NR--Billboard Chart Placement?

[Ypsilanti]

Can one hear off in the faint distance the 'lonely sound of jingling spurs, the 'toodle-oos' and 'oh, my dears' down at "The Argyle"?

That's pretty harsh...

[jardine]

BILLBOARD DEBUT @ #39!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jardine]

TOP 40!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mikeh]

Did he make the UK Top 100? Mind you, when you are competing against the inexplicable popularity of Michael Buble, does it really matter?

[John]

Did he make the UK Top 100? Mind you, when you are competing against the inexplicable popularity of Michael Buble, does it really matter?

NR entered the top 100 at no. 71 (the same as SP&S) and then disappeared from the top 100 the following week.

All the excitement of a new album has come and gone and my CD has still not arrived!

Any sign of yours Top Balcony?

[Top balcony]

my CD has still not arrived!

Any sign of yours Top Balcony?

sadly not a sausage . must be a bloody slow ship

[the_platypus]

This is ridiculous. I can't find the album anywhere in Buenos Aires.

[verbal gymnastics]

This is ridiculous. I can't find the album anywhere in Buenos Aires.

Perhaps your luck has run out. Tell you what, I'll swap my Japanese National Ransom CD for your 78s.

[Deportee]

.

actually, if you order from his site, you get (eventually) send the CD

This statement has yet to be proven.

I would refer my learned friend to this tread :

http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3 ... f=2&t=8543

primary witnesses for the UK Prosecution being John and yours truly.Colin Top Balcony

Add me to that witness list! Supposedly shipped 27th October and still waiting.....................................

[jardine]

I stand accused! Guilty!! Mine ain't here yet neither au Canad. got email that it was sent oct. 27th, but they did say 10 to twenty business days

meanwhile, amazon.ca multiple copies should be in the post office tomorrow (Canadian release date was Nov. 9, and they were sent Nov 8.

it has been nice to have the high def. download for the past several days, even though that was, at first, a bit glitch-filled also.

[johnfoyle]

http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sect ... 043269&c=1

(extract)

Returning to the subject of UK acts, Paul McCartney & Wings’ newly remastered and expanded Band On The Run – number one for four weeks in its original 1974 incarnation – re-enters the chart at number 29 after selling 16,500 copies, while Macca’s pal and sometime collaborator Elvis Costello debuts at number 39 with National Ransom, on sales of 13,500. It’s Costello’s 29th chart album stateside since My Aim Is True got to number 32 in 1977, and follows his 2009 album Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, which reached number 13.

[oliversa1]

I ordered the £200 package, apparently all sent, still waiting.

My biggest worry is I won a set of the 78's and they still haven't arrived, 4 weeks later.

[Top balcony]

I ordered the £200 package, apparently all sent, still waiting.

My biggest worry is I won a set of the 78's and they still haven't arrived, 4 weeks later.

The straw to cling to is that we all appear to be in the same boat (or should that be ship?) with the CDS. Certainly us three Merseyside despairados haven't had a visit yet from Mr Postman.

Similarly the 78s have obviously been dispatched from the colonies, and almost certainly on the same rowboat currently crossing the Pond.

Good luck

Colin

[verbal gymnastics]

Given that it's Merseyside, Elvis will probably deliver them personally.

If it's not him then it might be a lookalike. In a certain light the deliveryman looks like Elvis...

[sulky lad]

VG says

. In a certain light the deliveryman looks like Elvis...

I can vouch for the fact that after our trip to see Elvis in Amsterdam in a certain way VG did not seem like Jesus

[Emotional Toothpaste]

Got my CD today finally via amazon.com

I've given it a couple spins and can't say that I'm fond of it. Kinda bummed. I'll give it more time, but nothing stands out and grabs me. Anyone else have a similar letdown?

[pophead2k]

I had the opposite experience ET. Relatively low expectations and a very, very high satisfaction level. As I've said before, I'm not the best judge as I tend to love everything EC does, but this one has already merited more repeat listens than any of the last five or six. Great, great album.

[thepopeofpop]

I had the opposite experience ET. Relatively low expectations and a very, very high satisfaction level. As I've said before, I'm not the best judge as I tend to love everything EC does, but this one has already merited more repeat listens than any of the last five or six. Great, great album.

Yes, I can't stop listening to it - and it's been a while since I could say that about an EC album. The last one before this that really made me play it repeatedly was Brutal Youth, but this album is even better than that.

As for the chart placement - #39 seems a bit low after the last album made #13, but maybe it will be higher next week.

