“King of America” became Rhino’s penultimate reissue Of Elvis Costello in 2005, With a front cover sticker cheekily hailed it as “the album that fans, critics and Elvis Costello all agree on.” Perhaps that’s why it’ll be the next of his classic albums to receive a deluxe box set later this year. Elvis Costello will release a sprawling new box set on November 1st, titled “King of America & Other Realms. As its name suggests, the six-disc set includes a newly remastered edition of Costello’s 1986 album “King of America”, originally co-produced with T Bone Burnett. The remastered 1986 album is paired with a disc of demos and outtakes (six of them previously unreleased), The deluxe release follows the super deluxe, vinyl-and-digital-only of The Complete Armed Forces box set.
Additionally, it features a previously unreleased live concert recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1987, plus more unreleased demos, outtakes and live recordings, a 35-page essay by Costello himself and rare photographs. As a press release succinctly puts it, the set “celebrates and explores the songwriter’s lifelong love, fascination and influence of American music.”
There will also be a two-disc CD version containing the remastered “King of America” and a second disc of highlights from the collection.
Costello’s 10th studio album was a marked departure from his last two records: “Punch the Clock” (1983) and “Goodbye Cruel World” (1984) were slick pop affairs overseen by producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. “Congratulations! You’ve just purchased our worst album.” Undaunted, the singer/songwriter embarked on a tour with American musician T-Bone Burnett under the moniker “The Coward Brothers,” releasing a single, “The People’s Limousine,” in 1985. (Both sides of the single bookend the box’s second disc, “Le Roi Sans Sabots – Demos, Outtakes & Other Realms.”) The album’s sole worldwide single, a cover of Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” was a minor U.K. Top 40 hit, though album cuts “Brilliant Mistake” and “Indoor Fireworks” remain among the most-beloved (and most-played) selections from the album.
The 12″ x 11.5″ package, produced by Costello and Steve Berkowitz, includes 57 pages of liner notes, including a lengthy essay by Costello on the making of the album plus rare and unseen photos. (A 2CD cut-down will be issued as well.
A complete track listening for the deluxe edition is available along with the newly remastered 2024 version of “Indoor Fireworks.”
The Fat Angel Sings 