Elvis Costello’s King Of America & Other Realms celebrates and explores the songwriter’s lifelong love, fascination, and influence of American music, spanning his many albums and inspired collaborations with some of the most celebrated musicians, songwriters and producers in this music, including his longtime creative partnership with T Bone Burnett.
Released in 1986, King Of America marked a significant shift in Costello’s career, both musically and personally. Unlike his previous albums with The Attractions, he mostly collaborated with a group of session musicians, including Ray Brown and Earl Palmer, and members of Elvis Presley's TCB Band, that he dubbed The Confederates, and curiously only listed himself as The Costello Show. Similarly, the songs were credited to Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus. A departure from the new wave and punk he made his name with, the record’s sound leaned heavily into American country and folk influences, showcasing Costello's versatility as a songwriter and musician. The album was critically acclaimed and helped to reinforce his artistic credibility during a time when he was transitioning away from the brash persona that had initially defined his career. This pivot not only broadened his musical palette but also solidified his reputation as one of the most innovative and enduring artists of his generation.
In the nearly forty years from its release, King Of America’s stature only continues to grow among fans and critics. Retrospectively, the album is seen as one of Costello’s best works, with All Music calling it “one of his masterpieces,” and Stereogum declaring it “the most successful of Costello’s pointed genre excursions, a detour into roots music and country that plays to his great strengths as a lyricist and storyteller.” Pitchfork hailed it as a “complex and conflicted album that, despite all the spit and polish, sounds lively and raucous,” while Spin remarked, “stately country-folk overtones lend the heartrending songs ‘Brilliant Mistake,’ ‘American Without Tears’ and ‘Jack Of All Parades’ a grandeur that feels timeless.”
CD 1 – KING OF AMERICA (2024 REMASTER)
1. Brilliant Mistake
2. Lovable
3. Our Little Angel
4. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
5. Glitter Gulch
6. Indoor Fireworks
7. Little Palaces
8. I'll Wear It Proudly
9. American Without Tears
10. Eisenhower Blues
11. Poisoned Rose
12. The Big Light
13. Jack Of All Parades
14. Suit Of Lights
15. Sleep Of The Just
CD 2 – SELECTIONS FROM THE OTHER REALMS
1. Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line – Live *
2. There’s a Story In Your Voice – with Lucinda Williams
3. American Without Tears – Live *
4. Jimmie Standing In The Rain
5. Indoor Fireworks – Live *
6. Suffering Face – Demo
7. In Another Room
8. Wonder Woman
9. Riverboat – Live *
10. Sulphur To Sugarcane
11. Country Darkness
12. April 5th – with Rosanne Cash & Kris Kristofferson
13. The People’s Limousine – The Coward Brothers
