Mighty Like A Rose is the 13th studio album

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 British

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...

 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 in 1991 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...

 26575. The title is presumably a reference to the pop standard "Mighty Lak' a Rose

Mighty Lak' a Rose

Mighty Lak' a Rose is a 1901 song with lyrics by Frank Lebby Stanton and music by Ethelbert Nevin.The lyrics are written in an approximation of an African American accent; such "dialect songs" were common in the era. The title thus means "Mighty like a rose"; this assessment is addressed by a...

", and although that song does not appear on the album, the words of its first stanza are quoted in the booklet of the 2002 reissue. It peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart, and at No. 55 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...

.

Content

Mighty Like a Rose continues in the vein of Costello's previous album

Spike (Elvis Costello album)

Spike is the 12th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released on and compact disc as Warner Brothers 25848. It was his first album for the label. It peaked at #5 on the UK album chart, and at #32 on the Billboard 200....

 from 1989, although with Mitchell Froom

Mitchell Froom

-Career:Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboards players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar...

 taking over the producer's chair from T-Bone Burnett

T-Bone Burnett

Joseph Henry Burnett , widely known as T-Bone Burnett, is an American musician, songwriter, and soundtrack and record producer.He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band on the Rolling Thunder Revue...

. This time, the tracks were recorded in one location, Ocean Way

Ocean Way Recording

Ocean Way Recording is the name of a series of recording studios in Hollywood, California and Nashville, Tennessee. Ocean Way Studios is well known in the recording industry due to the award-winning albums that were produced there....

 in Hollywood, with orchestral and vocal overdubs taking place at 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...

. Two more songs from his collaboration 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...

 appear, "Playboy to a Man" and a song selected as a single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, "So Like Candy."

Costello refers to this as an angry record, recorded in the aftermath of the Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

 during the early 1990s. The opening track, "The Other Side of Summer" was designed as a Beach Boys pastiche after their style in the early 1970s. The track, "Invasion Hit Parade", features a trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

 solo by Costello's father, Ross MacManus

Ross MacManus

Ross MacManus was an English musician and trumpet player, who performed with Joe Loss and his orchestra, and the father of singer Elvis Costello....

. The album also features a song written by his wife of the time, Cait O'Riordan

Cait O'Riordan

Caitlín O'Riordan is a British musician. She played bass guitar for the British-Irish punk/folk band The Pogues from 1983 to 1986. She later played with Elvis Costello, her husband from 1986 to 2002, as well as several other projects....

, "Broken." The album is dedicated to her.

The lead single, "The Other Side of Summer", peaked at No. 43 on the UK Singles Chart. Although it missed the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 in the US, it reached No. 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks

Modern Rock Tracks

Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...

 chart and No. 40 on the Album Rock Tracks

Mainstream Rock Tracks

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...

 chart. The second single, "So Like Candy", did not chart in either nation.

Release history

The album was released initially on Compact Disc in 1991. As part of the Rhino Records reissue campaign for Costello's back catalogue from Demon/Columbia

Columbia 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 2002 with 17 additional tracks on a bonus disc. Several of these were recorded at Costello's home. While this reissue is out of print, the album was 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, except where noted; track timings taken from Rhino 2002 reissue.

1. "The Other Side of Summer" – 3:56
2. "Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Taking Over)" (Declan MacManus
   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...
   
   , Jim Keltner
   Jim Keltner
   James Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...
   
   ) – 4:05
3. "How to Be Dumb" – 5:14
4. "All Grown Up" – 4:16
5. "Invasion Hit Parade" – 5:34
6. "Harpies Bizarre" – 3:44
7. "After the Fall" – 4:38
8. "Georgie and Her Rival" – 3:38
9. "So Like Candy" (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...
   
   , MacManus) – 4:36
10. "Interlude: Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 2" – 0:22
11. "Playboy to A Man" (McCartney, MacManus) – 3:20
12. "Sweet Pear" – 3:36
13. "Broken" (Cait O'Riordan
    Cait O'Riordan
    Caitlín O'Riordan is a British musician. She played bass guitar for the British-Irish punk/folk band The Pogues from 1983 to 1986. She later played with Elvis Costello, her husband from 1986 to 2002, as well as several other projects....
    
