The Boy Named If, new album by Elvis & The Imposters, January 14, 2022

[sweetest punch]

https://www.elviscostello.com/#!/news/299962

‘The Boy Named If’ New Album from Elvis Costello & The Imposters Released January 14th, 2022 on EMI Records
OCT 26, 2021
‘THE BOY NAMED IF’ NEW ALBUM FROM ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS RELEASED JANUARY 14TH, 2022 ON EMI RECORDS


‘The Boy Named If:’

1.Farewell, OK

2.The Boy Named If

3.Penelope Halfpenny

4.The Difference

5.What If I Can't Give You Anything But Love?

6.Paint The Red Rose Blue

7.Mistook Me For A Friend

8.My Most Beautiful Mistake (guest vocal by Nicole Atkins)

9. Magnificent Hurt

10.The Man You Love To Hate

11.The Death Of Magic Thinking

12.Trick Out The Truth

13.Mr. Crescent

Produced by Sebastian Krys & Elvis Costello

Nicole Atkins: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Atkins

[sweetest punch]

Belgian Universal Store has exclusive vinyl:
https://musicstation.be/collections/elvis-costello
https://musicstation.be/collections/elv ... lusive-2lp

[MOJO]

Track #3 sounds like one of Jane Plough’s clients

[And No Coffee Table]

Nicole Atkins: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Atkins

EC raved about Nicole Atkins last year.

http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB2 ... =2&t=11689

8. Nicole Atkins – Italian Ice
Over the years, my brother T Bone Burnett has introduced me to a great number of people I never imagined I would ever meet, from the bassist, Ray Brown and guitarist, James Burton, to memorable encounters with Willie Dixon and Jerry Lee Lewis. In September 2019, T Bone invited me to a concert screening of Easy Rider that he was producing at Radio City Music Hall in which the soundtrack would be re-created live. John Kay was there to deliver roof-raising versions of, 'The Pusher' and 'Born To Be Wild' while Roger McGuinn sang, 'I Wasn't Born To Follow' as beautifully as ever.

Among the artists charged with singing songs by artists no longer with us was Nicole Atkins. She easily surpassed the soundtrack version of 'The Weight' by the group Smith. What astonished me more was that I had never heard this voice before. Between the near demise of the music press and the needle in the haystack searches on the internet, I am both dismayed and thrilled to encounter music I have somehow failed to register. I soon obtained a stack of Nicole's own records and found so many fine songs and some killer singing and playing, proving once more that you can respect the "Then" and still be about, "Now". On Nicole's new album 'Italian Ice', you'll sense a strong understanding of songcraft but the stories of 'Never Going Home' and 'St Dymphna', the humour, and the emotion of the voice are all her own. Don't let this one slip by.

[SoulForHire]

The first single Magnificent Hurt is AWESOME!!!!

[JerseyPride78]

Nicole Atkins: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Atkins

EC raved about Nicole Atkins last year.

http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB2 ... =2&t=11689

8. Nicole Atkins – Italian Ice
Over the years, my brother T Bone Burnett has introduced me to a great number of people I never imagined I would ever meet, from the bassist, Ray Brown and guitarist, James Burton, to memorable encounters with Willie Dixon and Jerry Lee Lewis. In September 2019, T Bone invited me to a concert screening of Easy Rider that he was producing at Radio City Music Hall in which the soundtrack would be re-created live. John Kay was there to deliver roof-raising versions of, 'The Pusher' and 'Born To Be Wild' while Roger McGuinn sang, 'I Wasn't Born To Follow' as beautifully as ever.

Among the artists charged with singing songs by artists no longer with us was Nicole Atkins. She easily surpassed the soundtrack version of 'The Weight' by the group Smith. What astonished me more was that I had never heard this voice before. Between the near demise of the music press and the needle in the haystack searches on the internet, I am both dismayed and thrilled to encounter music I have somehow failed to register. I soon obtained a stack of Nicole's own records and found so many fine songs and some killer singing and playing, proving once more that you can respect the "Then" and still be about, "Now". On Nicole's new album 'Italian Ice', you'll sense a strong understanding of songcraft but the stories of 'Never Going Home' and 'St Dymphna', the humour, and the emotion of the voice are all her own. Don't let this one slip by.

