“A familiar scene must have greeted Ringo when he walked into the studio. His former producer was stooped over the grand piano, talking through details of an orchestral score. Our producer, Geoff Emerick, had asked George Martin to cast an eye over a madly ambitious Steve Nieve chart for the song ‘…And in every home’. Forty musicians were due at AIR Studios, and George had agreed to look the music over to see if there were going to be any tricky passages that might require special attention. He would have encountered several musical allusions to his own arrangements. Ringo and I retired to the control room to discuss a record that was never made, and George and Steve went back to the score…”

-Elvis Costello in the opening liner notes to the 2002 Rhino Reissue of “Imperial Bedroom”.

Since his 1977 masterpiece debut, “My Aim is True”, Elvis Costello was considered one of the greatest songwriters in the age of punk rock as he was backed by his band the Attractions for a series of critically-acclaimed albums that would also achieve some commercial success. From 1977’s “My Aim is True” to 1981’s “Trust”, Costello was on a winning streak as each album garnered him more acclaim and comparison to songwriters like Bob Dylan and John Lennon. In 1981, he and the Attractions released “Almost Blue”, an album of Costello’s favorite country songs that he covered and recorded in Nashville that had some acclaim and some fans but other critics wondered what he was trying to do and wondered if he was making a wrong turn.

The mixed response to “Almost Blue” led Costello to return to pop music for his next album. While Costello had made music that was in the era of pop in previous records, Costello decided to go into the realm of classical pop music that harkens the day of Tin Pan Alley pop music of the early 60s as well as the old-school pop music of the Beatles. For his new record, Costello decided to hire Geoff Emerick, the man who engineered several of the Beatles’ classic albums since “Revolver” and was one of the most respected studio professionals in pop music. Costello decided that Emerick was the perfect choice for his next album, which was to be an ambitious project with lush string arrangements, classical textures, and grandiose soundscapes.

The album “Imperial Bedroom” is an ambitious album that is rooted in traditional pop music rather than the old-school angst of his “My Aim is True” days. With songs about heartbreak, maturity, and nostalgia, “Imperial Bedroom” is Costello at his creative peak with the anger and hard-rocking sound with the Attractions gone for a more smooth, elegant musical tone led by rhythm section of Pete and Bruce Thomas who bring in rhythms ranging from jazz to classical on board while keyboardist Steve Nieve composes the orchestral arrangements filled with grand horn sections and lush string parts as Geoff Emerick is bringing out a lush, detailed production that is more broader and fuller than the work Costello does with Nick Lowe.

The reissue from Rhino Records is as ambitious as the album itself filled with a second disc of twenty-three tracks of demos, alternate takes, B-sides, and unreleased gems that are almost as powerful than the original album. Part of the third series of the Rhino reissues with 1979’s “Armed Forces” and 1991’s “Mighty Like A Rose”, “Imperial Bedroom” represents Costello at his most ambitious as the arrangements are more grandiose while he stretches his own boundaries to see how he can improve himself as a songwriter. In comparison to many of his albums, “Imperial Bedroom” marks as Costello’s age of coming into his own as he begins to be compared to unlikely musical giants like Cole Porter and George Gershwin. Released in 1982, “Imperial Bedroom” takes Costello & the Attractions to the grand world of Baroque pop music in an era where pop music was stuck in the schmaltz pop of Air Supply and the dull, leftover sound of 70s rock of Styx and Journey.

Opening the album is “Beyond Belief” open with Elvis Costello’s melodic guitar riffs as it is followed by Bruce Thomas’ accompanying bass lines and Pete Thomas’ soft, cymbal tapping as Costello sings his story-telling lyrics that is later followed by Steve Nieve’s flourishing keyboard sprinkles once Costello the line “Charged with insults and flattery/Her body moves with malice/Do you have to so cruel to be callous”. With Nieve’s keyboards and spacious, grandiose arrangements followed by Pete Thomas’ hollow percussion beats as Costello sings the final verse of the song “I’ve got a feeling/I’m going to get a lot of grief/Once this seemed so appealing/Now I am beyond belief”. Next is the bouncy, soulful “Tears Before Bedtime” that is led by Nieve’s flourishing piano and loopy keyboards as he is followed by the Thomas duo’s bouncy rhythm and melody as Costello sings his idiosyncratic lyrics that includes a soulful chorus of “Tears before bedtime/There’ll be trouble tonight/I don’t’ want to talk about it anymore/I don’t want to have another fight/I don’t want to talk I don’t want to fight/How can I be before I am right”. Nieve’s keyboards whistles throughout the song as Costello sings the verse of “Either you can leave the past behind/Or give me something to disconnect my mind/I sleep with my fists clenched tight/When I don’t like awake all night/I guess time gave up the ghost too late/And the balance of our love/Very soon turns to hate”.

