WHEN I WAS CRUEL / CRUEL SMILE
part of the hypothetical reissues series

WHEN I WAS CRUEL (63:02)
  1. 45 (3:29)
  2. Spooky Girlfriend (4:21)
  3. Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution) (3:31)
  4. When I Was Cruel No. 2 (7:06)
  5. Soul For Hire (3:55)
  6. 15 Petals (4:01)
  7. Tart (4:02)
  8. Dust 2... (3:21)
  9. Dissolve (2:23)
  10. Alibi (6:42)
  11. ...Dust (3:04)
  12. Daddy Can I Turn This? (3:41)
  13. My Little Blue Window (3:09)
  14. Episode Of Blonde (5:00)
  15. Radio Silence (4:58)
CRUEL SMILE (71:02)
  1. Smile (Japanese A-side) (3:04)
  2. When I Was Cruel (No. 1) (4:14)
  3. Almost Blue (live in Sydney) (5:04)
  4. 15 Petals (live in Sydney) (5:35)
  5. Spooky Girlfriend (live at KFOG) (4:42)
  6. Honeyhouse (Cruel No. 2) (5:04)
  7. Revolution Doll (3:43)
  8. Peroxide Side (Blunt Cut) (3:46)
  9. Oh Well (2:50)
  10. The Imposter Vs. The Floodtide (Dust And Petals) (3:56)
  11. Watching The Detectives / My Funny Valentine (live in Tokyo) (7:09)
  12. Dust (live in Melbourne) (6:39)
  13. Uncomplicated (live in Tokyo) (4:45)
  14. Smile (Japanese B-side) (3:29)
  15. Soul For Hire (live in Tokyo) (6:36)
The release history for When I Was Cruel was complicated right from the start. Much of the world, including the US, got the 15-track lineup listed above. However, the UK CD added a 16th track, "Oh Well," and the Japanese CD included both "Oh Well" and a 17th track, "Smile." While "Smile" was tacked onto the end of the disc, as is typically the case with bonus tracks, "Oh Well" was inserted into the main running order between "My Little Blue Window" and "Episode Of Blonde." As a result, it is difficult to say which lineup should be considered definitive.

Regardless, American fans didn't have to wait long to get the two bonus tracks, because both were included on the compilation Cruel Smile along with two other studio recordings ("When I Was Cruel (No. 1)" and a second version of "Smile"), seven live tracks from the 2002 tour ("Almost Blue," "15 Petals," "Spooky Girlfriend," "Watching The Detectives / My Funny Valentine," "Dust," "Uncomplicated," and "Soul For Hire," the last of these an unlisted "hidden track"), and four remixes of songs from When I Was Cruel ("Honeyhouse," "Revolution Doll," "Peroxide Side," and "The Imposter Vs. The Floodtide").

Several of these tracks had been available as B-sides in other markets, but none of this material had been available previously in the US. Because Cruel Smile was released in the midst of Rhino's reissue program and mopped up most of the odds and ends associated with When I Was Cruel, some fans dubbed it the When I Was Cruel bonus disc.

Once again, the Japanese release of Cruel Smile included an exclusive bonus track: an acoustic version of "Tart" sequenced between "The Imposter Vs. The Floodtide" and "Watching The Detectives / My Funny Valentine." This version of "Tart" has yet to be released anywhere else. (And yes, "Smile" and "Oh Well" are included on the Japanese edition, even though they were already available on the Japanese When I Was Cruel.)

Cruel Smile was not released in the UK. Instead British fans got the two-disc set When I Was Cruel — Collectors Edition, which contained the original album on disc 1 and nine of the Cruel Smile tracks on disc 2. Most of the others had already been available as UK B-sides, but the Cruel Smile versions of "Almost Blue" and "Soul For Hire" have yet to be released in the UK in any form.

CRUEL SMILE
SMILE (JAPANESE A-SIDE)
    [When I Was Cruel Japanese bonus track; also on "Smile" Japanese CD single and When I Was Cruel — Collectors Edition]
SMILE (JAPANESE B-SIDE)
    ["Smile" Japanese CD single; also on When I Was Cruel — Collectors Edition]
Elvis recorded "Smile" (written by Charles Chaplin, John Turner, and Geoffrey Parsons) for use as the theme song for a 2002 Japanese television drama entitled Sora kara furu ichioku no hoshi. The A-side (called the "Original Version" on the CD single) was recorded at New York's Avatar Studios and features some familiar Costello associates (Marc Ribot, Greg Cohen, Roy Nathanson). The B-side (the "Ballad Version") was mostly recorded without Elvis' involvement at Paris' Studio Delphine under Steve Nieve's direction, with Elvis adding his vocal at Windmill Lane in Dublin.

