Elvis/'Live At Hollywood High'/ 7"Record Store Day April 17

[ShipBuilder]

Hollywood High press release. Nothing new, really, but it does say The Costello Show series features "complete concerts," which would be a dumb thing to say if they were planning to trim longer shows to single discs. And yeah, I know they didn't include the Nick Lowe tracks on El Mocambo. But I'll take it as a good sign that they really do plan to put out complete shows.

Elvis Costello And The Attractions' Legendary 1978 Concert at Hollywood High School Released in Its Entirety for the First Time on Live At Hollywood High

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Elvis Costello was 23 years old when he performed a sold-out concert at the auditorium of Hollywood High School. It was June 4, 1978 and he had been introduced to America with a controversial appearance on "Saturday Night Live" and two albums Rolling Stone would eventually rank among the 200 greatest of all time. Twenty-five years later, in 2003, Costello would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the following year would be ranked by Rolling Stone among its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Now that historic 20-song concert will be issued for the first time in its entirety, including 11 previously unreleased recordings, on Live At Hollywood High (Hip-O/UMe), released January 12, 2010. This second installment in The Costello Show live performance series of complete concerts follows Live At The El Mocambo, released September 2009.

Just three months prior to the Hollywood High concert, This Year's Model had become his second album but first as Elvis Costello And The Attractions, with singer-songwriter-guitarist Costello joined by keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas. Producing the concert would be Nick Lowe, who would helm Costello's first five albums.

From Costello's 1977 debut album My Aim Is True, the show included "Alison," "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," "Mystery Dance," "Waiting For The End Of The World," "Miracle Man" and "Watching The Detectives." From This Year's Model, the band cranked out "Pump It Up," "The Beat," "Lip Service," "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" (only on the U.K. album), "Radio Radio" (only on the U.S. edition), "Lipstick Vogue," "No Action," "This Year's Girl," "Living In Paradise" and "You Belong To Me" plus the bonus single "Stranger In The House."

The band also previewed "Accidents Will Happen," "Party Girl" and "Goon Squad" from Armed Forces, which they would begin to record three months later. That album released in early 1979 would become Costello's highest charter (#10) and his third straight to earn gold or platinum. Included as a promotional giveaway with initial copies was a 7" single with the Hollywood High performances of "Accidents Will Happen," "Alison" and "Watching The Detectives." A 2002 reissue of Armed Forces would add a disc with those tracks and six others from Hollywood High.

Unreleased, however, would be the concert's "Lip Service," "The Beat," "Living In Paradise," "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," "(I Don't Wanna Go To) Chelsea," "This Year's Girl," "No Action," "Radio, Radio," "Pump It Up," "Waiting For The End Of The World" and "Miracle Man"--all of which make their debuts on Live At Hollywood High.

Upcoming releases of The Costello Show will include, among others, concerts performed at the Royal Albert Hall and Royalty Theater in London.

SOURCE Universal Music Enterprises

That was a MAJOR night for the lad. It was also the night he met Bebe Buell at a Runaway's show at The Whiskey A Go Go right after he finished the HH performance.
There are great stories from this time.
I especially love the one about he and Bebe driving around Hollywood in a convertible that belonged to her girlfriend from CBS Records. They spotted one of The Bay City Rollers at a bus stop and Elvis decided he wanted to frisbee a copy of This Year's Model at him- a drive by but with an album!
They rushed to Tower Records right up the road, drove back and the Bay City Roller was still there. Bebe drove by slowly and Elvis tossed the copy of TYsM. It landed right in his lap.
Another funny antidote about that June 1978 period, he was invited to go visit Toto in the recording studio and when he got there with Bebe and a CBS Exec, he was bored. He decided they should crawl out of the session as to not be seen as rude by splitting.
He and their posse literally crawled out on their knees.