    ) – 3:37
14. "Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4" – 3:50

2002 bonus disc

Tracks 1, 2, 9-13, and 15-17 are solo demo recordings

Demo (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...

.

1. "Just Another Mystery" – 4:15
2. "Sweet Pear" – 3:46
3. "Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4" – 4:18 live at Great Woods June 1991 issued as a b-side to "So Like Candy"
4. "Mischievous Ghost" (with Mary Coughlan
   Mary Coughlan (singer)
   Mary Coughlan is an Irish jazz and folk singer and actress. She has received great acclamation in her native country, for her emotional and heartfelt jazzy musical renditions.-Background:...
   
   ) – 5:47 released on Bringing It All Back Home for BBC Records
   BBC Records
   BBC Records is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation founded in the 1960s to exploit the corporation's audio archive for both educational and commercial purposes....
   
   
5. "St. Stephen's Day Murders" (Costello, Paddy Moloney
   Paddy Moloney
   Paddy Moloney is one of the founders of the Irish musical group The Chieftains and has played on every one of their albums.He was born in Donnycarney in Dublin. His mother bought him a tin whistle when he was six and at the age of eight he started to learn the Uilleann pipes. He also plays button...
   
   ) (with The Chieftains
   The Chieftains
   The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
   
   ) – 3:25 released on The Bells of Dublin
   The Bells of Dublin
   The Bells of Dublin is an album of Christmas songs and traditional carols by the Irish band The Chieftains. The album features guest performances by various artists, including Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Marianne Faithfull, Nanci Griffith, Rickie Lee Jones and the...
   
   
6. "The Other Side of Summer" – 4:06 recorded for MTV Unplugged
   MTV Unplugged
   MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...
   
    3 June 1991
7. "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" – 4:43 recorded for MTV Unplugged
   MTV Unplugged
   MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...
   
    3 June 1991
8. "Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Taking Over)" (Costello, Keltner) – 4:18 recorded for MTV Unplugged
   MTV Unplugged
   MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...
   
    3 June 1991
9. "All Grown Up" – 4:36
10. "Georgie and Her Rival" – 3:22
11. "Forgive Her Anything" – 4:02
12. "It Started to Come to Me" – 2:48
13. "I Still Miss Someone/The Last Town I Painted" (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...
    
    /Roy Cash Jr., Buddy Word) – 2:47
14. "Put Your Big Toe in the Milk of Human Kindness" (with Rob Wasserman
    Rob Wasserman
    Rob Wasserman is an American bass player, who has played with a wide variety of musicians including David Grisman, Lou Reed, Bob Weir, Jerry Garcia, Bruce Cockburn, Van Morrison, Rickie Lee Jones, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello, Mark Morris, Aaron Neville, Chris Whitley, Studs Terkel, Pete Seeger,...
    
    ) – 4:10 released on Trios
15. "Invasion Hit Parade" – 4:21
16. "Just Another Mystery" – 3:43
17. "Broken" (O'Riordan) – 3:22

Personnel

• Declan MacManus
  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...
  
   – acoustic guitar
  Acoustic guitar
  An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
  
  , bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , electric guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
  , maracas
  Maracás
  Maracás is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.-References:...
  
  , keyboards
• Mitchell Froom
  Mitchell Froom
  -Career:Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboards players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar...
  
   – organ, celeste
  Celesta
  The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
  
  , harmonium
  Harmonium
  A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
  
  
• Larry Knechtel
  Larry Knechtel
  Lawrence 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...
  
   – organ
  Organ (music)
  The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
  
  , piano
  Piano
  The 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...
  
  , Hammond organ
  Hammond organ
  The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
  
  , clavinet
  Clavinet
  A Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
  
  
• Marc Ribot
  Marc Ribot
  Marc Ribot born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer.His own work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and composer John Zorn.-Biography:Ribot was...
  