WHEN I WAS CRUEL (NO. 1)
    ["Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)" UK 7-inch vinyl single and European CD single; also on When I Was Cruel — Collectors Edition]
Elvis wrote two quite different songs called "When I Was Cruel" but only included the second version on the album of the same name. It was listed without the parenthetical "No. 1" in its initial appearances on the "Tear Off Your Own Head" singles.

ALMOST BLUE (LIVE, SYDNEY, JUL. 12, 2002)
    [exclusive to Cruel Smile]
15 PETALS (LIVE, SYDNEY, JUL. 12, 2002)
    [also on When I Was Cruel — Collectors Edition]
WATCHING THE DETECTIVES / MY FUNNY VALENTINE (LIVE, TOKYO, JUL. 5, 2002)
    [also on When I Was Cruel — Collectors Edition]
DUST (LIVE, MELBOURNE, JUL. 17, 2002)
    [also on When I Was Cruel — Collectors Edition]
UNCOMPLICATED (LIVE, TOKYO, JUN. 28, 2002)
    [also on When I Was Cruel — Collectors Edition]
SOUL FOR HIRE (LIVE, TOKYO, JUN. 28, 2002)
    [exclusive to Cruel Smile]
These recordings from Elvis Costello and the Imposters' first world tour were scattered throughout the Cruel Smile track listing. "Soul For Hire" is an unlisted "hidden track."

SPOOKY GIRLFRIEND (LIVE AT KFOG)
    [also on When I Was Cruel — Collectors Edition]
Elvis accompanies himself on electric guitar and beatbox in this performance from a private concert held May 22, 2002 and sponsored by San Francisco radio station KFOG. Shortly after the release of Cruel Smile, this track also appeared on KFOG's compilation CD Live From The Archives 9.

HONEYHOUSE (CRUEL NO. 2)
    [also on When I Was Cruel — Collectors Edition]
REVOLUTION DOLL
    ["Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)" CD single]
PEROXIDE SIDE (BLUNT CUT)
    ["45" CD single]
THE IMPOSTER VS. THE FLOODTIDE (DUST AND PETALS)
    ["Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)" CD single]
These four tracks are all remixes of When I Was Cruel tracks under different names. "Revolution Doll" and "The Imposter Vs. The Floodtide (Dust And Petals)" were produced by all four members of the "Imposter" production team (Costello, Ciarán Cahill, Leo Pearson, and Kieran Lynch), while "Honeyhouse (Cruel No. 2)" and "Peroxide Side (Blunt Cut)" were produced by just Cahill, Pearson, and Lynch. At the risk of stating the obvious, "Honeyhouse (Cruel No. 2)" is "When I Was Cruel No. 2," "Revolution Doll" is "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)," "Peroxide Side (Blunt Cut)" is "Episode Of Blonde," and "The Imposter Vs. The Floodtide (Dust And Petals)" incorporates elements of both "Dust 2..." and "15 Petals."

OH WELL
    [When I Was Cruel UK & Japanese bonus track]
"Oh Well" was originally intended to be performed by Elvis in the movie musical Prison Song, a film which was eventually released with most of its musical sequences left on the cutting room floor. Elvis' other Prison Song track, "Soul For Hire," appeared on all versions of When I Was Cruel, but "Oh Well" appeared only on the UK and Japanese editions. The decision to include a bonus track in those markets was the record company's, but the decision to make "Oh Well" that track was Elvis'. He told Entertainment Weekly's Chris Willman that he felt the ballad-y song slowed the record down. "Oh Well" was co-written by Prison Song star/co-writer Q-Tip (under his real name, Kamaal Fareed).

