Less than two years after the release of the excellent four-CD The Songs of Bacharach & Costello, Elvis Costello has unveiled another major boxed set. Called King of America & Other Realms, the collection, released Nov. 1, 2024, features 97 tracks on six CDs. (Casual fans and those with tight budgets can opt for a two-disc edition.) The CDs are encased in a 60-page hardcover book that contains photos and lyrics to every song. Also included is a long and predictably witty essay by the artist that incorporates more personal detail than you might expect.
The set’s first CD offers a new remaster of 1986’s T Bone Burnett–produced King of America, Costello’s well-regarded 10th studio album, which he says contains “some of the most plain-spoken verses I have ever put into song.” It’s a self-assured and satisfying collection, dominated by originals such as the deftly written “Brilliant Mistake” and “American Without Tears,” which Costello describes in the book as being “the tale of two G.I. brides looking back at how they got to America.” Also here are “Jack of All Parades” and “I’ll Wear It Proudly,” both inspired by his then-new love, the Pogues’ Cait O’Riordan, and “Lovable,” which he wrote with her. In addition, there’s a slow, intense cover of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” which gave Costello a Top 20 hit (and did the same for the Animals in 1965), and a rocking rendition of J.B. Lenoir’s “Eisenhower Blues.”
The second CD delivers frequently fascinating solo acoustic demos from 1985, among them versions of many of the tracks from King of America that differ radically, both lyrically and musically, from the familiar recordings. Besides featuring just Costello and his guitar, for example, disc two’s version of “Brilliant Mistake” incorporates a completely different second verse.
Disc three offers a previously unreleased 1987 Royal Albert Hall concert that showcases such guests as James Burton, Jim Keltner and the Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench. This high-octane 72-minute show, which features accordion more prominently and effectively than did the original King of America, includes the title track and several other numbers from that album, plus covers that demonstrate the breadth of Costello’s influences. Among them are Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham’s “It Tears Me Up,” Mose Allison’s “Your Mind Is on Vacation,” Jesse Winchester’s “Payday” and Buddy Holly’s “True Love Ways.”
Finally, there are three discs’ worth of additional studio tracks, demos, outtakes and concert performances. This material spans nearly four decades and includes three numbers recorded just this year: “That’s Not the Part of Him You’re Leaving,” with the roots rock band Larkin Poe; a version of “Indoor Fireworks”; and a medley of “Brilliant Mistake” and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” (The latter number—which is the 1933 Al Dubin and Harry Warren song, not the Green Day hit—is referenced in the former.)
Related: Our review of a 2024 Costello live show
Also featured are duets with guest artists, including bluegrass pioneer Ralph Stanley (“Red Wicked Wine”), Rosanne Cash and Kris Kristofferson (“April 5th”), Lucinda Williams (“There’s a Story in Your Voice”) and Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (“The Scarlet Tide,” live at the Grand Ole Opry). Among other high points are “For More Tears,” which has not previously been released in any version, and “Lost on the River #12,” which melds Costello’s music with Bob Dylan’s lyrics.
Virtually everything here is worth owning, but there is one reason to pause before buying: if you’re enough of a fan to consider paying the not-inconsiderable price of the anthology, you might well be enough of a fan that you already own much of its contents. Out of 97 tracks, 73 have been previously released on CD, though 15 of those 73 are from the 1986 album, which, as noted earlier, has been remastered. (Meanwhile, incidentally, the anthology does not include several noteworthy tracks that featured on a 2005 two-disc edition of King of America, among them “End of the Rainbow” and “Betrayal,” so completists will need to hang onto that album.)
If your Costello collection is already large, you’d be well advised to compare its contents with the program here to be sure you wouldn’t be paying for many duplicates. If that’s not the case, pull out your wallet and enjoy. The collection is available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.
A top editor at leading consumer and trade magazines for more than 40 years, Jeff has interviewed dozens of musical luminaries, including Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt, Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Wolfman Jack, Tommy James, Tom Waits, the Righteous Brothers, and the members of Steely Dan.
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