Extreme Honey: The Very Best of the Warner Bros. Years

by Elvis Costello

Overview

For anyone who didn't follow the many paths Costello treaded during the '90s, Extreme Honey: The Very Best of Warner Brothers Years is a good way to become acquainted with the strangest portion of his career. Like the Warner years themselves, Extreme Honey is flawed, suffering from the same idiosyncratic compiling method as Girls! Girls! Girls! There are a number of hits and singles, to be sure ("Veronica," "So Like Candy," "Sulky Girl," "13 Steps Lead Down," "The Other Side of Summer"), but the bulk of the album consists of album tracks. This isn't necessarily bad, since many of Costello's best songs weren't singles, but the problem is, Extreme Honey doesn't necessarily contain his best songs from the era. There are a number of great moments here, whether it's the lilting "The Birds Will Still Be Singing" from the underrated Juliet Letters or the New Orleans-inflected "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror," but the forced cacophony of "Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Taking Over)" merely indicates how he was prone to excess during this era. And that leaves Extreme Honey in a weird position -- it accurately conveys the spirit of Costello's Warner recordings, but it only has a portion of his best work from those albums. Nevertheless, the fact that it captures the feeling of Costello's '90s recordings makes it a worthwhile sampler for the curious who don't want to delve into the actual albums. [In order to entice collectors and die-hard fans, Extreme Honey contains "My Dark Life," Costello's collaboration with Brian Eno originally on The X-Files soundtrack, and the new track "The Bridge I Burned," a neo-psychedelic/trip-hop number constructed from backing tapes recorded with his son and Supergrass drummer Danny Goffey once Prince denied him the permission to alter the lyrics to "Pop Life."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	11/25/2022
Label:	Music On Vinyl
UPC:	8719262017481
Rank:	26875

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Elvis Costello   Primary Artist,Bass,Guitar,Vocals,Celeste,Keyboards,Toy Piano
Paul McCartney   Guest Artist,Bass
T-Bone Burnett   Guest Artist,Guitar
James Burton   Guest Artist,Guitar,Soloist,Guitar (Electric)
Nick Lowe   Guest Artist,Bass
Marc Ribot   Guest Artist,Banjo,Cornet,Guitar,French Horn
Allen Toussaint   Guest Artist,Piano (Grand)
Brian Eno   Guest Artist
The Attractions   Guest Artist
Steve George   Vocals
Paul Cassidy   Viola
Kevin Harris   Sax (Tenor)
Steve Nieve   Organ,Piano,Keyboards,Piano (Grand)
Larry Knechtel   Organ,Calliope,Toy Piano,Tack Piano,Piano (Grand),Piano (Upright)
Efrem Towns   Trumpet
Donal Lunny   Bouzouki,Guitar (Acoustic)
Gregory Davis   Trumpet
Jerry Marotta   Drums
Roger Lewis   Sax (Baritone)
Michael Blair   Drums,Timpani,Tambourine,Glockenspiel
Mitchell Froom   Organ,Calliope,Mellotron,Toy Piano,Chamberlin,Indian Harmonium
The Brodsky Quartet   Featured Artist
T-Bone Wolk   Bass
Steven Soles   Vocals
Kirk Joseph   Sousaphone
Benmont Tench   Piano,Calliope,Harmonium,Tack Piano
Davy Spillane   Low Whistle,Uillean Pipes
Jerry Scheff   Bass,Tuba,Double Bass,Fuzz Guitar,6-String Bass,Bass (Upright)
Jim Keltner   Drums,Drum Loop,Drums (Snare)
Roy Babbington   Double Bass
Richard Page   Vocals
Bruce Thomas   Bass
Ian Belton   Violin
Pete Thomas   Drums,Percussion
Matt MacManus   Bass,Drum Loop
Michael Thomas   Violin
Danny Goffey   Drums
Pete Whyman   Clarinet (Bass)

Technical Credits

Tchad Blake   Engineer
Paul McCartney   Composer
Elvis Costello   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Kevin Killen   Engineer,Producer
Steve Nieve   Arranger
Ben Fenner   Engineer
Geoff Emerick   Engineer,Producer
John Hudson   Mixing,Engineer
Mitchell Froom   Producer
The Brodsky Quartet   Producer
Brian Eno   Processing
Cait O'Riordan   Composer
T-Bone Burnett   Producer
The Attractions   Group
Jon Jacobs   Engineer
Jim Keltner   Composer
Brian Griffin   Photography
Amelia Stein   Photography
Declan MacManus   Composer
Tim Kent   Photography