ADDITIONAL EXTRAS 2000-2002
TART (ACOUSTIC)
    [Cruel Smile Japan CD]
SPOOKY GIRLFRIEND (KBCO VERSION)
    [KBCO Studio C Volume 14 album by various artists]
45 (CITIES 97 VERSION)
    [Cities 97 Sampler Volume 14 album by various artists]
SPOOKY GIRLFRIEND (THE MOUNTAIN VERSION)
    [On The Mountain 8 album by various artists]
Elvis made several appearances on local American radio stations to promote When I Was Cruel, and five of his "live on the air" versions of the album's songs — including three renditions of "Spooky Girlfriend" — were released on CD toward the end of 2002. The KFOG performance of "Spooky Girlfriend" was included on all copies of Cruel Smile, but the other tracks are more difficult to find. A solo acoustic version of "Tart" recorded June 3, 2002 for KBCO in Boulder appears only on the Japanese release of Cruel Smile. A solo acoustic "Spooky Girlfriend" from the same KBCO session was released on a compilation of various KBCO performances available only at Boulder-area SoundTrack stores (and eBay, of course). A solo acoustic "45" recorded June 5, 2002 at Echo Bay Studios in New Hope, MN was released by Minneapolis/St. Paul station Cities 97 (KTCZ) on a similar collection which quickly sold out at area Target stores (but again remained available at inflated prices on eBay). The final "Spooky Girlfriend" was performed before an audience at Seattle's Easy Street Records May 15, 2002 and follows the same basic guitar-and-beatbox arrangement of the KFOG version. It appeared on a CD released by Seattle's The Mountain (KMTT) and sold mainly at area Starbucks stores — but it was comparatively easy for Costello collectors outside of Seattle to purchase, since it was also available through Starbucks' website.

YOU STOLE MY BELL
     [The Family Man — Music From The Motion Picture album by various artists]
Elvis and Cait O'Riordan wrote this song especially for the 2000 Nicolas Cage film. It was recorded in early November 2000 with Elvis playing all the instruments and produced by the same "Imposter" production team responsible for When I Was Cruel.

EGYPT
     [Labour Of Love — The Music Of Nick Lowe album by various artists]
Elvis plays all the instruments on his contribution to this 2001 Nick Lowe tribute album. The track notes suggest that the entire album was recorded in January 2001 at The Studio in Portland, Maine, but Elvis actually recorded his track separately in Dublin. Like the two other Lowe songs Elvis has chosen to record ("(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?" and "The Ugly Things"), the song dates from Nick's early days in the band Brinsley Schwarz.

INVISIBLE LADY with The Charles Mingus Orchestra
     [Tonight At Noon... Three Or Four Shades Of Love album by Mingus Big Band]
At the instigation of Charles Mingus' widow Sue, Elvis penned lyrics for six Mingus tunes originally intended as instrumentals. "Invisible Lady" is the first of the Mingus/Costello collaborations to see official release. It was recorded November 3, 2001 at New York's Avatar Studios and released in 2002.

UNRELEASED & UNRECORDED
TEAR OFF YOUR OWN HEAD (IT'S A DOLL REVOLUTION) (DEMO)
Elvis' original demo for "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution)" leaked to the Internet in June 2001, long before the April 2002 release of When I Was Cruel. It was recorded with Autolux drummer Carla Azar. The song was originally intended for The Arc Angels, a proposed TV series co-created by Costello and writer John Mankiewicz, and the leak may been the result of the show being shopped around to various networks. (Also leaking in the summer of 2001 was another demo, sung by Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles and apparently intended for use on the TV show. The Bangles would release a finished version of the song in 2003.)

HONEYHOUSE (CRUEL NO. 2) (EXTENDED VERSION)
 Several months prior its official release, Elvis featured the newly remixed "When I Was Cruel No. 2" during his May 17, 2002 appearance on Nic Harcourt's Morning Becomes Eclectic radio program (broadcast on KCRW in Santa Monica, CA). This differs slightly from the official release, in that it begins at full volume rather than fading in and runs about 20 seconds longer. (I believe this was actually premiered on a different radio show shortly before the one on Morning Becomes Eclectic, but I have not been able to confirm the details.)

THIS SUBDUES MY PASSION
JELLY ROLL
SELF PORTRAIT IN THREE COLORS
DON'T BE AFRAID, THE CLOWN'S AFRAID TOO
 These Mingus songs with new lyrics by Costello have yet to receive an official release and presumably have never been formally recorded. "This Subdues My Passion" is the earliest of  the Mingus/Costello collaborations, having been premiered by Elvis and the Mingus Big Band in 1997. The others were first performed with the Charles Mingus Orchestra in 2001. (The last of the Costello/Mingus tunes, "Hora Decubitus," is scheduled for release in 2006 on the Costello/Metropole Orkest live album My Flame Burns Blue.)

ADDITIONAL NOTES
When Liverpool singer-songwriter Steven Kennedy visited Dublin's Windmill Lane Studios in July 2001 to provide background vocals for three songs on When I Was Cruel, he and Costello also recorded the song "Autopilot" for Kennedy's album Control Freak. Elvis co-produced and contributed backing vocals and guitar and receives a rather prominent "featuring Elvis Costello" credit next to the song title on the back cover, but this track is not listed above because I do not consider it a Costello performance. Kennedy's CD seems to have received extremely limited distribution.


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