Imperial Bedroom
Excerpt from Rhino liner notes:
To some extent Imperial Bedroom was the record on which The Attractions and I granted ourselves the sort of scope that we imagined The Beatles had enjoyed in the mid-‘60s. We had engaged the engineering skills of the sonic, and somewhat unsung, genius behind many of those productions. The studio was booked for an unprecedented 12 weeks. If we needed a harpsichord or Mellotron, we hired one; if we required a 12-string acoustic guitar, marimba, or accordion, we went out and bought one; if we heard strings and trumpet and horns, we booked the musicians and Steve began writing out the parts. It had not begun in this fashion. After our excursion to Nashville, during which we recorded nearly 30 tracks in nine days for the album, Almost Blue, we reconvened at a country cottage to rehearse my new songs. This followed our working method for the album Trust. Once again, we recorded the rehearsals on an 8-track machine (one of which appears on CD 2). Even when we entered the vastly more sophisticated AIR Studios, we still intended to record the album “live” with few overdubs.
The first two weeks did not go well. The only thing that really survives on the final record from those chaotic and undisciplined sessions is the screaming introduction and tag of "Man Out Of Time" — a fair indication of the tone of those days. We were trying to beat the songs into submission. A few of these drunken and berserk items can be found on CD 2, if you care to attend the autopsy.
Somewhere around the end of the second week, a moment of sober reflection set us on a new course.
Tracks
01. Beyond Belief [2:33]
02. Tears Before Bedtime [3:00]
03. Shabby Doll [4:45]
04. The Long Honeymoon [4:15]
05. Man Out Of Time [5:25]
06. Almost Blue [2:46]
07. ...And In Every Home [3:20]
08. The Loved Ones [2:47]
09. Human Hands [2:42]
10. Kid About It [2:44]
11. Little Savage [2:37]
12. Boy With A Problem [2:09]
13. Pidgin English [3:58]
14. You Little Fool [3:08]
15. Town Cryer [4:16]
[50:57]
Credits
- Produced by: Geoff Emerick from an original idea by Elvis Costello
- Musicians:
- Elvis Costello - vocals and guitar
- Steve Nieve - piano, organ, orchestrations
- Bruce Thomas - bass
- Pete Thomas - drums
Original discography pages
- Home Page discography page | A01 | A02 | A03 |
- S01 | S02 | S03 | S04 | S05 | S06 | S07 | S08 | S09 | S10 | S11 |
