Elvis Costello will release an expansive box set focusing on his classic 1986 album King of America. The collection also delves into the lauded British artist’s lifelong passion for and ongoing fascination with American music. King of America & Other Realms, due out November 1, will be available as a six-CD Super Deluxe package.
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The box set, which can be pre-ordered now, features a total of 97 tracks, many of which are previously unreleased. The collection’s centerpiece and first disc features a newly remastered version of King of America, Costello’s 10th studio album.
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The second disc includes demos, outtakes, and other tracks associated with the King of America sessions. The third CD features a previously unreleased concert Costello played at the Royal Albert Hall in London in January 1987. The final three discs of the package offers a deep dive into Elvis’ love of Americana. They include a handful of new tunes, a variety of collaborations and rarities, and songs recorded at studios in the U.S. for several of his albums over the years.
King of America & Other Realms comes packaged with a 57-page booklet that includes a new 35-page essay penned by Elvis, illustrations, and variety of rare photos.
A newly mixed version of the King of America track “Indoor Fireworks” has been released as an advance digital track from the box set. You can check it out at Costello’s YouTube channel.
King of America & Other Realms also will be available as a two-CD set featuring the remastered King of America album and a disc of highlights from the box set. In addition, a vinyl LP version of the remastered album will be released on standard black vinyl and limited-edition gold-nugget vinyl.
About King of America
Released in February 1986, King of America was a musical departure for Costello, featuring a collection of mostly folk- and country-influenced songs. The album was co-produced by Elvis and T Bone Burnett, and recorded in Los Angeles. Most tracks featured a collective of session musicians dubbed The Confederates. They included guitarist James Burton and bassist Jerry Scheff of Elvis Presley’s TCB Band, acclaimed drummer Jim Keltner, and multi-instrumentalist T-Bone Wolk of Hall & Oates backing group.
King of America peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 and No. 11 on the U.K. albums chart. The album included a cover of the 1965 Animals hit “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” which reached No. 33 on the U.K. singles tally. Other standout tunes on the album include “Brilliant Mistake” and the aforementioned “Indoor Fireworks.”
More About the Tracks on the Box Set
Disc two of the box set includes solo demos Costello recorded in 1985 in London prior to the King of America sessions. It also features demos recorded in L.A., plus two tunes on which Costello and Burnett collaborated under the name The Coward Brothers.
The live disc features Costello performing with a backing group called The Confederates that featured Burton, Scheff, Keltner, and Wolk, as well as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench. The concert featured Elvis performing various covers of tunes by American songwriters and artists he admired, including Waylon Jennings, Allen Toussaint, Sonny Boy Williamson, Mose Allison, Ray Charles, Jesse Winchester, and Buddy Holly.
The final three discs includes selections from the albums Spike (1989), The Delivery Man (2004), The River in Reverse (2006), Momofuku (2008), Secret, Profane & Sugarcane (2009), National Ransom (2010), and Look Now (2018). They also various demos, outtakes, rarities, soundtrack songs, live performances, and collaborations.
Among the latter are collaborations with Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Dr. Ralph Stanley, Rosanne Cash & Kris Kristofferson, and Larkin Poe.
The new tracks are an updated version of “Indoor Fireworks,” a new rendition of Costello’s 2010 song “That’s Not The Part of Him You’re Leaving” featuring Larkin Poe, and new medley arrangement of “Brilliant Mistake” that also feature the 1930s standard “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams.”
Closing out the box set a version of “That Day Is Done” featuring the gospel group The Fairfield Four. Costello co-wrote the song with Paul McCartney for the Beatles legend’s 1989 solo album Flowers in the Dirt.