Amusing post from Nicole's instagram from earlier this year about meeting EC years ago:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CM2aC02jeoY/

Also, if you want a fine example of how great Nicole is, check out her television debut on Letterman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_NVsPM87eI

[Hawksmoor]

The first single Magnificent Hurt is AWESOME!!!!

Yep. For decades, I've always relished that moment of hearing a newly-released track from an upcoming LP and having that punch-the-air moment of 'yeah, he can still do it!' For Clockface that was the first chorus of 'No Flag'. For this one it's the (second) middle eight that kicks in around 2:10 ('I stood at the door...'). Still incredibly envious of people who've had the chance to hear this live, but still very excited for this LP.

[jardine]

https://variety.com/2021/music/news/elv ... 235098439/

[docinwestchester]

Also, if you want a fine example of how great Nicole is, check out her television debut on Letterman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_NVsPM87eI

Jersey Pride indeed. That Letterman performance is killer. Can't wait to hear her vocals with EC.

[WallyRando]

The number of preorder bundles seems meager compared to the last couple. I suppose that could be because it's so early on.

Might save me from myself buying some other bundle variation on top of another after a bit too much to drink.

I would like something with the vinyl + cd + book, though. Like to have the CD for the car and just to slot in with my otherwise complete set of full length albums in that format.

[verbal gymnastics]

I think there might be some further options along the way. Just in time for Christmas…

[JerseyPride78]

The number of preorder bundles seems meager compared to the last couple. I suppose that could be because it's so early on.

Might save me from myself buying some other bundle variation on top of another after a bit too much to drink.

I would like something with the vinyl + cd + book, though. Like to have the CD for the car and just to slot in with my otherwise complete set of full length albums in that format.

It's odd that the exact bundle you're talking about is in the UK store but not the US.

[Hawksmoor]

The number of preorder bundles seems meager compared to the last couple. I suppose that could be because it's so early on.

Might save me from myself buying some other bundle variation on top of another after a bit too much to drink.

I would like something with the vinyl + cd + book, though. Like to have the CD for the car and just to slot in with my otherwise complete set of full length albums in that format.

It looks to me like there's (a) a CD, (b) a vinyl LP, (c) a book, and I(d) a cassette. And all the bundles are just permutations of those (book+CD, vinyl+cassette, any three of the above, etc)? Don't seem to be any t-shirts, beany hats, tea towels, art-cards or beer mats up for grabs this time?

[Hawksmoor]

So EC's website just charged me £44 for my pre-order of The Boy Named If. Not a 'pending' payment - actually charged to my card, which I will have to pay this month (my October statement). For a product that isn't released until the second week of January.

For most recent EC releases, I've used Amazon anyway, as I'm not bothered about vinyl, or bits of coloured cardboard or beany hats. I just want the standard CD, and for pre-orders, Amazon don't charge your card until the product is (a) released and (b) shipped. But this time I quite fancied the book as well as the CD.

So on top of charging me £44 for a CD and a book - which is steep to begin with, but OK, I could choose not to pay that, and I have chosen to pay it, so fine, that's my choice. But charging me £44, to pay now, ten weeks before the thing is actually released?

Not good form Elvis, sorry.

[johnfoyle]

I plan to get the cd & vinyl , from a store here in Dublin when its in stock & actually in the rack. The cassette may be hard to get. A order from here to a US or UK site will , potentially , be topped up with customs charges. A friend in the UK has kindly ordered it for me . Hopefully it'll be to hand when I travel for the the meet-up in London , on Jan. 22. The book sounds nice but its , essentially , for kids so I'll do without.

[Hawksmoor]

The book sounds nice but its, essentially, for kids so I'll do without.

Is it, though? This intrigues me slightly. The whole LP is titled The Boy Named If (and Other Children's Stories) so even if you don't get the book, you're buying something that's labelled as 'Children's Stories'. But they're clearly not. Well - I'm struggling to think of a child I know who's going to get a lot out of 'as I feign and I flirt, I unbuttoned my shirt to the way you make me feel, magnificent hurt' or 'there are two words that sound like pray, not going to tell you which one I'm thinking of...'

