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Elvis Costello has a boxed set, his first, released by Demon/Rykodisc on September 27. The four-CD set is called Two And A Half Years and it spearheads the reissue of Costello's back catalogue. The labels are working together to issue the albums with extra, previously unreleased recordings from the LP sessions and never-before-heard demos.
Rykodisc undertook a similar project with the recent David Bowie reissues.
The set includes My Aim Is True, This Year's Model and Armed Forces and, for the first time ever on general release, the Live At El Mocambo album.
The El Mocambo LP was released by Columbia in Canada as a limited promotional record. It's been a staple at record collectors' fairs ever since. The other three CDs will be available separately. However, Live At El Mocambo will only be available as part of the box-set.
The CDs feature demo material recorded in Costello's bedroom and other material recorded with his first band, Flip City. Some of it is very formative, in particular versions of "Blame It On Cain" and "Mystery Dance."
Demon's Alan Robinson told The Maker: "In the Seventies, many of the Elvis records had different track listings for the UK and US. This is an attempt to unify all the releases."
Costello has written sleeve notes for the reissues and has overseen the artwork and remastering of the material. The rest of the catalogue will be released over the next year.
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