“Shabby Doll” opens with a slow, washy guitar from Costello as he sings, “Giving you more of what for/Always worked for me before/Now I’m a shabby doll/What’s going on behind the green elevator door/With just a shabby doll” that is followed by the Attractions’ smooth, thumping rhythm that includes a sturdy bass line from Bruce Thomas and Nieve’s melodic piano chops as Costello sings the chorus of “She’s just a shabby doll/She’s putting him off and putting you on/She’s just the shabby doll/She’s just the shabby doll/You’re swearing upon you know in your heart/She’s gone you know in your heart/She’s just a shabby doll” that is followed by a jazz-like guitar riff from Costello in the latter part of the song.

Next is smooth, French-like jazz tone of “The Long Honeymoon” that is led by Nieve’s accordion and flourishing piano track as Pete Thomas plays an inspiring percussion track with his drumstick tapping at the snare. Costello then sings his heartbreaking lyrics with Geoff Emerick’s smooth, lush production as the song takes everyone into an image of France as Costello sings the verse of “Little things just seem to undermine her confidence in him/He was late this time last week/Who can she turn to when the chance of coincidence is slim/’Cause the baby isn’t old enough to speak” that leads to the chorus of “There’s been a long honeymoon/She thought too late and spoke too son/There’s no money back guarantee on future happiness/There’s been a long honeymoon/If he’s out on a date, then her life’s in ruins/She never thought her love could ever be as strong as this” that is followed by Costello’s jazz-inspired guitar solo and in the 2nd part the chorus is sung, Nieve’s piano plays in the song as Costello sings the words “Be strong as this” with a lovely French horn descending in the coda.

The next track is the classic love ballad “Man Out Of Time” that opens with a brief, howling intro of howling guitar riffs and vocals and fast-paced rhythms that segues into a more serene, sweeping arrangement of smooth rhythms, wailing organs, and Nieve’s classical piano riffs as Costello sings his powerful lyrics of “So this is where he came to hide/When he ran from you/In a private detective’s overcoat/And dirty dead man’s shoe/The pretty things of Knightsbridge/Lying for a minister of state/Are a far cry from the nod and wink/Here at traitor’s gate”. With its complex lyrics and lush arrangements, “Man Out Of Time” is Costello’s best love song aside from “Alison” that includes a powerful chorus that no pop songwriter could touch, “To murder my love is crime/But will you still love, a man out of time” as Costello sings each word with heart wrenching emotion that is followed by Nieve’s powerful and grand arrangements of wailing organs and flourishing piano riffs as Costello sings the final verse of “Love is always scarpering or cowering or fawning/You drink yourself insensitive and hate yourself in the morning” that is followed by the chorus as Costello sings it repeatedly with his powerful baritone vocals as the elegant arrangements sweep to its chorus until it segues back to its original intro.

Next is the piano ballad for “Almost Blue” as it led by Steve Nieve’s mournful piano and Pete Thomas’ soft, cymbal tapping as Costello sings the mournful ballad with his heart wrenching lyrics of “Almost blue, almost doing things we used to do/There’s a girl here and she’s almost you/Almost all the thing that your eyes once promised/I see in hers too/Now your eyes are red from crying” with his dulcet, baritone vocals that almost harkens the vocals of Cole Porter at its most hypnotic as Costello sings the song with his melancholic lyrics that is full of heartbreak with each word. Next is the orchestral-driven “…And In Every Home” that is filled with grand production and spacious arrangements from Steve Nieve as blasting horns and timpani’s accompany along with violin plucks and dense cello performances that sweeps throughout the track with the Thomas duo’s smooth rhythm as Costello sings the chorus of “And in every home there will be lots of time/I will be all yours you might have been admired (And in every home there will be lots of time/They say they’re very sorry but you are not desired/Oh heaven preserve us (repeat 2 more times)/Because they don’t deserve us”. The highlight of the song aside from Costello’s disillusioned lyrics is Nieve’s classical arrangements that just sweeps throughout the entire track and the song really belongs to him and Geoff Emerick’s lush production although Costello is the one who wrote it but Nieve and Emerick deserves the credit for giving the song a grand, Baroque pop tone.

