No doubt Elvis Costello knew he was no George Jones or Merle Haggard when, in the spring of 1981 he stepped before the microphone in CBS's Studio A in Nashville under the direction of veteran producer Billy Sherill (who passed away this past August), but he wanted to record an album of country covers in Nashville and following the cleansing craziness of the Trust sessions, this probably seemed like the right time.
At the top of the Costello album heap (not there alone, though), Trust issued in 1981 is Elvis Costello peaking in anger and disillusionment and coupling his discontent to wiry melodic constructions riding atop tautly tensioned rhythms. The album title is obviously ironic.
Charles Mingus had a habit of declaring every release, "the best record I've ever made". Today's Analog Planet Radio Show, "New Stuff" is easily the best one yet—and unlike Mingus, that's not something I say about every show!
The goal was 1000 backers pledging $10.00 each for a total of $10,000 to produce this record, which would be all analog on one side and sourced from a digital file of the same material on the other.
Despite the rampant cynicism currently surrounding Record Store Day and label offerings, tomorrow's Record Store Day releases include some really desirable title.
"Jenny Sings Lenny" as Mr. Cohen playfully referenced this album in a cartoon included in the original release's liner notes but for some reason omitted here, both technically and musically has never sounded better.