All This Useless Beauty

by Elvis Costello, Elvis Costello & the Attractions

Overview

Following his second covers album, Kojak Variety, Elvis Costello set out to assemble a collection of songs he had written for other artists but never recorded himself -- sort of a reverse covers album. As it turned out, that idea was only used as a launching pad -- the resulting album, All This Useless Beauty, is a mixture of nine old and three new songs. Given its origins, it's surprising that the record holds together as well as it does. The main strength of All This Useless Beauty is the quality of the individual songs -- each song can stand on its own as an individual entity, as the music is as sharp as the lyrics. Although the music is certainly eclectic, it's accessible, which wasn't the case with Mighty Like a Rose. Furthermore, the production is more textured and punchier than Mitchell Froom's botched job on Brutal Youth. All This Useless Beauty doesn't quite add up to a major statement, but the simple pleasures it offers makes it one of the more rewarding records of the latter part of Costello's career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	10/21/2022
Label:	Music On Vinyl
UPC:	8719262017474
Rank:	27645

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Elvis Costello   Primary Artist,Bass,Vocals,Celeste,Keyboards,Orchestra,Slide Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Elvis Costello & the Attractions   Primary Artist
The Fairfield Four   Primary Artist,Guest Artist
Brian Eno   Primary Artist,Guest Artist
Paul Cassidy   Viola
Steve Nieve   Piano,Keyboards,Orchestra,Sequencing
Jacqueline Thomas   Cello
The Brodsky Quartet   Strings,Ensemble
Roy Babbington   Bass,Double Bass
Bruce Thomas   Bass
Ian Belton   Violin
Pete Thomas   Drums,Percussion,Clarinet (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic)
Ruth Causey   Clarinet
Michael Thomas   Violin
Pete Whyman   Clarinet (Bass)

Technical Credits

Paul Motian   Mixing,Engineer
Sleeper   Arranger,Producer,Performer
Paul McCartney   Composer
Elvis Costello   Composer,Lyricist,Producer,Orchestration
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Kevin Killen   Producer,Remixing,Post Production Editor
Steve Nieve   Orchestration,Drum Programming
Ciaran Cahill   Assistant Engineer
Geoff Emerick   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Sam Gibson   Assistant Engineer
Louise Wener   Composer
Anthony Lycenko   Assistant Engineer
Aimee Mann   Composer
The Attractions   Performer
Elvis Costello & the Attractions   Performer
Jon Jacobs   Mixing,Engineer
Matt MacManus   Research
Declan MacManus   Composer,Lyricist