All This Useless Beauty - Elvis Costello & The Attractions [48:21]
Release date	Media	Catalogue number (comments)
1996-05-13	CD	Warner 9362-46198-2 (UK, picture CD)
1996-05-13	CAS	Warner 9362-46198-4 (UK)
1996-05-14	CD	Warner 9 46198-2 (US, picture CD)
1996-05-14	LP	Warner 9 46198-1 (US)
1996-05-14	CAS	Warner 9 46198-4 (US)
1996-05-__	CD	Warner 2-46198-A (US advanced promo, no booklet, no graphics)
1996-05-__	CD	Warner PROP146/9362-45903-2 (German promo, blue sleeve)
1996-05-14	CD	Warner CDW 46198 (Canada)
1996-05-14	CAS	Warner 24 61984 (Canada)
1996-05-25	CD	Warner CD-WPCR-680 (Japan)
19__-__-__	CD	Warner 936246198-2 (Australia)
19__-__-__	CAS	Warner 936246198-4 (Australia)

Tracks:

Side 1:
1. The Other End (Of The Telescope) [Costello/Aimee Mann] [4:07]
2. Little Atoms [3:58]
3. All This Useless Beauty [4:39]
4. Complicated Shadows [4:44]
5. Why Can't A Man Stand Alone [3:15]
6. Distorted Angel [4:31]

Side 2:
7. Shallow Grave [McCartney/MacManus] [2:07]
8. Poor Fractured Atlas [4:03]
9. Starting To Come To Me [2:43]
10. You Bowed Down [4:56]
11. It's Time [6:00]
12. I Want To Vanish [3:16]

Producer:

Geoff Emmerick & Elvis Costello.

Personnel:

Elvis Costello - vocals, electric/acoustic/slide guitars, backing vocals, + celesta on "All This Useless Beauty", second bass on "Shallow Grave", bridge keyboards on "You Bowed Down"

The Attractions:

• Steve Nieve - piano, keyboards, sequencing, drum programming on "It's Time"
• Pete Thomas - drums, percussion, acoustic guitar on "You Bowed Down"
• Bruce Thomas - bass

Pete Whyman - bass clarinet on "All This Useless Beauty" & "I Want To Vanish"

Roy Babbington - double bass on "All This Useless Beauty" & "I Want To Vanish"

Matt McManus - rhythm research on "It's Time"

The Brodsky Quartet on "I Want To Vanish"

Ruth Causey - Bb clarinet on "I Want To Vanish"

Charts:

#28 (UK), #53 (US).

The Los Angeles Times reported in July '98 that this album had only sold 103,000 copies.

Notes:

• These are mainly songs that EC wrote for other artists, and then decided to record himself.

  "The Other End (Of The Telescope)" written with Aimee Mann for 'Til Tuesday

  "All This Useless Beauty" for June Tabor

  "Complicated Shadows" for Johnny Cash

  "Why Can't A Man Stand Alone" for Sam Moore

  "Shallow Grave" written with/for Paul McCartney

  "You Bowed Down" for Roger McGuinn

  "I Want To Vanish" for June Tabor

• The songs were tried out live during a series of recorded concerts at the Beacon Theatre, NY in early August '95.
• Parts of "Complicated Shadows" are live and taken from one of the Beacon Theatre shows.
• The working title of this album was "A Case For Song".