All This Useless Beauty
Encyclopedia
All This Useless Beauty is the 17th studio album
by the English
rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello
, released on compact disc
as Warner Brothers
46198. It peaked at #28 on the UK album chart, and at #53 on the Billboard 200
. It is his final album with his long-standing backing band The Attractions, and the last album he delivered under his contract to the Warner Brothers label, his contract expiring with a further compilation album, Extreme Honey
.
and originally recorded by 'Til Tuesday
; "You Bowed Down," recorded by Roger McGuinn
; "All This Useless Beauty" and "I Want to Vanish," recorded by June Tabor
. The title is a sarcastic reference to what Costello thought would be the fate of the album.
Instead, Costello hired the Attractions, and recorded the songs at Windmill Lane Studios
in Dublin and Westside Studios in London
with Geoff Emerick
producing. "Complicated Shadows" had been intended for Johnny Cash
, and "Why Can't A Man Stand Alone?" for Sam Moore
, but neither singer elected to record them. Another of his collaborations with Paul McCartney
appears, "Shallow Grave."
Unusually, six tracks were released as singles in either the United Kingdom
or the United States
: "It's Time;" "Little Atoms;" "The Other End of the Telescope;" "Distorted Angel;" "All This Useless Beauty;" and "You Bowed Down." Only "It's Time" charted, and only in the UK, peaking at #58.
and Warners, it was re-released in 2001 with 17 additional tracks on a bonus disc. Additional tracks continued the album's initial concept, tracks intended for recording by or in collaboration with other artists. "The Days Take Care of Themselves" and "The Comedians" had been written for Roy Orbison
, his recording of the latter appearing on Mystery Girl
, while "The Only Flame In Town" had been intended for Aaron Neville
. "The World's Great Optimist," another collaboration with Aimee Mann, appeared on her Bachelor No. 2
album, and Johnny Cash
recorded "Hidden Shame" on Boom Chicka Boom
. This reissue is out of print, the album reissued again by Universal Music Group
after its acquisition of Costello's complete catalogue in 2006.
.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, released on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
as Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
46198. It peaked at #28 on the UK album chart, and at #53 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. It is his final album with his long-standing backing band The Attractions, and the last album he delivered under his contract to the Warner Brothers label, his contract expiring with a further compilation album, Extreme Honey
Extreme Honey
Extreme Honey: The Very Best of Warner Brothers Years is a 1997 compilation album by Elvis Costello, spanning the years 1989-1997.-Track listing:# The Bridge I Burned# Veronica# Sulky Girl# So Like Candy# 13 Steps Lead Down# All This Useless Beauty...
.
Content
In its original conception, the album was to be a two-disc set of songs written for other artists, entitled A Case for Song, with backing by a diverse array of musicians, influenced by his participation in the 1995 Meltdown Festival. Aspects of this concept survived to the final album, as four songs previously released by others made it to the final track listing: "The Other End Of The Telescope," co-written with Aimee MannAimee Mann
Aimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
and originally recorded by 'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Til Tuesday was an American New Wave band formed in Boston in 1982. Its original lineup was bassist/vocalist Aimee Mann, guitarist/vocalist Robert Holmes, keyboardist Joey Pesce, and drummer Michael Hausman.-History:...
; "You Bowed Down," recorded by Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
; "All This Useless Beauty" and "I Want to Vanish," recorded by June Tabor
June Tabor
June Tabor is an English folk singer.- Early years :June Tabor was inspired to sing by hearing Anne Briggs' EP Hazards of Love in 1965. "I went and locked myself in the bathroom for a fortnight and drove my mother mad. I learned the songs on that EP note for note, twiddle for twiddle. That's how I...
. The title is a sarcastic reference to what Costello thought would be the fate of the album.
