Seven Songs for the Week #183 - 7th Oct 26

Elvis Costello has been promoting his 49th Anniversary rerelease of My Aim Is True, and one of the places he has popped up in on Ameoba’s YouTube channel doing their What’s In My Bag? segment. This is one of his choices and he’s excited that this is the open track, so I had a listen. I have been listening to what Elvis Costello has recommended for nearly 40 years. He’s fun to listen to when he’s talking about music. And when he is music.

This week’s musical guest on SNL. Let’s all jump up and down.

Read a slightly older Elvis Costello piece this where he was pointing out that the demo version is better than the regular studio version. Once again, he’s right.

A bonus track from this summer’s Foreign Tongues album, previously only available as a purchased MP3, appeared on streaming this week. How and why this was left off the “official” album is a huge shame. I have nothing wrong with the Amy Winehouse cover on FT, but why forego an actual Mick & Keith duo WITH CHARLIE DRUMMING! It’s already a long album, why lose this gem?

Took this great compilation off the shelf this week and had it on in the car. Here’s another b-side left off the album. In this case, it’s the b-side of 1989’s I Won’t Back Down from the Full Moon Fever Sessions. This track proves two things: (1) Tom & Jeff Lynne were on fire making FMF, and (2) Stan Lynch isn’t a drummer that I like. He’s not the drummer here, and it slaps. I prefer latterday Heartbreaker Ron Blair’s style (this isn’t Ron either). Oddly, while there has been plenty of Tom reissues, no spotlight has been shone onto Full Moon Fever - his biggest success. Is Jeff blocking it, I wonder? He doesn’t seem a fan of “early versions”.

Went to see RH this week, fourth time, always value for money. He’s criminally underrated. Like a parallel universe melted Bowie. He did this “hit”.

The best.