“The Loved Ones” is a more upbeat track with swanky, guitar riffs with smooth rhythms from Bruce Thomas’ accompanying bass lines and Nieve’s flourishing piano riffs and soft, wailing organ tracks as Costello sings his idiosyncratic lyrics that includes a powerful verse of “The ugly little dreams run round your bed/The ugly little scenes you get the needle and no thread/They stitched you up this time/They say you’ll do/They b*tch about your pretty face turning ugly on you” that would be followed by a powerful chorus of “Oh what would the loved one say/What would the loved ones say” after a few bars as Nieve accompanies the chorus with his flourishing piano riffs. “Human Hands” opens with mid-tempo guitar and piano strikes as Nieve and the Thomas duo accompanies Costello as he sings his lyrics of reconciliation and experience that includes a powerful chorus of “Whenever I put my foot in my mouth and you begin to doubt/That it’s you that I’m dreaming about/Do I have to you a diagram? All I ever want is just to fall into human hands”. With Bruce Thomas’ vibrato bass lines accompanying, Costello sings a powerful lyric in the final verse of “All you toy soldiers and scaremongers/Are you living in this world, sometimes I wonder” that would be later followed by its flourishing chorus.

“Kid About It” is a lush, jazz-based piano ballad with Pete Thomas’ slow beats and Nieve’s accompanying piano as Costello his lyrics of rejection that includes a lovely chorus of “Say you wouldn’t kid about it” repeatedly throughout the song that includes a powerful verse of “So what if this is a man’s world (Someone got killed and he cried) I want to be a kid again about it/(You said) Give me back my sadness/I couldn’t hide it even if I tried girl” that is led by Costello’s soulful vocals. “Little Savage” is a more upbeat track with Nieve playing a melodic keyboard and accompanying piano track along with Bruce and Pete Thomas’ pounding rhythms as Costello sings his angry lyrics that includes a powerful and snarling verse of “And so you turn your back on me/(Talk to the glass and ashtray as you turn your back on me)/And all the hot air that only echoes stale tobacco” that is followed by Nieve’s sweeping keyboard as Costello sings the chorus of “You do something very special to Mr. Average/Now the lamb lies with lion/He’s just a little savage”.

“Boy With A Problem” is a song Costello co-wrote with Squeeze’s Chris Difford that harkens the old-school sound of Cole Porter with Costello’s ethereal baritone vocals as he is accompanied by the Thomas’ slow rhythms and Nieve’s classical piano riffs as Costello sings the verse of “You swore you wouldn’t shout/If it’s not your punch then it’s your pout/Days in silence try my temper/Nights spent drinking to remember/How memories are always tender” that is filled with guilt and hatred as Costello sings the final verse of “I feel like a boy with a problem/I can’t believe all you’ve forgotten/Sleeping with forgiveness in you heart for me”. “Pidgin English” opens with Costello’s washy, melodic guitar riffs as he sings his lyrics of love that includes a powerful chorus of “One of a thousand pities you can’t categorize/There are ten commandments of love/When will you realize/There are ten commandments of love/I believe, I trust, I promise, I wish love’s just a throwaway kiss/In this Pidgin English” that is followed by a brief verse of “If you’re so wise use your lips and your eyes/Take it to the bridge she sighs” that leads to Costello playing a Spanish guitar solo as he then sings more lyrics of love that would end with him singing the line “P.S. I love you” in the coda.