[Poor Deportee]

Got my CD today finally via amazon.com

I've given it a couple spins and can't say that I'm fond of it. Kinda bummed. I'll give it more time, but nothing stands out and grabs me. Anyone else have a similar letdown?

Well, no And for the record, I'm not one of those who automatically buys into whatever EC is selling. But I'm sure buying into this.

It's not all gold. But from my first three or four days with it, I'd rate

-Jimmie (one of his best songs, ever)
-Slow Drag
-Church Underground
-You Hung the Moon
-Bullets
-Dr Watson
-One Bell
-That's not the Part
-All these Strangers
-A Voice in the Dark

as easily worthy of his classic work. Others (I Lost You, Jezebel) are enjoyable throwaways. Maybe two or three duds ('Stations of the Cross'). My personal advice would be to focus your listening on the above 'core' and work outward from there - although others will differ of course.

[Jack of All Parades]

ET- never much cared for hype when it came to EC- I either liked the record at the time or didn't after a few listening sessions. This one has me hooked unlike its predecessor[in fact I wish EC had withheld "Change Partners' and placed it on this disc]. The writing is vibrant, the wordplay catches my ear and the subtle shadings that the various musicians apply to pieces is rewarding with each listen. PD has stated previously that he has broken through to a new Historical writing style. I am not so certain it is that as it is an ability these days to inhabit characters in a living, tangible way. There is a song on this record, "Jimmie Standing in the Rain", that is easily in the top five songs of his recording career. On so many levels it is a standout. EC has never been a 'genius' to me: just a very good songwriter and performer and proselytizer. As others have suggested you might try some of the core songs to find a warmer, more likable way into this album. I think you will find the effort worth the expense.

[John]

Given that it's Merseyside, Elvis will probably deliver them personally.

If it's not him then it might be a lookalike. In a certain light the deliveryman looks like Elvis...

Elvis called with my CD this morning. Unfortunately I was still in bed and didn't manage to have a chat. He left a note saying he was heading west towards Liverpool and The Wirral. Did he arrive?

Third cardboard sleeve on the trot. I must confess to preferring the plastic cd cases with the glossy booklets rather than these more environmentally friendly versions.

[Jack of All Parades]

Christopher Sjoholm wrote:
Can one hear off in the faint distance the 'lonely sound of jingling spurs, the 'toodle-oos' and 'oh, my dears' down at "The Argyle"?

That's pretty harsh...

_________________
Might be if my words were solely about a dying career and written dyslogistically. You and I both know there are multiple meanings; in this case I was bemoaning the lack of physical product in the few stores around me using the lyric to reference that lack-the music in effect can be only faintly 'heard' and this particular tremendous song hardly at all[as the local radio stations play the clumsy title song "National Ransom" and neglect a gem such as 'Jimmie"].

[cwr]

The one thing I kind of like about the cardboard sleeves is that they seem closer to the feel of LP jackets of old, only miniaturized.

Having said that, nothing is quite as cool as an actual full-sized LP jacket. I got mine in the mail the other day, and it looks stunning. And opening the gatefold to see all the lyrics feels more majestic than flipping through a CD booklet.

[Lester Burnham]

The one thing I kind of like the cardboard sleeves, only because they seem closer to the feel of LP jackets of old, only miniaturized.

Having said that, nothing is quite as cool as an actual full-sized LP jacket. I got mine in the mail the other day, and it looks stunning. And opening the gatefold to see all the lyrics feels more majestic than flipping through a CD booklet.

This is what I'm looking forward to the most. Even though I became a fan around the time that When I Was Cruel was his first release, I've never really had the means to buy anything of his on vinyl. But when Momofuku was first announced as being a vinyl-only release, I figured, "Welp, time to bite the bullet and get one of those fancy USB record players!" So I did, and holding that big chunk of cardboard and vinyl in my hands was like an awakening of sorts. I'd trawled through my parents' record collection for many years, but never really sat down and listened to anything, so listening to Momofuku for the first time on the record player was really interesting. I intended on getting Secret, Profane & Sugarcane on vinyl, but it's funny how not having a job will quickly change your beliefs of what is essential to purchase and what isn't... I hope to rectify that soon, however, as having SP&SC as a digital-only release just isn't the same.

So, with that said, I WANT MY DAMN "NATIONAL RANSOM" LP!!!

[jardine]

not sure of the relevance of this, from billboard

#39 in top 200
#9 in "Rock Albums"
#12 in Digital Albums
#8 in Alternative Albums
#3 in Tastemaker Albums

it is more that slightly hilarious to even read these categories