This part of his history- with the madness and creative spark, are some of my favorites.
You have to admit, it is interesting.
1978-1985- musically

[sweetest punch]

Hear a 30 second audioclip of all the songs here: http://www.amazon.com/Live-At-Hollywood ... ef=mb_oe_o

[johnfoyle]

http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsoun ... hollywood/


Los Angeles Music Blog

Mon., Dec. 21 2009


Hip-O's press release:

Elvis Costello was 23 years old when he performed a sold-out concert at the auditorium of Hollywood High School. It was June 4, 1978 and he had been introduced to America with a controversial appearance on "Saturday Night Live" and two albums Rolling Stone would eventually rank among the 200 greatest of all time. Twenty-five years later, in 2003, Costello would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the following year would be ranked by Rolling Stone among its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Now that historic 20-song concert will be issued for the first time in its entirety, including 11 previously unreleased recordings, on Live At Hollywood High (Hip-O/UMe), released January 12, 2010. This second installment in The Costello Show live performance series of complete concerts follows Live At The El Mocambo, released September 2009.

Just three months prior to the Hollywood High concert, This Year's Model had become his second album but first as Elvis Costello And The Attractions, with singer-songwriter-guitarist Costello joined by keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas. Producing the concert would be Nick Lowe, who would helm Costello's first five albums.

From Costello's 1977 debut album My Aim Is True, the show included "Alison," "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," "Mystery Dance," "Waiting For The End Of The World," "Miracle Man" and "Watching The Detectives." From This Year's Model, the band cranked out "Pump It Up," "The Beat," "Lip Service," "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" (only on the U.K. album), "Radio Radio" (only on the U.S. edition), "Lipstick Vogue," "No Action," "This Year's Girl," "Living In Paradise" and "You Belong To Me" plus the bonus single "Stranger In The House."

The band also previewed "Accidents Will Happen," "Party Girl" and "Goon Squad" from Armed Forces, which they would begin to record three months later. That album released in early 1979 would become Costello's highest charter (#10) and his third straight to earn gold or platinum. Included as a promotional giveaway with initial copies was a 7" single with the Hollywood High performances of "Accidents Will Happen," "Alison" and "Watching The Detectives." A 2002 reissue of Armed Forces would add a disc with those tracks and six others from Hollywood High.

Unreleased, however, would be the concert's "Lip Service," "The Beat," "Living In Paradise," "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," "(I Don't Wanna Go To) Chelsea," "This Year's Girl," "No Action," "Radio, Radio," "Pump It Up," "Waiting For The End Of The World" and "Miracle Man"--all of which make their debuts on Live At Hollywood High.

[And No Coffee Table]

He's credited on the US EP.

I guess the Hip-O folks liked the look of the US label.



Sorry for the poor quality of the picture. The CD is pretty spectacular.

[johnfoyle]

This is a great listen , the complete show having a much bigger impact than the previously issued extracts. The fuller sound helps , of course. Elvis is in full 'Sarf Landon' mode in the linking comments , especially when he tells the people in the balcony to dance and bring the structure down and kill the people below. The fulsome intros to the Attractions - Pete ' king of the sticks' , Bruce ' fuhrer of the strings' , Steve ' master of the keys , except of locks' - is touching. Great stuff.

[Neil.]

I guess the Royal Albert Hall show will be the Almost Blue stuff - the I'm Your Toy kinda stuff with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. I really would love to hear the version of Favourite Hour I saw with Steve on the Albert Hall's massive HR Giger-style organ, but I doubt it was recorded. I can but dream! Solo acoustic Elvis would be ace, too.

I still think an Elvis solo album acoustic guitar with joyous rather than angry songs would be the making of him. I think he needs a major existential epiphany before be gets rid of his anger in order to make such an album, however. Bring it on!

[bilster]

I've been to a few of the local cd stores in the area, and no one has this cd. I ordered it on Amazon today, but even they list it as no longer available. Even one of the local Barnes and Nobles said that they didn't have many in the werehouse. Was this a limited release? It will proably be something like the Costello and Nieve release. I suggest to get it now if you want it.
Bill

[Dr. Luther]

I ordered it on Amazon today, but even they list it as no longer available.

