberts argued that the album has aged well despite its divisive reception on its initial release, highlighting "Sweet Dreams", "Good Year for the Roses" and "I'm Your Toy" as tracks that sound "as warm and nasty as ever". The online music service Rhapsody called it one of their favourite covers albums in 2010. In 2022, Chris Ingalls of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' named ''Almost Blue'' one of Costello's ten most under-appreciated albums, finding the artist's embracement of the genre and the Attractions' fine performances make for a "worthwhile listen" and a "charming change of pace". Costello's biographers have shown appreciation for ''Almost Blue''. In his book ''Elvis Costello: God's Comic'', David Gouldstone describes the album as "a brave experiment, and a successful one". Tony Clayton-Lea deems it "one of rock's finest and enriching sidesteps", summarising it as "another collection of good, even great songs". St. Michael commends the performances and overall good execution, further stating that Costello had already displayed "his command of the country lyric idiom" on tracks such as "Stranger in the House" and ''Trust'' "Different Finger". The author James E. Perone calls the record uneven but finds it "presents Elvis Costello as a successful country balladeer who could effectively sing American country ballads and not simply try to capture the style." Graeme Thomson, on the other hand, describes ''Almost Blue'' as "a difficult record to love". He opines that despite its brevity—at a little over 30 minutes in length—it drags and "merely sound funereal and oppressive", with the more up-tempo tracks "lumbering rather than fleet of foot". In lists ranking Costello's albums from worst to best, ''Almost Blue'' has consistently ranked in the lower tier. In 2021, writers for ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' placed it at number 18 (out of 27), deeming the material "serviceable" with "surprisingly perfunctory" results. They highlighted the album as a showcase for Costello's growth as a singer, particularly on "Good Year for the Roses", ultimately dubbing ''Almost Blue'' "a tentative dry run" for the artist's reach into more experimental territories. A year later, Al Shipley of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' magazine, placed it at number 17 (out of 31), calling it "a fascinating early fusion of Costello's personal vision and his aspirations to master a wide variety of genres." Conversely, Michael Gallucci placed it at number 27 (out of 29) in ''

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' the same year – only above Costello's second all-covers album ''

Kojak Variety ''Kojak Variety'' is the fifteenth studio 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 o ...

'' (1995) and '' Goodbye Cruel World'' (1984) – deeming it the first misstep of the artist's career, failed by Costello's handling of the material.

Reissues

''Almost Blue'' was first released on CD through Columbia and

Demon Records Demon Music Group Limited (DMG; formerly Object Enterprises Limited from 19821991 and Music Collection International Limited from 19912000) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-iss ...

in January 1986. Its first extended reissue through Demon in the UK and

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...

in the US on CD came in May 1994, which came with numerous bonus tracks, including

outtake An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and D ...

s and live recordings. The author Brian Hinton finds this reissue "more satisfying" than the original album, particularly highlighting the live performances in Aberdeen as "possessing a snap and crackle" lacking on the studio recordings. He also lists the Royal Albert Hall performance of "I'm Your Toy" as "pull ngdimensions out of Costello's voice barely hinted at in the studio version: urgency, passion and danger." ''Almost Blue'' was again reissued by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

on 3August 2004 as a two-disc set with additional bonus tracks. The album was later remastered and reissued by UM^e on 6November 2015.

Track listing

Side one # " Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do)?" (

) – 1:40 # " Sweet Dreams" (

) – 3:00 # "

" (

Johnny Mullins John Christopher Mullins (born 6 November 1985) is an English former professional footballer who primarily played as a centre-back. Mullins started his career with Reading, but it was during two separate loan spells with Kidderminster Harriers ...

) – 2:41 # "I'm Your Toy" (

Chris Ethridge John Christopher Ethridge (February 10, 1947 – April 23, 2012) was an American country rock bass guitarist. He was a member of the International Submarine Band (ISB) and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and co-wrote several songs with Gram Pars ...

) – 3:23 # " Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" (

) – 2:09 # "Brown to Blue" (

, Virginia Franks, "Country" Johnny Mathis) – 2:40 Side two # " Good Year for the Roses" (

Jerry Chesnut Jerry Donald Chesnut (May 7, 1931 – December 15, 2018) was an American country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American Sou ...

) – 3:10 # "Sittin' and Thinkin" (

) – 3:02 # " Color of the Blues" ( Lawton Williams,

) – 2:21 # "Too Far Gone" (

) – 3:28 # "

" ( Lou Willie Turner) – 2:15 # "How Much I've Lied" (Parsons, Pam Rifkin) — 2:55 Note: "I'm Your Toy" was originally recorded by

as "Hot Burrito No. 1" (on their 1969 album ''

The Gilded Palace of Sin ''The Gilded Palace of Sin'' is the debut studio album by American country rock band The Flying Burrito Brothers, released on February 6, 1969, by A&M Records. It continued Gram Parsons' and Chris Hillman's work in modern country music, fusi ...

'').

Personnel

According to the LP liner notes: *

– vocals, guitar *

– piano,

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

– bass * Pete Thomas – drums Additional personnel *

– lead guitar,

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

*Tommy Millar – violin *Nashville Edition – backing vocals Technical *

– producer *Ron "Snake" Reynolds – engineer *"Fast" Eddie Hudson – assistant engineer *

– photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

* {{Authority control 1981 albums Albums produced by Billy Sherrill Columbia Records albums 1980s covers albums Elvis Costello albums F-Beat Records albums Hip-O Records albums Rhino Entertainment albums Rykodisc albums Universal Music Enterprises albums