'Elvis Costello - In Motion Pictures', Nov. '12

[Jocko Wainwright]

This looks suspiciously like someone fulfilling a contract. I can't see any other point to it.

[And No Coffee Table]

Amazon sent my CD a little early. (Why don't they ever do that with the CDs I'm really eager to hear?)



The liner notes are amusing and fairly lengthy. He perversely mentions several songs which do not appear on the CD, including "the title song of a European art movie called Party Party."

[migdd]

Okay, ANCT. The liner notes might be worth the admission price. Or not. Anybody up to posting them here?

[krm]

agree. For this release, the linernotes are more interesting than the songs.

[Jack of All Parades]

Saw it this morning at Newbury Comics on Newbury St- successfully resisted purchasing it though for the price of $16.99. Too rich for me for mostly recycled material. Went for several Lee Morgan cds for the same amount of money.

[Poor Deportee]

Normally I don't pay any attention to compilations and happily ignore the 1-2 'bonus' tracks usually tagged on as a lure for the hard-core. But I think this one is actually a rather canny compilation, inasmuch as I - a big fan but never a completist - don't have several of these songs in my collection; a number of them are not contained on EC's albums. That would incline me toward buying it. Conversely, I know enough to know that at least some of those songs are not particularly outstanding (e.g., 'Sparkling Day'), which means shilling out for about 8 songs of merely middling quality.

Hmmmh. This looks like a job for Santa

How frustrating that 'Party Party' isn't included. It's a perfectly amiable piece of fluff unworthy of Elvis's animus. Dumb.

[cwr]

Costello's deliberate omission of "Party Party" strikes me as something of a gimmick at this point. I think Costello likes having a "worst song" that he always leaves out of his reissues (the UK Singles box sets being the rare exception to his embargo.) Why else bring it up in the liner notes if not to flaunt it?

The absence of "Sitting" is the biggest sin of this compilation. He records it for a movie, it's unreleased and we only hear a fragment of in the film he recorded it for.

I can understand including "Accidents Will Happen", just because E.T. is such a huge movie, but it seems like a weird choice to include "I Want You" rather than, say, "I'll Never Fall In Love." One is a relatively obscure indie film that took its title from the song and licensed it for the movie, and one is a Costello/Bacharach recording for a big hit film that they both appeared in, performing it. Why opt for a song that's already on most of EC's "greatest hits" compilations instead of a track that was only ever released on the Austin Powers soundtrack album?

This release is one of the more baffling ones. It seems doomed to sell almost no copies, it holds little appeal to diehard fans, and yet the liner notes seem to be targeted at people with more than a passing interest in Costello's music-- aka the people who already own all this stuff.

[Poor Deportee]

Costello's deliberate omission of "Party Party" strikes me as something of a gimmick at this point. I think Costello likes having a "worst song" that he always leaves out of his reissues (the UK Singles box sets being the rare exception to his embargo.) Why else bring it up in the liner notes if not to flaunt it?

The absence of "Sitting" is the biggest sin of this compilation. He records it for a movie, it's unreleased and we only hear a fragment of in the film he recorded it for.

I can understand including "Accidents Will Happen", just because E.T. is such a huge movie, but it seems like a weird choice to include "I Want You" rather than, say, "I'll Never Fall In Love." One is a relatively obscure indie film that took its title from the song and licensed it for the movie, and one is a Costello/Bacharach recording for a big hit film that they both appeared in, performing it. Why opt for a song that's already on most of EC's "greatest hits" compilations instead of a track that was only ever released on the Austin Powers soundtrack album?

This release is one of the more baffling ones. It seems doomed to sell almost no copies, it holds little appeal to diehard fans, and yet the liner notes seem to be targeted at people with more than a passing interest in Costello's music-- aka the people who already own all this stuff.

I have no doubt it won't sell much, but my earlier post was suggesting that there's another level of Costello fan, the sub-completest but nevertheless serious fan. All 756 of us will probably be buying this collection.

[Kevin Davis]

All 756 of us will probably be buying this collection.

Take it down to 755, though I might use it as an excuse to buy the few tracks I don't have yet off iTunes. Otherwise I think this is a silly, extraneous compilation, especially since it's so incomplete. Had it been an excuse to corral all his non-album soundtrack-only songs onto one disc, it would have been a wonderful addition to his canon, but as it stands it feels like a randomly assembled mix CD with a flimsy theme. Pretty disappointing.

[sweetest punch]

For us, fans, this seems to be the most important sentence from the liner notes:

"God Give Me Strength began an inspired period of songwriting with Burt Bacharach eventually yielding the twelve songs contained on the 1998 album Painted From Memory. It is a collaboration that continues to this day."

This seems to indicate that Elvis and Burt are actually working together at this very moment. Could Elvis be referring to the Austin Powers musical ( http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3 ... f=2&t=9299 )
or to songs written for a future Diana Krall album ( http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3 ... f=2&t=6908 )?

[John]

£7.99 from Sainsburys, so bought it.
http://www.sainsburysentertainment.co.u ... rce=google

Can't pretend to be over excited!