Amazon had duplicate listings -- one on Hip-O, and the other UMG.
They finally figured it out, after weeks, and "discontinued" the UMG listing.
The Hip-O listing survives :
http://www.amazon.com/Live-Hollywood-Hi ... 709&sr=1-4

[the_platypus]

I'm so depressed. I can't find this anywhere. I don't think it was even released in South America

[invisible Pole]

Rave review of the album from PopMatters:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/119 ... wood-high/

Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Live at Hollywood High

By Steve Leftridge

If you start with Elvis Costello’s superb Spectacle interview-and-performance series, sadly in its last run, and trace his career backwards, it’s a dizzying review. The last decade alone, which saw Costello’s induction into the Rock Hall of Fame, offered a breakneck pace with four solo records (from rock to bluegrass), two collaborative albums, a ballet, and dozens of one-off contributions. The ‘90s were equally fruitful, full of Bacharachs, Brodskys, and beards. The ‘80s, a decade in which Costello felt musically out of place among the New Romantics, nevertheless were among his most dramatic years as he began to solidify his stance as a rock and roll lifer, swinging from soul to rock to country, up to the esoteric brilliance of Imperial Bedroom down to the career crisis nadir of Goodbye Cruel World (although that record’s a lot more fun that it’s been given credit for). And if you keep going back, you finally get to that mercurial opening streak, Costello’s late ‘70s hat trick. Costello was a revelation from the beginning, and for all his snarling cynicism and a singular combination of nerdiness and sexiness, no one could mistake how great the songs were. It was an urgent run of angry young pub rock, golden-age hooks, and tongue-tripping wordplay, adding up to one of the hottest starts in rock history. And now available is a brawling live show from the middle of this three-year explosion, Live at Hollywood High.

Recorded in the gymnasium of the famed Hollywood High School in L.A. on June 4, 1978, this is Elvis Costello and the Attractions on fire amid a feverish creative stride. The band was touring behind This Year’s Model, which had come out two months earlier, but American audiences were also just getting to know the debut, My Aim is True, the U.S. release of which was nearly a year behind the ‘77 release in England. Just two months after this show, the band would be back in the studio to record Armed Forces. It’s a blistering 20-song set by a 23-year-old Costello leading the band through revved-up versions of their studio recordings and experimenting with some dynamic new song structures.

Live at Hollywood High is the second in the “Costello Show” series of full archival concerts from Hip-O Records, following the venerated Live at the El Mocambo, a set that had been available in various forms but was rereleased in full last year. The full Hollywood show has also been hotly anticipated by the faithful, as the legendary show had never been fully available until now. (Three songs from this concert were included on a 7” single giveaway with the first pressings of Armed Forces in ‘79, and six more surfaced on that album’s 2002 reissue.) And while Declan-iacs scooped up this set immediately, it’s highly recommended for anyone with even a modest interest in Elvis Costello as a document of the artist and his killer band at the peak of their powers.

The show opens as Costello takes the stage and sings “Accidents Will Happen” accompanied only by pianist Steve Nieve before bringing on the rest of the band. You have to wonder if Costello didn’t borrow this idea from Bruce Springsteen, who had taken to opening shows with a piano-only “Thunder Road” a couple of years before. And like Bruce’s show, after the rather delicate opener, the band comes out and blows things sky high, here with a speedball version of the sex-angst classic “Mystery Dance”, as Costello spits out lyrics about as fast as the band can keep up. Half of the tunes here are from This Year’s Model, and the band’s adrenaline onstage sends these songs on the verge of careening out of control. “Lip Service”, for instance, makes the album version sound like it’s standing still. The bratty paranoia of “Living in Paradise”, dedicated to the “physical jerks” hanging in Hollywood High’s locker room, is only slightly faster than the original, but when they break things down, Elvis brings a sexual urgency that’s absent in other version; when he breathes, “I’ll be at the keyhole outside your bedroom door”, you can hear the girls in the balcony screaming.

By the time the band gets to acerbic punch of “Goon Squad”, one of three then-unreleased songs that would show up on Armed Forces, the band has established a gale-force manifesto that strips the arrangements of most of the backing vocals, probably because the band is so busy going for broke. Nieve, for his part, is a man possessed, flooding the songs with roller-rink swirls, haunted-house dive-bombs, and percolating stabs and burples, holding the songs together when Elvis vamps for the crowd. Bassist Bruce Thomas is a rock, locking into the bass drum, sure, but on the lovesick sweep of “Party Girl” (gorgeous version here) and the reggae lope of “Watching the Detectives”, Thomas provides crucial counterpoints to Costello’s intermittent jangles and riffs. And is there any rock drummer as feloniously underappreciated as Pete Thomas? All hail Pete! Hollywood High may be the ultimate document of Pete’s jaw-dropping prowess—just listen to the furious, continuous fills on “No Action” or the syncopated freakouts on “Lipstick Vogue”.

