The "various artists" brought together on this compilation have one thing in common — they are all Elvis Costello. You are armed with this information because you would never work it out for yourself just by looking at the sleeve.
Here with typical Costello perversity he brings together 17 tracks (21 on the CD version), all but two of which have previously seen the light of day as B-sides or bonus tracks on 12" singles, and then does his best to disguise their exact provenance behind a blather of pen names, phoney billings and once-only link-ups. In the latter category may be included "The People's Limousine," a collaboration with the redoubtable T Bone Burnett which was issued under the name of The Coward Brothers; "Seven Day Weekend," composed and performed with the help of Jimmy Cliff; the old Shirelles/ Beatles chestnut "Baby It's You" with "guest star" Nick Lowe and "A Town Called Big Nothing (Really Big Nothing)," a cod Ennio Morricone number with spoken vocal by Straight To Hell actor Sy Richardson and trumpet courtesy of the composer's dad. Heterogeneous, you might say.
There are alternate takes of numbers from Costello LPs, including the "twilight version" of "American Without Tears" from King Of America and the Blood & Chocolate song "Blue Chair" as performed by the King of America band.
There are two previously unissued numbers: "Little Goody Two Shoes" dates from the Geoff Emerick-produced sessions that resulted in 1982's Imperial Bedroom while "So Young" is a Nick Lowe production of Armed Forces-vintage. (The former is only on the CD version along with the aforementioned "A Town Called Big Nothing," Richard Thompson's "Withered And Died" and "Big Sister.") Other cover versions include Smokey Robinson's "From Head To Toe" and Yoko Ono's "Walking On Thin Ice" which may not be the definition of eclectic but it's a start.
Out Of Our Idiot is a worthy enough successor to Costello's previous odds and sods compilation Ten Bloody Marys, if only because it serves to underscore his enormous zest and industry. Only Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen write and record in a similarly prolific way. But while they only release a fraction of what they do Costello is playful enough to let his fans examine his jottings and passing fancies. How much of this attitude can be ascribed to the fact that his following is fanatical but strictly limited is worth speculating upon. Whether things will change next year when he begins to release records under his new world-wide deal with Warner Bros it will be interesting to see.
As things stand Costello remains a ballad singer of genius (try "Get Yourself Another Fool"), an occasionally ham-fisted rocker (skip "Seven Day Weekend") and, importantly, an enthusiast (see "Withered And Died") and an awkward cuss (see more or less anywhere.)
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