National Ransom - November 2010

[The Deliveryman]

Wow, I don't think a press release has ever caused me to swoon before, but that one just did! Very excited about this album!

[And No Coffee Table]

The announcement has been expanded slightly since it was first posted. This part is new:

“The water came up to the eaves
You’d think that someone had opened a valve
It’s too soon to stay now and too late to leave
So spare your remorse all the way up to Calvary”

“Stations Of The Cross” – in which disasters are regarded from a safe and depraved distance and “Church Underground” – tracing the life of a nightclub singer from obscurity through infamy to a harsh final redemption - are arranged around Steve Nieve’s grand piano with Stuart Duncan’s electric violin or viola, Jerry Douglas' lap-steel and the Crouch/Thomas rhythm section. The latter song also features a four-piece section of flugel horn, trombones and baritone saxophone, arranged by Darrell Leonard.

[Jeremy Dylan]

I CAN NOT WAIT TWO AND A HALF MONTHS FOR THIS RECORD!!!

[Jeremy Dylan]

Buddy Miller, Pete Thomas, Jim Lauderdale, Elvis Costello, Dennis Crouch and Vince Gill all on one record - be still my beating heart!

[MOJO]

Cool. I want a t-shirt w/the cover art. The whole theme is so true, and it continues... Banks are running high risk derivatives are our money. Mainstream media delivers nothing but garbage.. The fourth estate has become an industry, not a watch dog of the govt... Chomsky was right. I feel ill now. Hopefully, I'll have a job tomorrow. Wish me luck.

[Ypsilanti]

Cool. I want a t-shirt w/the cover art. The whole theme is so true, and it continues... Banks are running high risk derivatives are our money. Mainstream media delivers nothing but garbage.. The fourth estate has become an industry, not a watch dog of the govt... Chomsky was right. I feel ill now. Hopefully, I'll have a job tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Absolutely! I wish you the best of luck, Mojo! And wish it to me, too, because I apparently don't have a job anymore. I was thinking of that carpetbagger wolf when my boss told us all to go home yesterday--we're not laid off, but he can't pay us. Told us to think of it as a "snow day". Told us to call in everyday to see if there was enough money to make payroll. Then we should all come back. Yeah, right. I'm in my 3rd week now of not getting paid. Mortgage is due. Can't pay it.

But not to veer off track...this album looks like it's going to be a monster. Holy shit! All those great players--and great combinations of players--amazing! And look how many songs Elvis has been keeping under his hat!

[Jack of All Parades]

Ypsilanti, I am sorry for your news. My anger for your misfortune and that of so many others I fear will have an aural manifestation in this pending album. I sense EC has caught the 'zeitgeist' this time and will be tapping into our national pain-that 'human dimension' that I found lacking in the previous effort is eminently abundant in the songs I have concentrated on from the listed ones for the new album- the pain, the frustration, the anger, the deadening weight of economic, political, technological and social history is palpable. We may finally have our sonic version of "The Gilded Age". It may well take the anger of an 'outsider' to make us listen to your pain and that of others.

As to covers- this may well be my favorite along with the wonderfully sardonic cover for "Spike".

[And No Coffee Table]

The press release has undergone another rewrite. I've highlighted the notable additions.

Elvis Costello's National Ransom Set For Release November 2nd, From Hear Music/Concord Music Group; Produced By T Bone Burnett
 
All members of The Imposters and The Sugarcanes feature in a wide variety of groovy new combos with guests Vince Gill, Marc Ribot, Buddy Miller and Leon Russell
 
“Around the time the killing stopped on Wall St. You couldn't hold me, baby, with anything but contempt”

The record is led off by the loud electric guitar of Marc Ribot in the left channel and the lap-steel of Jerry Douglas in the right channel. Steve Nieve enters on the Vox Continental organ, while the rhythm section consists of Dennis Crouch on double bass and Pete Thomas on drums. National Ransom is the name of the album and also a rock and roll song, “For the bankrupt times, whenever they may be”, as Costello recently described it.

“Loose change lonely, not the right amount”

The second track, “Jimmie Standing In The Rain”, recalls the misfortunes of a cowboy singer playing the northern English musical halls in 1937. The music owes a little something to that time. The ensemble for this song includes, the acoustic guitar of Marc Ribot, the violinist, Stuart Duncan, Dennis Crouch on double bass and The Sugarcanes’ accordionist, Jeff Taylor playing piano. Darrell Leonard adds the trumpet commentary.