King of America & Other Realms Super Deluxe Edition Track List:
Disc 1 – King of America (2024 Remaster)
- “Brilliant Mistake”
- “Lovable”
- “Our Little Angel”
- “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”
- “Glitter Gulch”
- “Indoor Fireworks”
- “Little Palaces”
- “I’ll Wear It Proudly”
- “American Without Tears”
- “Eisenhower Blues”
- “Poisoned Rose”
- “The Big Light”
- “Jack of All Parades”
- “Suit of Lights”
- “Sleep of the Just”
Disc 2 – Le Roi sans Sabots: Demos, Outtakes & Other Realms
- “The People’s Limousine” – The Coward Brothers
- “Next Time Round”*
- “Deportee”*
- “Brilliant Mistake” (First Draft)*
- “Suffering Face”
- “Poisoned Rose”
- “Jack of All Parades”
- “Sleep of the Just”*
- “Blue Chair”*
- “I Hope You’re Happy Now”
- “I’ll Wear It Proudly”
- “Indoor Fireworks”
- “Having It All”
- “Shoes Without Heels”*
- “King of Confidence”
- “They’ll Never Take Her Love from Me” – The Coward Brothers
- “American Without Tears No. 2” (Twilight Version)
Disc 3 – Kings of America Live at the Royal Albert Hall (January 27, 1987)
- “The Big Light”*
- “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line”*
- “Our Little Angel”*
- “It Tears Me Up”*
- “I’ll Wear It Proudly”*
- “Lovable”*
- “Riverboat”*
- “Sally Sue Brown/36-22-36”*
- “American Without Tears”*
- “Brilliant Mistake”*
- “What Would I Do Without You”*
- “Your Mind Is on Vacation /Your Funeral, My Trial”*
- “Pouring Water on a Drowning Man”*
- “Payday”*
- “That’s How You Got Killed Before”*
- “Sleep of the Just*
- “True Love Ways”*
Disc 4 – Il Principe di New Orleans e le Marchese del Mississippi
- “There’s a Story in Your Voice” – with Lucinda Williams
- “Country Darkness”
- “The Delivery Man”
- “Nothing Clings Like Ivy”
- “Heart Shaped Bruise” – with Emmylou Harris (Live at The Hi-Tone, Memphis)**
- “Bedlam” (Live at Montreal Jazz)**
- “Either Side of the Same Town”
- “Wonder Woman”
- “In Another Room”
- “The Monkey” – Rehearsal with Dave Bartholomew & The Dirty Dozen Brass Band*
- “Monkey to Man”
- “Deep Dark Truthful Mirror”
- “Clown Strike” (Live at Montreal Jazz)**
- “Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further?”
- “The River in Reverse”
- “The Greatest Love” (from Treme)*
- “Ascension Day”
Disc 5 – El Príncipe del Purgatorio
- “Stations of the Cross”
- “Quick Like a Flash” (Previously Unreleased)*
- “Sulphur to Sugarcane”
- “Red Cotton”
- “Lost on the River #12”
- “A Slow Drag with Josephine”
- “I Felt the Chill”
- “Complicated Shadows” (Cashbox Version)
- “She’s Pulling Out the Pin”
- “Condemned Man” (Demo)*
- “Hidden Shame”
- “Red Wicked Wine” – with Dr. Ralph Stanley
- “The Scarlet Tide” – with Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings (Live at the Grand Ole Opry)*
- “One Bell Ringing”
- “Bullets for the New Born King”
- “All These Strangers”
- “For More Tears” (Demo)*
- “You Hung the Moon”
Disc 6 – Der Herzog des Rampenlicht
- “Stella Hurt”
- “Mr. Feathers”
- “Under Lime”
- “Jimmie Standing in the Rain”
- “Down Among the Wines and Spirits”
- “Dr. Watson, I Presume”
- “Church Underground” (Demo)*
- “A Voice in the Dark”
- “April 5th” – with Rosanne Cash & Kris Kristofferson
- “Indoor Fireworks” (Memphis Magnetic Version)*
- “That’s Not the Part of Him You’re Leaving” – with Larkin Poe*
- “Brilliant Mistake/Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (Cape Fear Version)*
- “That Day Is Done” – with The Fairfield Four
*= previously unreleased.
**= first-ever audio release.
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