“You Little Fool” is a mid-tempo song with washy acoustic guitar riffs that is followed by Bruce Thomas’ loopy bass lines and Pete Thomas’ soft fills as Costello sings his lyrics that Costello described as a cautionary tale of a girl who is about to throw herself to an unworthy fellow. With its cautionary chorus of “You little fool, you little fool/I suppose that you’re going to stay all night/You little fool/Don’t look at me that way you know it isn’t right/You little fool” that is followed by Steve Nieve playing a piano and the songs loops itself into distortion in the coda as Costello sings the chorus. The album’s closer is “Town Cryer” that opens with Nieve’s slow, melodic piano and the smooth, pounding rhythm of Bruce and Pete Thomas as Costello sings his self-pitying lyrics that includes a lovely string orchestra that scratches throughout the song as Costello sings the chorus of “I’m the town cryer, and everybody knows/I’m a little down, with a lifetime to go/Maybe you don’t believe my heart is in the right place/Why don’t you take a good look at my face/Other boys use the splendor of their trembling lips/They’re so teddy bear tender and tragically hip” as Nieve’s orchestral arrangements sweeps throughout the song as the brass section accompanies the string with blasting French horns and whistling flutes.

The bonus disc in the Rhino Reissue of “Imperial Bedroom” is a 70-minute collection of alternate takes, B-sides, and unreleased material that didn’t make it into the original album. The alternate takes of several songs from “Imperial Bedroom” not only feature different titles and lyrics but different arrangements that came before the full, lush sound made in the original album. The bonus disc also includes covers of songs by Smokey Robinson and other cuts from songwriters like Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman, Patrick Chambers, and the team of Tony Crane & Johnny Gustafson in which a few of those covers would be issued as non-LP singles or B-sides.

The first eleven tracks on the album are alternate takes of songs from “Imperial Bedroom” that are produced by Geoff Emerick and performed by Costello & the Attractions along with two other tracks that would later appear in later albums. First is an alternate version of “Beyond Belief” that is titled “The Land Of Give And Take” that features similar musical arrangements of “Beyond Belief” but with alternate lyrics that are sung in the third-person rather than the first-person tone of “Beyond Belief” that includes a chorus that never made into the original song as Costello sings, “In the land of give and take/You keep your body and your soul make no mistake/But I can’t take much more heartache/So to hell with you for heaven’s sake”. Next is an alternate version of “Tears Before Bedtime” that is a bit slower than the original version with Nieve’s whistling keyboards that is played a slower pace as Costello sings different lyrics that includes a different intro where he sings, “I see that strange look in your eyes once again/And the name on the tip of your tongue/Is of a woman not a man/There’ll be tears before bedtime/There’ll be trouble tonight” as the rhythm in the song is also slower than its more mid-tempo based rhythm in the original track.

Next is an alternate version of “Man Out Of Time” that is actually based in the song’s original howling intro and coda that where Costello plays fast, howling guitars with Nieve’s wailing organs and Bruce and Pete Thomas’ fast-paced rhythm where Costello sings the song a bit faster than the original. While not as elegant as the original song, it has its moments with its ringing guitar and more rocking approach. The alternate version of “Human Hands” doesn’t sound different than the original song but the lyrics are much different, particularly the chorus where Costello sings, “If ever the money runs out/Or the drugs wear off/And you start to doubt/The households brands/All I ever want is just to fall into your human hands”. The alternate take of “Kid About It” is also different since the tone of the song is a lot quieter with Costello’s vocals singing in a more low-sounding tone accompanied by Nieve’s soft organ, Bruce Thomas’ smooth bass lines and Pete Thomas’ soft, snare tapping. “You Little Fool” includes a different guitar track and more, mid-tempo blues rhythm along with different vocals from Costello as he sings the song in a deeper tone than in his seductive, dulcet baritone vocals.

Next is an alternate version of “You Little Fool” that features an acoustic intro rather than the electric intro along with a different mix in Costello’s vocals that sounds a bit softer than the original song. Next is a faster version of “Town Cryer” that features wailing organs, more upbeat rhythms, faster piano riffs from Nieve, and washy guitar riffs as Costello sings the song in a much faster tempo than the original, classical tone of the song as the alternate version of “Town Cryer” would be used as a B-side of “Man Out Of Time”. Next is an alternate version of a song called “Little Goody Two Shoes” (that would later be re-titled to “Inch By Inch”) that features an opening snare fill from Pete Thomas that then becomes a slower, more throbbing track from Bruce Thomas’ bass lines and Nieve’s melodic organs as Costello sings innocent lyrics that includes a soulful chorus of “Little goody two shoes is here to clinch/You can miss it by a mile or you can miss by an inch/Don’t move a muscle, baby, don’t even flinch/Or little goody two shoes will feel the pinch”.