"Farewell my little ballyhoo, you broke my heart in two"

“A Slow Drag With Josephine” described by Costello as “rock and roll, as it sounded in 1921” has been a highlight of recent Costello live shows. Mandolinist Mike Compton sings the close vocal harmony while members of the ‘Canes enter only to offer brief instrumental comments to Costello’s finger-picked guitar accompaniment. On “Five Small Words” The Imposters rhythm section – Davey Faragher and Pete Thomas – combine with the twin electric guitars of The Coward Brothers. Howard Coward also plays Farfisa organ, while Mike Compton once again provides the vocal harmony.

“The water came up to the eaves
You’d think that someone had opened a valve
It’s too soon to stay now and too late to leave
So spare your remorse all the way up to Calvary”

“Stations Of The Cross” – in which disasters are regarded from a safe and depraved distance and “Church Underground” – tracing the life of a nightclub singer from obscurity through infamy to a harsh final redemption - are arranged around Steve Nieve’s grand piano with Stuart Duncan’s electric violin or viola, Jerry Douglas' lap-steel and the Crouch/Thomas rhythm section. The latter song also features a four-piece section of flugel horn, trombones and baritone saxophone, arranged by Darrell Leonard.

“Turn up the music just to turn it down.
The trivial secrets buried with the profound"

Despite the presence of lap-steel, mandolin, dobro and fiddle throughout the record, the music probably owes more to the rhythms and harmonies of R&B or even Gospel music than to Bluegrass. This continues on “That’s Not The Part Of Him You’re Leaving”, which is pitched somewhere on the road between Nashville and Memphis and finds the entire Sugarcanes are joined by Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve on Hammond Organ and “The Spell That You Cast”, where Costello’s own Gibson tenor guitar trades off in the solo with Mike Compton’s mandolin on a beat combo tune.

All of these songs are newly composed by Costello with the exception of “I Lost You”, co-written with Jim Lauderdale and “All These Strangers”, for which Costello and T Bone Burnett collaborated on the lyrics. Costello and Burnett also provide the lyrics for, “My Lovely Jezebel”, a Leon Russell rock and roll tune and he leads a Thomas/Crouch/Ribot combo from the piano. Vince Gill adds a beautiful vocal harmony part to the chorus of a string-band tune, “Dr. Watson, I Presume”, on which the Sugarcanes full instrumental line-up are heard together with Pete Thomas, Marc Ribot and the baritone guitar of Buddy Miller, who also sings on the title cut.

The ballad accompaniments range from a single acoustic guitar and double bass on “Bullets For The New-Born King” - a song in the voice of a regretful assassin - to a hushed 21-piece ensemble for, “You Hung The Moon" - a song about a séance held in 1919 as a family struggle with the loss of a soldier executed for desertion in the First World War.

“Lower the hood on his last lament, dash him down on the cold cement”

“One Bell Ringing”, in which a man has dreams of his own interrogation and demise, is set in 2007. The song hears Costello’s finger-picked guitar and Dennis Crouch’s double bass augmented by the singer’s own arrangement for bass trumpet, alto flute and bass clarinet.

Asked if all the songs and their characters were set in specific times and places, Costello said, “Yes but I'd be happy if you imagine them any time you want”.

National Ransom was recorded in a total of eleven days at Sound Emporium, Nashville and Village Recorders, Los Angeles and engineered and mixed by Michael Piersante at Electromagetic, Los Angeles. National Ransom was produced by T Bone Burnett.

Tony Millionaire once again provides the ink illustration for the cover.

[when i was cruel]

*Cough* Is everyone forgetting about the greatness of Spike, possibly his best album... that or ATUB is great.

[sweetest punch]

Available for pre-order on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/National-Ransom-E ... 909&sr=1-1

[johnfoyle]

And so we have all the details , with two and a half months to go until the release. We get descriptions of how some of the tracks will sound, we read about about who plays what etc. We can now expect weeks of lazy journalists regurgitating this text, along with references 30 year old recordings and,in the U.K., barbs about Elvis not wanting to play shows etc..

That's us happy now, we'll just wait until Oct. 25th , walk into a store , buy the disc , go home, pop it into our players and away we go.