And the blurb/promo piece says 'once upon a time, when I didn’t know what a kiss could do and didn’t even dare to caress, the way ahead was a mystery; a departing from that magic state called innocence for the pain that leads to pleasure and all that jazz. Don’t get me started about the guilt and shame and all those other useless possessions that you must throw overboard before you set sail...'

Also this: 'this edition features thirteen illustrated short stories, which have the same titles as the songs on the record. Some of these fables set the scene for the songs, others are sequels, or a clue or hint to what might have been going on before the music began. Whatever you take out of these tales, I wrote them for you and to make the life of these songs a little less lonely, if you should care to dive in a little deeper'.

So I'm guessing that the 'stories for children' thing is a conceit - a gag, basically, on which to hang a bunch of lyrics that no child is ever going to buy or listen to. So I assume the same is true of the accompanying book?

[Neil.]

I agree, that's just gonna be a book of the lyrics - or possibly some parody of children's stories.

[Ymaginatif]

I agree, that's just gonna be a book of the lyrics - or possibly some parody of children's stories.

I thought it is going to be additional EC fiction, that is supposed to flesh out the story-lines of the songs a bit more. Further exploration of the themes of the universe of the album?

[verbal gymnastics]

Perhaps this is like American Without Tears #2 where we find out what happened to characters after the song has ended.

And I still think there’s plenty of time for beanie hats etc to make an appearance. All beautifully and lovingly designed by Eamon Singer.

[Hawksmoor]

I agree, that's just gonna be a book of the lyrics - or possibly some parody of children's stories.

I thought it is going to be additional EC fiction, that is supposed to flesh out the story-lines of the songs a bit more. Further exploration of the themes of the universe of the album?

That's what I'm assuming, and I hope so. As noted above, I'm coughing up £44 for this when I could have had the CD on its own for a little over a tenner. So there better be a fairly decent word-count!

[verbal gymnastics]

So there better be a fairly decent word-count!

Given this is Elvis we’re talking about, I don’t think you’ll fall short there

[thepopeofpop]

I agree, that's just gonna be a book of the lyrics - or possibly some parody of children's stories.

I thought it is going to be additional EC fiction, that is supposed to flesh out the story-lines of the songs a bit more. Further exploration of the themes of the universe of the album?

That's what I'm assuming, and I hope so. As noted above, I'm coughing up £44 for this when I could have had the CD on its own for a little over a tenner. So there better be a fairly decent word-count!

It's signed, I believe. That always bumps up the price a bit.

[Ymaginatif]

I thought it is going to be additional EC fiction, that is supposed to flesh out the story-lines of the songs a bit more. Further exploration of the themes of the universe of the album?

That's what I'm assuming, and I hope so. As noted above, I'm coughing up £44 for this when I could have had the CD on its own for a little over a tenner. So there better be a fairly decent word-count!

It's signed, I believe. That always bumps up the price a bit.

Yes, that too! I really hope he will sign it as Eamon Singer
(surprisingly little fanfare on the shop-site about the fact that it's signed and numbered.)

[Hawksmoor]

I thought it is going to be additional EC fiction, that is supposed to flesh out the story-lines of the songs a bit more. Further exploration of the themes of the universe of the album?

That's what I'm assuming, and I hope so. As noted above, I'm coughing up £44 for this when I could have had the CD on its own for a little over a tenner. So there better be a fairly decent word-count!

It's signed, I believe. That always bumps up the price a bit.

I'll be honest (boy, am I in a grumpy mood this week) but I could live without it being signed. I've never been a collector of autographs, don't really see the point (looking at them brings me no pleasure), and, as I'm unlikely ever to sell this on, I'd sooner have a mint/pristine copy than one he's scribbled on with a marker pen .

[verbal gymnastics]

The only signed stuff I have is from when I’ve met him and the Imposters. It’s more personal - particularly on tickets or CDs or when I’ve managed to get a set list.

Mind you I have had Elvis sign things personalised for friends. He asked me if I’m opening a shop!