“King of America” Elvis Costello‘s 1986 album has been remastered and expanded for a new 6CD box set called “King Of America & Other Realms” which is described as “97-track musical journey” and takes in unheard demos, live performances and tracks & rarities related to other albums recorded in America later in Costello’s career.
Discs 1, 2 & 3 in this set focus on “King of America” with the first offering a 2024 remaster (from the original tapes) and the second home to 17 demos. It seems incredible that there’s anything left after the expanded and double CD sets of the 1990s… but there is! Specifically, there’s six previously unreleased demos cut at Red Bus Recording Studios in London, in the months prior to the “King Of America” sessions in Hollywood which are mixed from newly discovered multitrack tapes. The third CD offers a 17-song Royal Albert Hall concert from 1987 in London, also mixed from the multitracks.
Costello himself has compiled this set (with Steve Berkowitz) which probably explains disc 4, 5 & 6 which are “a three-disc compendium of recordings and collaborations from across the last four decades, including previously unreleased demos, outtakes and live recordings”. For example, there’s some songs from Costello and Allen Toussaint’s collaborative album, “The River In Reverse“, almost half of Costello’s “National Ransom” record from 2010 (it was recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles) along with some demos and outtakes from the same album.
“King Of America & Other Realms” culminates with three new recordings recorded in 2024: ‘Indoor Fireworks’ (Memphis Magnetic Version), ‘That’s Not The Part of Him You’re Leaving’ with Larkin Poe and a recent arrangement of ‘Brilliant Mistake’. The final song is ‘That Day Is Done’ a song co-written by Costello and Paul McCartney for McCartney’s 1989 album “Flowers In The Dirt”, performed with the gospel group The Fairfield Four (this has been available before).
The 6CD super deluxe edition box comes with a 57-page booklet, home to a 35-page essay from Costello with the usual rare photos. The bookset type package is almost album-sized, at 12” x 11.5”.
“King Of America & Other Realms” is released on 1st November 2024 via UMe.
The Fat Angel Sings 