he ever-prolific Costello constantly wrote and recorded tunes at too furious a pace for them all to be included on his regular albums. This collection, ironically packaged as a "various artists" compilations (perhaps due to the revolving cast of backing musicians), collects some of those songs that slipped through the cracks and are unavailable on any other Costello album. Some are collaborations; the Costello/Jimmy Cliff pop masterpiece "Seven Day Weekend", "The People's Limousine" (written under pseudonym by Costello and T-Bone Burnette. Others are faithful but inventive covers (Smokey Robinson's "From Head to Toe", the Burt Bacharach classic "Baby It's You"). There are also radically different version of Costello songs ("Blue Chair" is worlds away from its BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE counterpart). What could have been a scraps collection for a lesser artist adds up to another great Elvis Costello album.|
Rovi