Instead, Costello hired the Attractions, and recorded the songs at Windmill Lane Studios
Windmill Lane Studios
Windmill Lane Studios, also known as the "U2 studio", is a three-storey music recording studio located in Dublin, Ireland. It is located on Windmill Lane, a small street just south of City Quay and the River Liffey and a little north of Pearse Station. It was opened in 1978 by Brian Masterson who...
in Dublin and Westside Studios in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with Geoff Emerick
Geoff Emerick
Geoffrey Emerick is an English recording studio audio engineer, who is best known for his work with The Beatles' albums Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles and Abbey Road...
producing. "Complicated Shadows" had been intended for Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, and "Why Can't A Man Stand Alone?" for Sam Moore
Sam Moore
Samuel David Moore is an American Southern Soul and Rhythm & Blues singer who was the tenor vocalist for the soul vocal duo Sam & Dave from 1961 through 1981...
, but neither singer elected to record them. Another of his collaborations with Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
appears, "Shallow Grave."
Unusually, six tracks were released as singles in either the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
or the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
: "It's Time;" "Little Atoms;" "The Other End of the Telescope;" "Distorted Angel;" "All This Useless Beauty;" and "You Bowed Down." Only "It's Time" charted, and only in the UK, peaking at #58.
Release history
The album was released initially on compact disc in 1996. As part of the Rhino Records reissue campaign for Costello's back catalogue from Demon/ColumbiaColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and Warners, it was re-released in 2001 with 17 additional tracks on a bonus disc. Additional tracks continued the album's initial concept, tracks intended for recording by or in collaboration with other artists. "The Days Take Care of Themselves" and "The Comedians" had been written for Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, his recording of the latter appearing on Mystery Girl
Mystery Girl
-Core:*Roy Orbison – vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, guitar*Jeff Lynne – guitars on 1 5, acoustic guitar on 4, keyboards on 1 4 5, piano on 1, bass on 1 4 5, backing vocals on 1 4 5 9*Tom Petty – acoustic guitar on 1 5, backing vocals on 1 2 5...
, while "The Only Flame In Town" had been intended for Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He has had four top-20 hits in the United States along with four platinum-certified albums...
. "The World's Great Optimist," another collaboration with Aimee Mann, appeared on her Bachelor No. 2
Bachelor No. 2
Bachelor No. 2 is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released in 2000. Its full title is Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo. The album is notable for the fact that Mann was initially without a record company and sold the album through her website, but the...
album, and Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
recorded "Hidden Shame" on Boom Chicka Boom
Boom Chicka Boom
Boom Chicka Boom is an album by American country music icon Johnny Cash, released in 1990 on Mercury Records. The title refers to the sound that Cash's backing band, the Tennessee Three were said to produce...
. This reissue is out of print, the album reissued again by Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
after its acquisition of Costello's complete catalogue in 2006.
Track listing
All songs written by Elvis Costello unless otherwise indicated; track timings taken from the 2001 Rhino reissue.- "The Other End of the Telescope" (Costello, Aimee MannAimee MannAimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
) – 4:06 - "Little Atoms" – 3:58
- "All This Useless Beauty" – 4:39
- "Complicated Shadows" – 4:43
- "Why Can't a Man Stand Alone?" – 3:14
- "Distorted Angel" – 4:31
- "Shallow Grave" (MacManus, Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
) – 2:07 - "Poor Fractured Atlas" – 4:02
- "Starting to Come to Me" – 2:43
- "You Bowed Down" – 4:55
- "It's Time" – 6:00
- "I Want to Vanish" – 3:16
2001 bonus disc
Tracks 4, 6, 7, and 9-16 are solo demo recordingsDemo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
.
- "Almost Ideal Eyes" – 4:23 released as the b-side to "Little Atoms" in the UK and "You Bowed Down" in the US
- "My Dark Life" (with Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
) – 6:25 released on Songs in the Key of X - "That Day Is Done" (with The Fairfield FourThe Fairfield FourThe Fairfield Four is a gospel group that has existed for over 80 years. They started as a trio in Nashville, Tennessee's Fairfield Baptist Church in 1921. They were designated as National Heritage Fellows in 1989 by the National Endowment for the Arts. The group won the 1998 Grammy for Best...
) (MacManus, McCartney) – 5:11 released on I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray - "What Do I Do Now?What Do I Do Now?"What Do I Do Now?" is a song by English Britpop band Sleeper, written by the band's vocalist and guitarist Louise Wener. It was the first single to be released from their second album The It Girl in 1995 ....
