SPIKE
ORIGINAL ALBUM (64:29)
- ...This Town... (4:25)
- Let Him Dangle (4:39)
- Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (4:03)
- Veronica (3:07)
- God's Comic (5:27)
- Chewing Gum (3:43)
- Tramp The Dirt Down (5:40)
- Stalin Malone (4:06)
- Satellite (5:43)
- Pads, Paws And Claws (2:53)
- Baby Plays Around (2:45)
- Miss Macbeth (4:21)
- Any King's Shilling (6:04)
- Coal-Train Robberies (3:12)
- Last Boat Leaving (3:31)
BONUS DISC (58:58)
- Miss Macbeth (demo) (3:48)
- ...This Town... (demo) (3:45)
- Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (demo) (4:04)
- Coal Train Robberies (demo) (2:46)
- Satellite (demo) (4:47)
- Pads, Paws And Claws (demo) (2:05)
- Let Him Dangle (demo) (3:36)
- Veronica (demo) (2:58)
- Tramp The Dirt Down (demo) (5:13)
- Baby Plays Around (demo) (2:38)
- Put Your Big Toe In The Milk Of Human Kindness (demo) (3:13)
- Last Boat Leaving (demo) (3:26)
- The Ugly Things (2:52)
- You're No Good (2:18)
- Point Of No Return (2:30)
- The Room Nobody Lives In (4:45)
- Stalin Malone (vocal version) (3:11)
With demos of 11 of the album's 15 songs and a studio alternate of a
12th, the Spike bonus disc is
essentially an alternate version of the original album, with only "God's
Comic," "Chewing Gum," and "Any King's Shilling" absent. Four studio
covers and one unrelated demo from the period round out the disc.
The Spike recording sessions
were split between Ocean Way Studios in Hollywood, Southlake Studios in
New Orleans, Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, and AIR Studios in London.
WHAT'S NEW
MISS MACBETH (DEMO)
...THIS TOWN... (DEMO)
DEEP DARK TRUTHFUL MIRROR (DEMO)
COAL TRAIN ROBBERIES (DEMO)
SATELLITE (DEMO)
These demos, recorded February 16, 1988 at London's Eden
Studios, see their first official release here, although they had
circulated among collectors for years.
PADS, PAWS AND CLAWS (DEMO)
LET HIM DANGLE (DEMO)
TRAMP
THE DIRT DOWN (DEMO)
BABY PLAYS AROUND (DEMO)
PUT YOUR BIG TOE IN THE MILK OF HUMAN
KINDNESS (DEMO)
LAST BOAT LEAVING (DEMO)
As far as I know, the remaining demos had not been
available to collectors prior to their release here. "Pads, Paws and
Claws," "Let Him Dangle," and "Tramp the Dirt Down" were recorded at
Windmill Lane Studios in May 1987. "Put Your Big Toe In The Milk Of
Human Kindness" was recorded January 19, 1988, at Eden Studios. The
recording dates and locations for "Baby Plays Around" and "Last Boat
Leaving" are unknown but presumably of roughly the same vintage.
STALIN
MALONE (VOCAL VERSION)
When Elvis' attempt to add a vocal to the "Stalin Malone"
instrumental track made the song "too crowded, and the mood of the music
didn't necessarily support the lyrics," he compromised by turning it
into an instrumental while including the printed lyrics in the album
package. This version features a previously unheard rough vocal over the
familiar instrumental track.
WHAT'S OLD
VERONICA (DEMO)
Recorded at the same time as the demos for "Pads, Paws
and Claws," "Let Him Dangle," and "Tramp The Dirt Down," this was the
only Spike demo to see official
release prior to this collection, having appeared on the B-side of "So
Like Candy."
THE UGLY THINGS
YOU'RE NO GOOD
POINT OF NO RETURN
THE ROOM NOBODY
LIVES IN
These four tracks -- all covers -- were
recorded at London's Wessex Studios after the Spike mixing sessions for the
specific purpose of being released as non-album B-sides. "The Ugly
Things" was initially released as the B-side of "...This Town..." in
Germany, although it also appeared around the same time on the US
promo-only CD Let Him Dangle Plus
Other Tracks You Might Like and later turned up on the 12-inch and
CD singles for "The Other Side Of Summer."
"You're No Good" was the B-side of "Veronica," with "The Room Nobody
Lives In" appearing as well on the 12-inch and CD singles. "Point Of No
Return" first appeared on the "Baby Plays
Around" 12-inch and CD singles.
WHAT'S
MISSING (RELEASED RECORDINGS)
...THIS TOWN... (BASTARD MIX)
[The Elvis Costello Hour promo LP]
In an apparent effort to make the song more
radio-friendly, Elvis sings the word "sweetheart" over the word
"bastard" in the chorus. This is otherwise identical to the album
version.
YOU WANT HER TOO with Paul McCartney
[Flowers In The Dirt album by Paul
McCartney]
The McCartney/MacManus composition "You Want Her Too" is perhaps not
quite a full-fledged duet, but it is among Elvis' more notable guest
appearances.
WHAT'S MISSING (UNRELEASED RECORDINGS)
THE LOVERS THAT NEVER WERE (DEMO) with Paul McCartney
TWENTY-FIVE FINGERS (DEMO) with Paul McCartney
TOMMY'S COMING HOME (DEMO) with
Paul McCartney
SO LIKE CANDY (DEMO) with
Paul McCartney
YOU WANT HER TOO (DEMO) with
Paul McCartney
PLAYBOY TO A MAN (DEMO) with
Paul McCartney
DON'T BE CARELESS LOVE (DEMO) with
Paul McCartney
MY BRAVE FACE (DEMO) with
Paul McCartney
Elvis shares the vocals with Paul McCartney on eight songs they wrote
together, available on the bootleg The
McCartney/MacManus Collaboration. Despite their high quality, it
seems unlikely that these were ever serious contenders for release by
Rhino. They were recorded at McCartney's home studio, The Mill, probably
in 1987. (A demo for "That Day Is Done" from this period is not
available to collectors but is described on the All This Useless Beauty page.)
ANY KING'S SHILLING (INSTRUMENTAL
DEMO)
GOD'S COMIC (DEMO)
Although most of the Spike
demos which circulated among collectors turned up on this bonus disc (or
on the All This
Useless Beauty bonus disc in the case of "The Comedians"),
these two tracks – probably recorded February 16, 1988 at Eden Studios –
were the exceptions. While "Any King's Shilling" is very brief and far
from a full-fledged performance, the omission of "God's Comic" is
somewhat puzzling.
STALIN MALONE (EARLY VERSION)
Elvis told Musician magazine
in 1989 that "Stalin Malone" "was first recorded with three horns and
the Attractions rhythm section; it sounded a lot different from the way
the Dirty Dozen play it." Given Bruce Thomas' lack of participation in Spike, the recording (which is
unbootlegged) presumably predated the album sessions.
