Rhino / Wea
2004
Almost Blue (2004 Edition)
About This Album
Given the nature of Almost Blue -- a covers album filled with country songs that Elvis Costello loved -- it doesn't come as a surprise that there's a lot of related material left in the vaults, whether it's songs cut during the sessions that didn't make it to the finished record, B-sides, live tracks, or duets tucked away on other records. In other words, there's a bunch of songs that can be featured on expanded editions such as Rykodisc's 1994 reissue, which nearly doubled the length of the original 12-track LP, or on Rhino's subsequent 2004 double-disc set, which has a whopping 27 tracks on its bonus disc. The 11 bonus cuts on the Ryko edition are all here, along with a slew of outtakes from the album sessions, a set of seven live songs cut with steel guitarist John McFee (who played on My Aim Is True) from 1979, a handful of other in-concert recordings, plus duets with country legends George Jones ("Stranger in the House," originally released on the Possum's My Very Special Guests album) and Johnny Cash (the Dave Edmunds-produced "We Oughta Be Ashamed," a previously unreleased gem). Many of these recordings were initially released as B-sides or have circulated on bootlegs such as Plugging the Gaps, so there are few, if any, revelations for the hardcore here, but it's hard not to celebrate the official release of this material, since it's nearly all excellent.
Track List

Disc 1

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Disc 2 (try tracks 1,2,3,7 and 9)

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