Elvis Costello - Kojak Variety CD

Title: Kojak Variety Artist: Elvis Costello Release Date: 5/9/1995 Label: Warner Bros. Duration: 53:18 UPC: 093624590323 Genre: Rock Styles: Singer/Songwriter, Pop/Rock Moods: Angry, Literate, Sophisticated, Witty, Bittersweet, Brittle, Cynical/Sarcastic, Freewheeling, Intense, Intimate, Sardonic, Acerbic, Brash, Energetic, Quirky, Raucous, Refined/Mannered, Reflective, Snide, Tense/Anxious, Aggressive, Angst-Ridden, Bitter, Cathartic, Cerebral, Complex, Confident, Elegant, Exuberant, Fun, Hostile, Ironic, Manic, Melancholy, Passionate, Plaintive, Playful, Poignant, Rambunctious, Rebellious, Reckless, Rollicking, Romantic, Rousing, Rowdy, Stylish, Swaggering, Urgent, Visceral, Volatile, Wistful, Wry, Ambitious, Confrontational, Detached, Earnest, Elaborate, Fiery, Gloomy, Humorous, Messy, Paranoid, Sad, Searching, Autumnal, Exciting, Lively, Sprawling, Weary, Yearning Total Copies: 2 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 1

1. Strange
2. Hidden Charms
3. Remove This Doubt
4. I Threw It All 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

Year Type Label Catalog # 1995 CD Warner Bros. 45903 1995 CD Warner Bros. 9362 459032

Kojak Variety [Expanded]

With Almost Blue, Elvis Costello wanted to be a honky tonker. With Kojak Variety, he's 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 vigor of a bar band on a Friday night. Some of the rockers sound slightly forced, although there's no denying the power of Costello's passionate vocals, even if he stretches his range a little too much (Little Richard's "Bama Lama Bama Loo"). What matters here are the performances, and the majority of Kojak Variety is filled with fine interpretations. Kojak Variety does what any good covers album should do -- it makes you want to seek out the originals. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Elvis Costello Harmonica, Producer, Liner Notes, Vocals, Main Performer James Burton Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar (Electric) Jerry Scheff Bass Jim Keltner Drums Kevin Killen Producer, Engineer Larry Knechtel Organ (Hammond), Piano, Piano (Electric) Marc Ribot Banjo, Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar (Classical), Guitar (Electric), Horn Pete Thomas Drums