Almost Blue(LP)

Rating

Album: Almost Blue(LP)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do)? (Side A)	More Info...
2)	Sweet Dreams (Side A)	More Info...
3)	Success (Side A)	More Info...
4)	I'm Your Toy (Side A)	More Info...
5)	Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down (Side A)	More Info...
6)	Brown To Blue (Side A)	More Info...
7)	Good Year For The Roses (Side B)	More Info...
8)	Sittin' and Thinkin' (Side B)	More Info...
9)	Color of the Blues (Side B)	More Info...
10)	Too Far Gone (Side B)	More Info...
11)	Honey Hush (Side B)	More Info...
12)	How Much I've Lied (Side B)	More Info...
2)	Sweet Dreams	More Info...	0:03
3)	Success	More Info...	0:02
4)	I'm Your Toy	More Info...	0:03
5)	Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down	More Info...	0:02
6)	Brown to Blue	More Info...	0:02
7)	Good Year for the Roses	More Info...	0:03
8)	Sittin' and Thinkin'	More Info...	0:03
9)	Colour of the Blues	More Info...	0:02
10)	Too Far Gone	More Info...	0:03
11)	Honey Hush	More Info...	0:02
12)	How Much I Lied	More Info...	0:02

Album: Almost Blue(LP)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do)? (Side A)	More Info...
2)	Sweet Dreams (Side A)	More Info...
3)	Success (Side A)	More Info...
4)	I'm Your Toy (Side A)	More Info...
5)	Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down (Side A)	More Info...
6)	Brown To Blue (Side A)	More Info...
7)	Good Year For The Roses (Side B)	More Info...
8)	Sittin' and Thinkin' (Side B)	More Info...
9)	Color of the Blues (Side B)	More Info...
10)	Too Far Gone (Side B)	More Info...
11)	Honey Hush (Side B)	More Info...
12)	How Much I've Lied (Side B)	More Info...
2)	Sweet Dreams	More Info...	0:03
3)	Success	More Info...	0:02
4)	I'm Your Toy	More Info...	0:03
5)	Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down	More Info...	0:02
6)	Brown to Blue	More Info...	0:02
7)	Good Year for the Roses	More Info...	0:03
8)	Sittin' and Thinkin'	More Info...	0:03
9)	Colour of the Blues	More Info...	0:02
10)	Too Far Gone	More Info...	0:03
11)	Honey Hush	More Info...	0:02
12)	How Much I Lied	More Info...	0:02

Performer Notes

Personnel: Elvis Costello (vocals, guitar); John McFee (guitar, pedal steel); Tommy Millar (fiddle); Steve Nieve (piano, organ); Bruce Thomas (bass); Pete Thomas (drums); Nashville Edition (background vocals).
Recorded at CBS Studios, Nashville, Tennessee in May, 1981; live at the Mean Machine, Aberdeen, Scotland on July 30, 1981; live at The Palomino Club, North Hollywood, California on February 16, 1979; live at The Royal Albert Hall, London, England on January 7, 1982. Includes liner notes by Elvis Costello.
This is where Costello began to display the chameleonic tendencies that would serve him so well throughout his career. Abandoning snappy, "new wave"-associated rock for the first time, Elvis decided to visit Nashville and record his take on the country classics he loved so much. Enlisting the services of George Jones producer Billy Sherrill, Costello cloaked himself and the Attractions in countrypolitan trappings (including lush strings) for some distinctive version of country evergreens like "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" and "Sweet Dreams." Only the punk-derived fervor of "Why Don't You Love Me Like You Used To Do" and the bar-room raunch of "Honey Hush" interrupt the elegant, emotional balladry. Costello also pays tribute to a more recent generation on aching covers of Gram Parsons' "I'm Your Toy" and "How Much I Lied." Ryko's bonus cuts sweeten the pot considerably, especially the live version of Leon Payne's self-explanatory "Psycho."

Professional Reviews

Q (11/94, p.136) - 3 Stars - Good - "...its exact power eluded most of us, although it arguably turned many other on to the genre from which it drew..."

Uncut (p.113) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[I]t's proven durable...sounding as warm and nasty as ever."

Uncut (p.143) - 3 stars out of 5 - "Part novelty, part Gram Parsons/George Jones kick, and all covers, its performances are workmanlike and soulful..."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.111) - 4 stars out of 5 - "ALMOST BLUE could not have made a bigger counter-mainstream splash."