[johnfoyle]

HMV Dublin don't have it but can get it for €19.99 - no thanks! Tower Dublin had it for €16.99 & I bought it . It was the last of 5 copies they got in on Friday. Usual blah blah about more copies on the way. I'm off to a movie now so I'll report back later.

[Poor Deportee]

All 756 of us will probably be buying this collection.

Take it down to 755, though I might use it as an excuse to buy the few tracks I don't have yet off iTunes. Otherwise I think this is a silly, extraneous compilation, especially since it's so incomplete. Had it been an excuse to corral all his non-album soundtrack-only songs onto one disc, it would have been a wonderful addition to his canon, but as it stands it feels like a randomly assembled mix CD with a flimsy theme. Pretty disappointing.

I actually agree with you here...why miss this obvious opportunity to go truly comprehensive, and thus guarantee at least the enthusiasm of EC's hard-core fans? The answer must be either sheer shoddiness ('let's cobble something together for contractual reasons and/or to make a quick buck') or else that the attempt to be curatorial was ruined by contractual and copyright problems. I'd go the selective iTunes route myself, but it depends on price point - there's about eight songs on here I don't have, so that may make it more logical just to buy the whole album and get liner notes.

[johnfoyle]

Proof I actually did buy the feckin' thing!



I'm currently going through the sleeve note, reading between the lines etc. I'll comment later.

[johnfoyle]

After reading the credits I asked , via F/book, Chalkie Davies -

Elvis Costello credits you , Chalkie, in the sleeve notes as having taken the photo, from 1980, used on his new compilation, In Motion Pictures. Thing is , I thought it was taken by the late Keith Morris. I said so on a EC fan site and it has been repeated on some blog comments etc. Maybe you might confirm if it is actually yours and tell of any memories you have from the session. For instance, I thought it was from the same one for Barney Bubbles' video for New Lace Sleeves - true?

Chalkie replied - Those are my pictures, not Keith's, taken in the Isle of White on Barney's videos, the studio session was the original shoot for the cover but only one image was used, as a singles bag for New Lace Sleeves I think...EC contacted me in September looking for an image for the new CD and we looked at the session again, it's nice for these pictures to see the light of day...

Me again - Thanks for that . Sorry for getting the detail wrong. I had seen one of the photos from the same session with an edition of Trust , saw a credit for Keith on another edition and decided that applied to all of them. It shows how careful you have to be about research.

[watercamp]

ordered from Amazon Canada before the Nov. 19th release date but they back ordered it, got notified on the week end that it's now in the mail.

It's not the collection it could be as others have mentioned, seems like record companies are just not listening to the hard core fans these days and they wonder why the business is going down the drain.

[stormwarning]

Of course you've all missed out on the reason some why crucial tracks were omitted, they're being saved for "In Motion Pictures II - The Sequel". Universal had better hurry up though because methinks Watercamp will get there first.

[johnfoyle]

I hope to have a longer comment later but one Elvis/movie-work omission we all seem to have forgotten is his work for The Courier soundtrack.


http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3 ... f=2&t=7332

[watercamp]

Of course you've all missed out on the reason some why crucial tracks were omitted, they're being saved for "In Motion Pictures II - The Sequel". Universal had better hurry up though because methinks Watercamp will get there first.

I still have plenty of Album Compilations left to get through, but I'm working on it.

[johnfoyle]

Further to my comment about The Courier - although it may be lumped in with Elvis' other soundtrack work with Richard Harvey - GBH etc- it surely deserved to have at least a track from it included here. That would be Spike's Last Boat Leaving. Like Life Shrinks it was originally meant for a film - The Courier - so qualifies. Of the cues on the s/t Rat Poison is a particularly adventurous piece, featuring Elvis on vibes, feedback, organ and drum programming,along with brass players, including Guy Barker on trumpet.

I've been playing In Motion Pictures at work in my shop for the past few days. In such a distracted environment some surprising qualities become apparent. Lover's Walk really shines when taken out of the context of it's overpowering company on Trust. Ditto Oh Well. You Stole My Bell re-asserts it's role as the lost link between WIWC and North , it's depiction of a fraught relationship surely a subconscious reaction to what was happening in it's co-authors' - Elvis 'n Cait- lives. And so on. Time and again I found myself listening a new to tracks , hearing parts I just don't remember noticing before. Stephen Thomas Erlewine comment that it's the only compilation to touch upon nearly every phase of Costello's career kept coming to mind. Us fans might know it well but I can't help thinking this may serve to quite a eye opener for people new to Elvis.


I compared all the tracks with earlier releases of them, right back to playing the cd single edition of 'Shrinks. I was kind of hoping there may have been a few extra, unedited seconds here and there or even , just like with the way I Hope You're Happy Now (Confederates version) appeared by accident on Singles Vol 3, a wrong master may have been used. Nothing like that , alas. Oh Well is far 'quieter' than the compressed version on WIWC , but that's all.

