Elvis Costello Spike CD

The 2001 edition of SPIKE comes with a bonus disc of rare material including demos and alternative versions of songs.

On his first album for Warner Brothers, Costello lived up to his new role as "the beloved entertainer", moving further away from his new-wave background with a sprawling collection of songs in a diverse range of musical styles. Spike takes in pure pop ("Veronica"), cod-funk ("Chewing Gum"), gospel ("Deep Dark Truthful Mirror"), Irish folk ("Any King's Shilling") and rockabilly ("Pads, Paws And Claws"), alongside the venomous politicizing of "Let Him Dangle" and "Tramp The Dirt Down". Not everything works, and in fact the strongest song on the album is the simple acoustic ballad "Baby Plays Around", co-written with his wife Cait O'Riordan.

Recorded at Ocean Way, Hollywood, California; Southlake, New Orleans, Louisiana; Windmill Lane, Dublin, Ireland; Air Studios, London, England. Includes liner notes by Elvis Costello.

Personnel includes: Elvis Costello (vocals, guitar, mandolin, keyboards, percussion); Chrissie Hynde (vocals); T-Bone Burnette (acoustic guitar, bass); Donal Lunny (guitar, bouzouki, bodhran); Marc Ribot (guitar); Steve Wickham, Frankie Gavin (fiddle); Derek Bell (Irish harp, tiompan); Davy Spillane (low whistle, Uilleann pipes); Roger Lewis (soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone); Kevin Harris (tenor saxophone); Gregory Davis, Efrem Towns (trumpet); Charles Joseph (trombone); Kirk Joseph (sousaphone); Allen Toussaint (piano); Mitchell Froom (harmonium, keyboards); Benmont Tench (keyboards); Nick Lowe, Paul McCartney (bass); Jim Keltner, Jerry Marotta, (drums); Ralph Forbers (electronic drums, programming); Cait O'Riordan (maracas, bells).

Producers include: Kevin Killen, T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello.

Personnel: Elvis Costello (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, piano, organ, acoustic bass, electric bass, bells); Declan MacManus (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, melodica, piano, organ, tambourine); Marc Ribot (guitar, electric guitar, Spanish guitar, banjo); T Bone Burnett (acoustic guitar, National guitar, bass guitar); Dónal Lunny (acoustic guitar, bouzouki, bodhran); Roger McGuinn (12-string guitar); Derek Bell (harp, irish harp); Frankie Gavin, Steve Wickham (fiddle); Buell Niedlinger (cello, double bass); Davy Spillane (pipe, Uilleann pipe); T-Bone Wolk (accordion); Roger Lewis (soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone); Kevin Harris (tenor saxophone); Efrem Towns, Gregory Davis (trumpet); Charles Joseph (trombone); Kirk Joseph (sousaphone); Allen Toussaint (piano, grand piano); Benmont Tench (piano, spinet, Clavinet); Mitchell Froom (electric piano, harmonium, organ, Wurlitzer organ, chamberlin, keyboards); Michael Blair (vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, xylophone, drums, snare drum, metal pipe, tambourine, timpani, percussion, bells, temple bell); Jerry Scheff (double bass, electric bass); Buell Neidlinger (double bass); Paul McCartney (electric bass, bass guitar); Jim Keltner (drums, snare drum, cymbals, tom tom); Jerry Marotta (drums, snare drum); Pete Thomas , Willie Green , William Green (drums); Lionel Batiste (bass drum); Jenell Marshall (snare drum); Christy Moore (bodhran); Cait O'Riordan (maracas, bells); John Donnelly, Ralph Forbes, Ralph Forbes (drum programming).

Audio Mixer: Kevin Killen.

Recording information: AIR Recording Studios, London, England; Air Studios, London, England; Ocean Way Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Ocean Way Studios, Hollywood, CA; Southlake Recording Studios, New Orleans, LA; Southlake Studios, New Orleans, LA; Windmill Lane Recording Studio, Dublin, Ireland.

Photographers: Brian Griffin ; Brian Griffin .

Unknown Contributor Role: Derek Bell.

Arrangers: Michael Blair; T Bone Burnett.Rolling Stone - 4 Stars - Excellent
Q (10/01, p.141) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...His songs were as dark as ever....SPIKE reeks of ingenuity and the malice is positively forensic..."
CMJ (1/5/04, p.26) - Ranked #17 in CMJ's "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1989"