That ,at least, is what is implied by all this information. In reality , Elvis is, perhaps, being ironic in seeming to believe that the good old record company model that he has long seen as doomed will take effect. He knows it will be a way more fragmented process. The album will leak in the next week or two , just like the last few. We , the fans, will listen to it in full. Others will stick it on their ipods , hopscotch around a few tracks, half listen to them while surfing the 'net/chasing after kids as they smear food on the sofa/holding their breath as they get crushed in the crowded bus etc. Some will hear fiddles and go into 'Ugh -country' mode. And then the newest Lady Gaga confection will pop up and Elvis' album is forgotten.

What we can do now is have a close look at the sleeve. The Masonic Eye of Providence from U.S. currency ,oil wells gushing, a wolf in 1800's clothing , a walking stick with a Pelican head ( oil ref.?) and so on. '£50' in a opposing corners '1000', '100' and '5000', currency not stated. Thats '£50' divided into 6100 = 122. Mean anything? In the left hand corner , just above sleeve artists Tony Millionare's signature , are some curious letters. 'Dc McM' ; a ref. to Declan McManus? Below that is what looks like 'Ma MF'. Google tells us MaMF, or Mammalian Motif Finder, is an algorithm for identifying motifs to which transcription factors bind. . Or ( cover your ears children) mean ass mother fucker. Are Elvis 'n Tony colluding in sneaking in a bit of 'street talk'?

We can speculate about the other recent 'new' songs - Condemned Man, Poor Borrowed Dress, Lucky Dog, and I Hope - that are not on this album. Which of them will be on the inevitable Japanese edition, the vinyl one , the disc Elvis will - while Diana 'n the kids distract everyone- sneak into copies in Red Cat Records in Vancouver etc. We'll see!

Right now I'm going to burn together live versions of the songs in the sequence they are in on the album and see how they flow etc.

[migdd]

Here's some recent regurgitation from the press:

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2010/0 ... e-burnett/

Including a new (at least to me) photo:

elviscostello.jpg (81.68 KiB) Viewed 20962 times

[johnfoyle]

Costello and Burnett also provide the lyrics for, “My Lovely Jezebel”, a Leon Russell rock and roll tune

I wonder if this is a adaption/version of this ?

http://www.amazon.com/Anything-Can-Happ ... B000008KBX

Anything Can Happen
Leon Russell

April 7, 1992

Tracks include -


Jezebel

[bronxapostle]

I CAN NOT WAIT TWO AND A HALF MONTHS FOR THIS RECORD!!!

WELCOME TO THE THIRD MILLENIUM! you won't have to.....

[And No Coffee Table]

Including a new (at least to me) photo:

That's one of three new photos on the Shore Fire site.
http://www.shorefire.com/clients/ecostello/

In the left hand corner , just above sleeve artists Tony Millionare's signature , are some curious letters. 'Dc McM' ; a ref. to Declan McManus? Below that is what looks like 'Ma MF'.

It looks to me like:

Dc
McM
M1
DF2

I assume M1 is his first-born son Matthew and DF2 Dexter and Frank.

[wordnat]

No "Lucky Dog"? Arrrrgggghhhh...!

[cwr]

As to covers- this may well be my favorite along with the wonderfully sardonic cover for "Spike".

Those two covers do seem to be kindred spirits, don't they?

I have to say, I'm looking forward to this album in a very weird way. I've heard a few of these songs either in concert or via live mp3s from concerts, something that's been true of many new EC albums in the years I've been a fan. What's different this time is that in almost every case, I have maybe listened or half-listened to each of these songs maybe ONCE and then not returned to them. Whereas my tendency in the past has been to almost wear out the live recordings, to the point that it was strange to hear the eventual studio recording. I remember not being the only one who found the studio version of "Nothing Clings Like Ivy" or "When I Was Cruel No. 1" and thinking that they sounded weird compared to what I was expecting from the earlier live performances.

In the case of the songs from NR, I have not really gotten to know them. I don't know why that is-- it's entirely possible that I will like them but not love them, and that my lack of enthusiasm for the live versions reflects that lukewarm reaction. But my HOPE is that it will allow me to hear and appreciate the studio versions even more because I haven't overplayed the live ones.