Elvis' sleeve note is a handy precis of the many stories he has told over the years, on stage or in interviews. Sean Penn recorded a version, unused, of Sulphur To Sugarcane is one snippet new to me. Errors up now and then. Unwanted Number is described as unrecorded when For Real did, actually, record it for the Grace Of My Heart s/t (and get included on the Bespoke Songs, Lost Dogs, Detours & Rendezvous collection). The Company (2003) is described as Robert Altman's' last released film', whereas A Prairie Home Companion ('06) was actually his last film.'Revolution Doll' is described as having been written for Laurel Canyon (2002) (it is on the soundtrack), which kind of clashes with the story that it was written in '01 for The Bangles to be used in a unmade tv series. And so on. Considering, however, that Elvis adopts the personae of Moon Conway to write the note and the same Mr Conway has been cranking the handle of the albi machine in Hollywood for fifty years we are supposed to take what he writes with a pinch of salt.

In short, a handy, hugely listenable collection , with it's biggest problem actually getting people to listen to it .

[johnfoyle]

Win a Copy of Elvis Costello’s ‘In Motion Pictures’

http://www.radioio.com/2012/12/win-a-co ... -pictures/

[Wolverinefan]

I'll probably get a copy soon, if I see it in a store somewhere. Odd that nobody seems to be advertising it... it's almost like they don't WANT it to sell well! Very strange.

I love "She" and there are some other tracks that are unknown to me, so this could be a nice Christmas pressie to myself.

[johnfoyle]

Chalkie Davies commented when this appeared on Elvis' Facebook page -

This must have come from EC, that's from the original 1980 contact sheet,the one in the CD is the "enhanced" version...

[Jack of All Parades]

Picked it up over the holidays for the price of $5.99 plus tax. Mostly underwhelmed. The bulk of the material is middling. Agree with the poster PD about the sad lack of inclusion for "Party, Party". EC's psuedo narrator, Moon Conway, explains its absense by claiming that 'the soundtrack recording seems to have been erased from the catalog, so it is not included herein'. The two songs that do hold up with their cinema attachments are "I Want You" and "God Give Me Strength". Both vivid aural memories of their particular films. The Moon Conway conceit in the booklet essay can be too cloying at times and goes on too long. Do very much enjoy the back cover of the cd case- the marque photo is imposing and impressive and would make a strong poster should someone take the production initiative. Did take notice that Moon/EC is very proud of the number of female directors he has been asked to work with on soundtracks.

[johnfoyle]

Earlier in this thread I posted a comment from the photographer who's picture is used on this album sleeve -

Chalkie replied - Those are my pictures, not Keith's, taken in the Isle of White on Barney's videos, the studio session was the original shoot for the cover but only one image was used, as a singles bag for New Lace Sleeves I think...EC contacted me in September looking for an image for the new CD and we looked at the session again, it's nice for these pictures to see the light of day...

The 'singles bag' ( for, actually, Watch Your Step ) appeared a few days ago on a E.C. Facebook page .



I commented, referring to Chalkie's Dec.'12 comment -

Nice to see Chalkie's photo getting the attention it deserves. It was taken on the Channel Islands during a video shoot.


Chalkie responded -

Actually it wasn't, it was taken at Studio B in Covent Garden. It was originally going to be the Front Cover of Trust, which was spelt in the Roman way as TRVST, but in the end it was considered too austere and those two images from the video shoot were used instead. This photo session remained unused till EC emailed me from South Korea in September looking for something for the In Motion Pictures CD. The one we used for that was my favourite picture from that Session, all good things come to those who wait...



I've asked Chalkie, via Facebook, for clarification.

He replied -

Figured I would set the record straight about Trust. Watch my page later today for an EC photo that you might want want to repost on that page, it's the Orchestra image from inner bag of Trust. With an explanation of who those people are...


He has since posted this -



I came across this image on New Year Day, it's certainly the largest Band that we ever shot. It was originally used on the inner bag of the Trust LP in 1981, the Orchestra comprises of all the people who worked for Elvis at the time, plus the Guest Artistes on the Record, Glenn Tilbrook and Martin Belmont. You will recognize Nick Lowe playing Sax in the front row and the incomparable Cynthia Lole sitting next to Glenn. Barney Bubbles designed the Music Stands especially for this photo.

It was taken at Hammersmith Palais as that was where EC had spent many hours watching his father, Ross, rehearse with the Joe Loss Orchestra. Instruments and Dinner Jackets were also rented for the occasion.

Given the size of the place it took every strobe pack that we could get our hands on, twelve Balcar packs were spread out under the balcony, even with that amount of power, 28,800 Watts at full power, the exposure was only F5.6 (for photo nerds only). Nick Lowe pointed out that we really needed 50,000 Watts of power, a remark originally inspired by his seeing a Thin Lizzy gig.

What was great about this shoot was that everyone did exactly what we asked and paid attention during the entire process. Given how hard it usually was just to get to get Bands to listen to instructions it was incredibly helpful that everyone did what we said. But, this was a special bunch of people who took the photo very seriously, and I thank them all for that...

Great as that image is , it still doesn't clarify the contradictory information about the In Motion Pictures sleeve image. It of little consequence , of course, but, having posted incorrect information before I wanted to make it clear that, in this case, I'm merely going by what Chalkie has told me!