Will EC ever make a true "solo" album?

[cwr]

One of Costello's "iTunes originals" session tracks popped up in shuffle mode just now, and it occurred to me that EC could just as easily present a new collection of songs this way.

(If you don't have it, it's from several years back, Costello alone in a studio playing a bunch of old songs, just him and his guitar with no overdubs. Still available on iTunes, last time I checked?)

"The Last Year Of My Youth" would sound great like this. Given EC's reluctance to invest money recording albums that ultimately don't sell many copies, and given that he's never really made an official album like this, I wonder if he'll ever do it. Just take a batch of 10 or 20 songs into the studio and record them all in an afternoon and release it the next day. Or that evening!

It would have to be the right batch of songs to be a truly great album but he could do this tomorrow just using songs he's written but never released. It would be a nice mirroring of the "Honky Tonk Demos" from the beginning of his career, and we know he likes it when artists he loves make records this way, it makes sense that he would do this himself at some point, right?

[Jack of All Parades]

It would certainly be something to be wished. Easily accomplished, as you explain, as well. Since he loves to genre hop and roam across many musical formats, I would welcome him having a crack at a true Children's record. As the father of young twins, I would think this would be an engaging and invigorating project for him. Certainly his lyrical abilities could produce some Lear like creations. Hell, it could be a family project. His Sesame Street appearance with the color red was memorable as an example. As a boomer forseeing grandchildren in the future I would buy the record for them if it came to fruition. Nice notion-CWR.

[The imposter]

I seem to remember during some of the promotion for "Secret, Profane and Sugarcane" he mentioned he could release 2 albums tomorrow (something he HAS done before) and something about a solo album with just his acoustic guitar. (Something he hasn't done yet.) as something he WOULD do one day. I can't recall the source now, maybe for Newsweek or the Amoeba shows. As for your suggestion about recording several songs in a day, I agree, it would be fun even if they were covers or mere song sketches presented in an informal way reminiscent of McCartney's Oobu Jubu series.

[cwr]

I also hope for a children's' album, although in that case I would wish for maybe something with a littl more orchestration since he could have some real fun with that!

And I of course will never stop wishing for a return to Kojak Variety in some ambitious form or another- a song-a-day subscription service would be such a fun treat, it would get attention and would give us 365 Costello recordings in a year of him singing and telling us about some of his favorite songs. Man, that would really be my ultimate Costello wish.

[migdd]

I too embrace the idea of a true solo acoustic album, lovingly produced (perhaps by T-Bone Burnett) with no overdubs. I like to envision the album with mostly new songs with a smattering of tunes that have been "resting in the closet". It would be a short album of maybe 12 strong songs, well-rehearsed but not over-thought.

Yearning for a year like 1986, one could imagine this album being well-received by fans and quickly followed by a full band album of all new songs, followed by a couple of years of touring with this wealth of new material.

The world of recorded music being as it is today, EC doesn't need to worry whether the albums are commercially "successful", but rather acting as showcases for new material that could fill his live shows for years to come.