Kojak Variety

Kojak Variety
Studio album by
Elvis Costello
Released9 May 1995
Recorded1989–1994
GenreRock
Length53:57
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerKevin Killen and Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello chronology
The Very Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions 1977–86
(1994) 		Kojak Variety
(1995) 		Deep Dead Blue
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[2]
Chicago Tribune[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[5]
The Guardian[6]
Los Angeles Times[7]
Mojo[8]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Uncut[11]

Kojak Variety is the fifteenth studio album by English musician Elvis Costello, released in 1995 through Warner Bros. Records. It is composed of cover songs written by others. In 2004, Rhino Records reissued an expanded, double-CD version of the album, containing a bonus disc.[12]

Background

Costello said in the liner notes this was a "record of some of my favourite songs performed with some of my favourite musicians."[13] but that he didn't want to record songs that were too familiar. Costello had searched independent record shops: Potter's Music in Richmond, Probe in Liverpool, Rock On in Camden Town, and many American thrift stores and pawn shops to discover albums that he previously had only known from singles or compilations. Costello said he made his best discoveries in what he called "the greatest record collecting store in the world", Village Music in Mill Valley, California.[13]

The first song recorded for the album was "Running Out of Fools", while the last was a new rendering of "Days" by The Kinks, which he had previously recorded for the album soundtrack album Until the End of the World, for the Wim Wenders' film of the same name. The title Kojak Variety refers to the name of a variety store in Barbados near where the album was recorded; Costello was amused by the seemingly random name of the enterprise, and in a similar spirit, decided to apply the name to his album.[14]

Track listing

No.TitleOriginal artistLength
1."Strange" (Screamin' Jay Hawkins)Screamin' Jay Hawkins2:39 (2:49 on 2004 reissue)
2."Hidden Charms" (Willie Dixon)Willie Dixon3:29
3."Remove this Doubt" (Brian Holland / Lamont Dozier / Edward Holland, Jr.)The Supremes3:52
4."I Threw It All Away" (Bob Dylan)Bob Dylan3:23
5."Leave My Kitten Alone" (Little Willie John / Titus Turner)Little Willie John3:10 (3:18 on 2004 reissue)
6."Everybody's Crying Mercy" (Mose Allison)Mose Allison4:05
7."I've Been Wrong Before" (Randy Newman)Cilla Black3:01
8."Bama Lama Bama Loo" (Richard Penniman)Little Richard2:45
9."Must You Throw Dirt in My Face" (Bill Anderson)Louvin Brothers3:49
10."Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" (Drew Baker / Dani McCormick)James Carr3:39
11."The Very Thought of You" (Ray Noble)Ray Noble featuring Al Bowlly3:42
12."Payday" (Jesse Winchester)Jesse Winchester2:57
13."Please Stay" (Burt Bacharach / Bob Hilliard)The Drifters4:49
14."Running Out of Fools" (Richard Ahlert / Kay Rogers)Aretha Franklin3:04
15."Days" (Ray Davies)The Kinks4:54
  • Tracks 1 and 5 have slightly longer running times and later fade-outs on the 2004 reissue.
2004 Rhino bonus disc
No.TitleOriginal artistLength
1."Ship of Fools" (Jerry Garcia / Robert Hunter)The Grateful Dead5:21
2."My Resistance Is Low" (Harold Adamson / Hoagy Carmichael)Hoagy Carmichael2:00
3."Innocent When You Dream" (Tom Waits)Tom Waits4:30
4."I'm Coming Home" (T-Bone Burnett)T-Bone Burnett3:13
5."The Dark End of the Street" (Chips Moman / Dan Penn)James Carr3:10
6."Congratulations" (Paul Simon)Paul Simon2:47
7."You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" (Dylan)Bob Dylan2:13
8."Pouring Water on a Drowning Man (Alternate Version)" (Baker / McCormick)James Carr2:54
9."Still Feeling Blue" (Gram Parsons)Gram Parsons2:23
10."Brilliant Disguise" (Bruce Springsteen)Bruce Springsteen4:03
11."How Long Has This Been Going On?" (George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin)Bobbe Arnst2:31
12."Sleepless Nights" (Felice Bryant / Boudleaux Bryant)The Everly Brothers3:58
13."Step Inside Love" (John Lennon / Paul McCartney)Cilla Black2:49
14."You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (Lennon / McCartney)The Beatles2:38
15."Sally Sue Brown" (Arthur Alexander)Arthur Alexander2:19
16."Sticks and Stones" (Turner)Ray Charles1:36
17."That's How You Got Killed Before (with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band)" (Dave Bartholomew)Dave Bartholomew and His Orchestra3:14
18."The Night Before Larry Was Stretched" (Traditional)Johnny Moynihan5:10
19."But Not for Me (with Larry Adler)" (Gershwin / Gershwin)Ginger Rogers5:04
20."Full Force Gale" (Van Morrison)Van Morrison2:59

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Kojak Variety
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 102
US Billboard 200[16] 102

References

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Kojak Variety – Elvis Costello". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  2. ^ Wolk, Douglas (March 2005). "Elvis Costello: Kojak Variety". Blender. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  3. ^ Caro, Mark (18 May 1995). "Elvis Costello: Kojak Variety (Warner)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Costello, Elvis". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  5. ^ Ehrlich, Dimitri (12 May 1995). "Kojak Variety". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (19 May 1995). "Elvis Costello: Kojak Variety (WEA)". The Guardian.
  7. ^ Rosenbluth, Jean (14 May 1995). "Elvis Costello 'Kojak Variety' Warner Bros". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  8. ^ Snow, Mat (September 2004). "Elvis Costello & the Attractions: Almost Blue / Goodbye Cruel World / Elvis Costello: Kojak Variety". Mojo. No. 130. p. 111.
  9. ^ Aizlewood, John (September 2004). "Elvis Costello & the Attractions: Almost Blue / Goodbye Cruel World / Elvis Costello: Kojak Variety". Q. No. 218. p. 134.
  10. ^ Walls, Richard C. (29 June 1995). "Elvis Costello: Kojak Variety". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  11. ^ Roberts, Chris (September 2004). "Fifth phase of two-disc reissue series". Uncut. No. 88. p. 113.
  12. ^ "Kojak Variety [Expanded] - Elvis Costello | Release Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Kojak Variety (2004) liner notes - The Elvis Costello Wiki". www.elviscostello.info. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  14. ^ Larry David Smith - Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, and the Torch Song Tradition Page 218 0275973921 2004 "The Kojak Variety project was, no doubt, a wonderful relief for an artist committed to pushing the musical envelope ... close to five years after it was recorded in Barbados (the album's title reflects the name of a department store near the studio)."
  15. ^ "Elvis Costello ARIA Chart History (1988-2024)". ARIA. Retrieved 2 February 2025 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  16. ^ "Elvis Costello Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
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