Elvis Costello has announced a new 97-track compilation, King Of America & Other Realms, exploring the singer and songwriter’s fascination with and passion for American music. The heart of the collection is a remaster from the original tapes of Costello’s 1986 career-defining, T Bone Burnett-produced album, King Of America, alongside a series of recordings done across the country, collaborations with American musicians, and more. The compilation record will be available in a number of formats, releasing November 1st via UMe.
Order King Of America & Other Realms.
Compiled by Costello, the six-disc Super Deluxe Edition box set traces his musical travels from Hollywood, Calif. – where the King Of America album was recorded – to a brand-new take on that album’s opener, “Brilliant Mistake,” recorded in Cape Fear, N.C. in early 2024, via Costello’s recording adventures across the United States. The box set will include a newly self-penned 35-page essay beautifully illustrated with numerous rare and never-before-seen photos in a 57-page booklet.
In addition to the Super Deluxe Edition box set, King Of America & Other Realms will also be available in a 2CD format with the new 2024 remaster of the album on CD1 and highlights from the box set on CD2, including studio recordings, demos and live recordings. The new remaster of King Of America will be available separately on both 140-gram black vinyl as well as limited edition 140-gram gold nugget color vinyl.
King Of America & Other Realms culminates with three new 2024 recordings: “Indoor Fireworks” (Memphis Magnetic Version), “That’s Not The Part of Him You’re Leaving” with Larkin Poe and a recent arrangement of “Brilliant Mistake” performed, as Costello remarks, “over a habanera rhythm in a minor key to mark the dark passing of the years and our elusive hold on hope…” The final song of the set is “That Day Is Done,” co-written by Costello and Paul McCartney for McCartney’s 1989 album Flowers In The Dirt, here performed with the gospel group The Fairfield Four.
Order King Of America & Other Realms.