November does seem a long way off, doesn't it? And yes, it seems likely that many of us will hear it somehow BEFORE November 2nd, especially since the international release is more than a week earlier. (I think Momofuku is probably the only Costello record of the past decade that I didn't at least hear a partial leak of in advance; SP&SC was streaming on the official Costello site before it was in shops!)

I hope that those extra songs will be available in some form that doesn't involve having to buy the album in another format. I'll definitely be buying the CD and LP, but I'm sure at least one track will be available only if you, say, pre-order it from iTunes. I never did find anyone who got a 100 percent clean version of "Dirty Rotten Shame", which was only available if you pre-ordered on iTunes. The mp3 I have of it came from a rip from the vinyl single, but I would have liked to have gotten a copy of that iTunes download version... It would be nice if, instead of making exclusive content available when you buy the album, he simply give iTunes an exclusive digital EP. Probably more people would download THAT than would pre-order the album as a download...

[MOJO]

Hey - This is a message to Ypsilanti - Sorry to hear about your situation. It sounds like your boss is a total jerk. You can find a new job. What do you do? This is a job search engine that is a good tool to use - http://www.indeed.com ... also, if you haven't already, sign on to LinkedIn.com and create an account. It's a good way to network and find a new job. Good luck with your current situation. Hang in there! I feel your pain. I still have job today... fingers are crossed that it lasts through the new year.

[sweetest punch]

That ,at least, is what is implied by all this information. In reality , Elvis is, perhaps, being ironic in seeming to believe that the good old record company model that he has long seen as doomed will take effect. He knows it will be a way more fragmented process. The album will leak in the next week or two , just like the last few. We , the fans, will listen to it in full. Others will stick it on their ipods , hopscotch around a few tracks, half listen to them while surfing the 'net/chasing after kids as they smear food on the sofa/holding their breath as they get crushed in the crowded bus etc. Some will hear fiddles and go into 'Ugh -country' mode. And then the newest Lady Gaga confection will pop up and Elvis' album is forgotten.

I think Elvis knows that this album won't sell that much, but I expect a big tour next year. After all this is going to be a major album with a lot of great songs. He hasn't toured that intensively the last years. I mean, after The Delivery Man he toured almost 9 months. The last years he played mostly (summer) festivals. So I hope to see him a lot next year - if possible in different combinations (with The sugarcanes, with The Imposters or solo).

[Jeremy Dylan]

I hope this album will provoke an Australian Sugarcanes tour - I can't afford to fly to the opposite side of the world to see them again!

[johnfoyle]

It looks to me like:

Dc
McM
M1
DF2

Yes indeed - the bigger Shorefire image does show that. Or maybe all the more reason for my getting my new glasses all the sooner....

[Neil.]

CWR, yes - I've always avoided the live versions ever since I played the live versions of '45' and 'Alibi' to death, before the album came out - the studio versions disappointed me after the looser swing of the live. So I've only heard a few of these new songs, and avoided all the YouTube stuff. I don't want the album to be spoiled for me.

I hadn't spotted that - "I Hope" isn't on the album! I LOVED that one when I saw him do it in Cardiff. Gah, disappointed. I was hoping that'd be the world-wide late career hit that he needs.

Aw well.

[Ypsilanti]

Thanks to Mojo & Chris for your words of support! I actually got a few offers, so I won't end up in a Hobo Camp, but I doubt I'll ever see my missing paychecks--and that's a huge problem. The really sad thing is...even after they didn't pay us, people kept working. Even after they sent us home, a lot of people stayed--and even showed up the next day.

Hang in there, Mojo--but not too long--don't go down with the ship like I did.

Chris, I think you could be right about Elvis catching the Zeitgeist this time. The national (and international) mood is ripe for some Costello-style vitriol. "National Ransom" could turn out to be the anthem of the disaffected.

As far a a big tour goes...I doubt it. Not with those little boys to take care of.

[wardo68]

While we're at it, I need a job too.

Maybe we should start an ECFF Unemployment Support thread?

[verbal gymnastics]

We could call it "Opportunity" or "Mc(manus)Jobs".

I'm looking forward to the album. There are some great reviews.

No doubt the Japanese edition will have extra tracks.

I ordered SP&F from Japan for me and sulky lad and got stuck for import taxes. I could have ordered it more cheaply by buying the Japanese edition from a specialist store over here Or as sulky lad pointed out, we could have flown over there, bought the album, watched a show and come home. And still had some money left over for a bag of chips.