It’s also worth a reminder that Costello is the only guitarist on stage, always a courageous endeavor, but a particular feat here given the vocal demands of these intoxicatingly verbose tunes. 1978 also saw Costello growing as a singer—the opening performance of “Accidents Will Happen” is a case in point, proving that he could rock out like a street-wise tough on “Pump It Up”, but was an emerging crooner in the classic style, we well, as an equal admirer of Smokey Robinson and George Jones. It’s a preview of the epileptic vibrato that Costello would employ on future balladry—like Katherine Hepburn being strangled by a feral cat (in a good way).

The show ends with the knockout four-song punch of “Radio Radio” (the infamous Saturday Night Live stunt occurred six-months prior), “Pump It Up”, “Waiting for the End of the World”, and “Miracle Man”. During that climax, Elvis challenges the kids upstairs to go nuts: “Ideally, you would make the balcony fall down and crush everybody to death!” In an interview, Bono recently remembered going to an Elvis Costello and the Attractions show during this period, after which everyone in the audience that night left and immediately started a band. Listening to Live at Hollywood High, that kind of surging inspiration is still in effect 32 years down the road although few bands ever played and wrote as well as the boys on display on this indispensable recording.

[Neil.]

Hi Platypus, you can get it on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listin ... 738&sr=1-4

[TOBYROME]

Still waiting for my copy from CDWOW but to date, no show.

Anyone received thiers?

[Boy With A Problem]

Picked up a copy earlier this week at Newbury Comics - I think they had two or three. Even better than I thought it would be!

[Jack of All Parades]

Got a copy at Newbury Comics today as well while in town for my daughter's big invitational syncryronized swim meet at BU-it is going to be an afternoon of girls in a pool with gobs of gelatin in their hair and excessive make-up- the album is quite wonderful as well.

[GCM]

Arrived today from CDWOW and it really is great. Boy, did it take me back to that time when my mate used to get bootleg tapes in from the USA tours and copy them for me.
It's just a wee bit annoying that they've been sitting on the tapes for over 30 years.
This is the kind of project that should have been attempted before now, but it's great to hear this show in top quality at last.

[TOBYROME]

It finally arrived and it's wonderful, so looking forward to future releases. I guess this would of been the obvious choice for the second CD to accompany the AF Deluxe Edition, which as a result I doubt will ever see the light of day?

Volume 2 of the Costello Show, This is Volume 4 in my book, following the previous official releases of the Nashville Rooms, Warner Theatre and El Mocambo. 4 concerts all within a year of each other, this could and hopefully will become quite an extensive collection.

[johnfoyle]

This disc is on sale for €22 in HMV , Dundrum, Dublin. That'c c.$30. Astonishing.

[migdd]

This disc is on sale for €22 in HMV , Dundrum, Dublin. That'c c.$30. Astonishing.

Astonishing is right! That's a sale???

[Neil.]

I'm just aching for this series to move on from this era. As I've said before, I've had my fill of 'My Aim...' and '...Model' songs being done live - it's time to move on! Also, I hope they'll be including a lot of Elvis's cover versions.

[johnfoyle]

That's a sale???

No , 'regular' price.

[johnfoyle]

Elvis' contribution to Record Store Day this year would appear to be a vinyl edition of Hollywood High -

http://www.rainbow-online.com/?p=864

March 18 2010

Record Store Day Releases!

(extract)

It’s that time of year again. Record Store Day is coming up on April 17th. New releases are being announced every day but here’s a pretty good list of what we’ll have. It’s incomplete but if you don’t see something on here that you’re looking for just stop in or give us a call!

LP’s

Elvis Costello – Live at Hollywood High

[blureu]

Apparently it's a 7". I thought the entire show was issued just recently?

http://www.recordstoreday.com/

http://www.recordstoreday.com/templates ... EBSITE.pdf

Hip-O
Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Live at Hollywood High EP
individually numbered 7" of three previously unreleased tracks 7" vinyl

[bronxapostle]

hope YOU are correct jf...LP would be sweet!!!

[The Gentleman]

Can anyone report on the contents of this yet?

[blureu]

This site lists the following for the record store day 7". Very strange they would release 3 different songs from the original 7".

http://www.indierecordshop.org/?p=316

Elvis Costello “Live At Hollywood High’ 3 track ep inc pump it up, lip service & waiting for the end of the world (IMS)