" (Louise WenerLouise WenerLouise Jane Wener is an English writer and singer, formerly of the band Sleeper. Sleeper recorded three full length albums: Smart, The It Girl, and Pleased to Meet You...
) – 4:29 released on 17 Volume (Fifth Birthday Bumper Bonanza!) - "The Bridge I Burned" – 5:23 released on Extreme HoneyExtreme HoneyExtreme Honey: The Very Best of Warner Brothers Years is a 1997 compilation album by Elvis Costello, spanning the years 1989-1997.-Track listing:# The Bridge I Burned# Veronica# Sulky Girl# So Like Candy# 13 Steps Lead Down# All This Useless Beauty...
- "It's Time" – 4:00
- "Complicated Shadows" – 2:27
- "You Bowed Down" – 4:21 demo with The Attractions
- "Mistress and Maid" (MacManus, McCartney) – 2:20
- "Distorted Angel" – 2:33
- "World's Greatest Optimist" (Costello, Mann) – 2:34
- "The Only Flame in Town" – 4:14
- "The Comedians" – 3:09
- "The Days Take Care of Everything" – 4:00
- "Hidden Shame" – 3:59
- "Why Can't a Man Stand Alone" – 3:01
- "Distorted Angel" (TrickyTrickyTricky is an English musician and actor. As a producer and a musician, he is noted for a dark, rich and layered sound and a whispering sprechgesang lyrical style. Culturally, Tricky encourages an intertwining of societies, particularly in his musical fusion of rock and hip hop, high art and pop...
remix) – 5:35 released as the b-side to "All This Useless Beauty" in the US and "You Bowed Down" in the UK
Personnel
- Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
– vocals, guitars, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, other instruments - Steve NieveSteve NieveSteve Nieve is an English keyboardist, best known for his work with Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Elvis Costello and the Imposters.-Musical career:...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, keyboards, drum programming on "It's Time" - Bruce ThomasBruce ThomasBruce Thomas is best known as bassist for The Attractions; the band formed in 1977 to back Elvis Costello in concert and on record....
– bass - Pete ThomasPete ThomasPete Thomas is best known as the longtime drummer for Elvis Costello. Tom Waits has referred to him as "one of the best rock drummers alive".-Career:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, acoustic guitar on "You Bowed Down"
Additional Musicians
- Peter Whyman – bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
on "All This Useless Beauty" and "I Want to Vanish" - Roy BabbingtonRoy BabbingtonRoy Babbington is a rock and jazz bassist. He became well known for being a member of the Canterbury scene progressive rock/jazz fusion band Soft Machine.-Biography:...
– double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
on "All This Useless Beauty" and "I Want to Vanish" - Brodsky QuartetBrodsky QuartetThe Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, in existence since 1972, though only Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas are original members.In addition to performing classical music, and in particular the classic string quartet repertoire of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Bartók and Shostakovich,...
- string quartetString quartetA string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
on "I Want to Vanish" - Ruth Causey – clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
on "I Want to Vanish" - Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
- gadgets on "My Dark Life" - The Fairfield FourThe Fairfield FourThe Fairfield Four is a gospel group that has existed for over 80 years. They started as a trio in Nashville, Tennessee's Fairfield Baptist Church in 1921. They were designated as National Heritage Fellows in 1989 by the National Endowment for the Arts. The group won the 1998 Grammy for Best...
- vocals on "That Day Is Done" - Larry KnechtelLarry KnechtelLawrence William "Larry" Knechtel was an American keyboard player and bassist, best known for his work as a session musician with such artists as Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas, The Partridge Family, The Doors, and Elvis Presley, and as a member of the 1970s...
- piano on "That Day Is Done" - Matt MacManus - Fender bassFender Bass VIThe Fender Bass VI, originally known as the Fender VI, is a six-string electric bass or Scale Baritone Guitar by Fender.The Fender VI was released in 1961, and followed the concept of the Danelectro 6-string bass released in 1956, having six strings tuned E-E, an octave below the Spanish guitar...
, drum loop on "The Bridge I Burned" - Danny Goffey - drums on "The Bridge I Burned"
- Ned Douglas - sample control on "The Bridge I Burned"
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... 200 |
53 |