   – guitar, cornet
  Cornet
  The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
  
  , rhythm guitar
  Rhythm guitar
  Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
  
  , horn
  Horn (instrument)
  The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
  
  
• Jerry Scheff
  Jerry Scheff
  Jerry Obern Scheff is an American bassist, perhaps best known for his work with Elvis Presley in the early 1970s as a member of his TCB Band and his work on The Doors' final recordings....
  
   – electric bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , electric guitar
• Jim Keltner
  Jim Keltner
  James Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...
  
   – drums
  Drum kit
  A 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 ....
  
  , percussion

Additional personnel

• Lionel Batiste
  Lionel Batiste
  "Uncle" Lionel Batiste is a jazz and blues musician and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Born February 1, 1931, he began in music career at the age of 11 playing bass drum with the Square Deal Social & Pleasure Club. He is currently the bass drummer, vocalist and assistant leader of the Treme...
  
   – drums
• Nicholas Bucknail – clarinet
  Clarinet
  The 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...
  
  
• James Burton
  James Burton
  James Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 , Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...
  
   – acoustic guitar
• Gregory Davis – trumpet
  Trumpet
  The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
  
  
• Andre Findon – flute
  Flute
  The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
  
  
• Steve George
  Steve George (keyboardist)
  Steve George is an American keyboard player, who is perhaps best known as the keyboardist for the 1980s band, Mr. Mister. He co-wrote many of the Mr. Mister songs, together with his childhood friend, Mr...
  
   – backing vocals
• Charles Joseph – trombone
  Trombone
  The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
  
  
• Kirk Joseph
  Kirk Joseph
  Kirk Joseph is a jazz sousaphone player from New Orleans, Louisiana. The son of trombonist Waldren "Frog" Joseph, Kirk Joseph began playing the sousaphone while a student at Andrew Bell Middle School, and took part in his first professional gig at the age of fifteen when his brother Charles...
  
   – tuba
  Tuba
  The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
  
  
• Roger Lewis – baritone saxophone
  Baritone saxophone
  The baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
  
  
• Ross MacManus
  Ross MacManus
  Ross MacManus was an English musician and trumpet player, who performed with Joe Loss and his orchestra, and the father of singer Elvis Costello....
  
   – trumpet
• Jenell Marshall – drums, percussion
• Richard Morgan – oboe
  Oboe
  The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
  
  
• Steve Nieve
  Steve Nieve
  Steve Nieve is an English keyboardist, best known for his work with Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Elvis Costello and the Imposters.-Musical career:...
  
   – keyboards
• Richard Page
  Richard Page (musician)
  Richard Page , is an American musician who is the lead singer and bassist of 1980's US band Mr. Mister and is now a songwriter and solo artist.-Early life:...
  
   – backing vocals
• Simon Rayner – french horn
• Steven Soles
  Steven Soles
  Steven Soles is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and guitarist.Known also as J. Steven Soles, he was asked by Bob Dylan to join the band for his 1975-1976 "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour, and he also played with Dylan on Street Legal and the following tour, including the live album Bob...
  
   – backing vocals
• Benmont Tench
  Benmont Tench
  Benjamin Montmorency Tench, III is an American keyboardist best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.-Early years:...
  
   – piano
• Pete Thomas
  Pete Thomas
  Pete 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:...
  
   – drums, percussion, castanets, tambourine
  Tambourine
  The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
  
  , bells
  Bell (instrument)
  A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
  
  
• Efrem Towns – trumpet
• Rob Wasserman
  Rob Wasserman
  Rob Wasserman is an American bass player, who has played with a wide variety of musicians including David Grisman, Lou Reed, Bob Weir, Jerry Garcia, Bruce Cockburn, Van Morrison, Rickie Lee Jones, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello, Mark Morris, Aaron Neville, Chris Whitley, Studs Terkel, Pete Seeger,...
  
   – electric bass
• Tom "T-Bone" Wolk – bass

Charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...	5
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...	55

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1991	"The Other Side of Summer"	UK Singles Chart	43
		Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	40
		Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	1