Next is an alternate version of another song called “The Town Where Time Stood Still” that opens with cadence drumming from Pete Thomas that is followed by Nieve’s striking piano as Costello sings the song in a mid-speed tempo as Costello sings complex lyrics of love that includes a verse of “Teach me to say ‘I love you’/They’ll teach you to say ‘you will do’/In the town where time stood still/Or maybe I can find a little girl/To wind me up with all the usual skills”. Next is a rehearsal of “…And In Every Home” that is removed from its orchestral arrangements as Costello sings the song with Steve Nieve playing the classical arrangement from his piano that is the highlight of the demo as Costello plays an acoustic guitar track with the rest of the Attractions playing the same rhythm from the original track without its orchestral tone.

The next five tracks are songs Costello recorded and produced from the sessions of “Imperial Bedroom” that he performed with the Attractions’ Bruce and Pete Thomas with Costello handling all the piano and organ tracks since Steve Nieve was out of town during those sessions. The first track is an original song Costello wrote called “I Turn Around” that is a bouncy, mid-tempo track filled with Bruce Thomas’ thumping bass lines and Pete Thomas’ smooth fills as Costello plays an acoustic track and a bouncy, melodic organ track as he sings his idiosyncratic lyrics that includes a catchy chorus of “Pinch me ‘cause I don’t believe it/Kiss me ‘cause it feels like a hit/I turn around and you’re not there/Why must it always be the less I see of you, the more I care” that is a throwback to Costello’s love of 60s soul music. Next is a cover of the Smokey Robinson classic “From Head To Toe” with its bouncy rhythm and R&B tone as Costello sings Robinson’s innocent lyrics as he plays piano and an electric guitar that includes a catchy chorus of “Hey sweet baby/Oh don’t you know/That I’m yours from head to toe” that serves tribute to the original Robinson classic.

The next cover is “The World Of Broken Hearts” written by Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman (famous for the classic “This Magic Moment”) that opens with a smooth organ track and chilling piano track as Costello sings the song with his enchanting, baritone vocals that sends chill when Costello sings, “In a world of broken hearts” that is so spell-binding, it sounds like he’s calling Cole Porter. “Night Time” is another cover written by Patrick Chambers that features swanky guitars and smooth, reggae-like rhythms with bouncing melodies as Costello sings the song as if he was a soul singer which in some respect, he is and “Night Time” would end up becoming a B-side to “Everyday I Write The Book” in 1983. The final cover is from Tony Crane and Johnny Gustafson called “Really Mystified” that is played in an old-school 50s rock n’ roll sound with bouncy rhythms, crashing riffs, and wailing keyboards as Costello sings the song as if it was made in the 50s taking the world back in time.

The next six tracks are demos Costello recorded by himself that includes one unreleased track and a B-side. First is “The Stamping Ground” that Costello performs with his acoustic and electric guitars in its slow tempo as he sings his lyrics of age and nostalgia that include an opening chorus of “The stamping ground, the stamping ground/All your old gang, still hang around/Coming in with the same blokes/Going home with same jokes/If you ever go missing/I know where you’ll be found/The stamping ground”. Next is a demo for “Shabby Doll” that is more blues-based than the original song as he sings the song with a distorted guitar and an accompanying bass along with drum tracks that he played during the demo that is rawer than the original track. The demo for “Man Out Of Time” is a more country-based track with loopy bass lines and country-like guitar riffs along with melodic keyboards and backbeat rhythms that is actually superior to the alternate version that was played with the original tracks but still not as great as the original song. “You Little Fool” is played with a more, melodic-based guitar track as Costello along with rougher rhythms than the original track as Costello plays an acoustic guitar track in the demo.

The demo for “Town Cryer” is a more, acoustic-based track as Costello performs the song with his acoustic guitar and a piano track that is in the original tempo as the original song was as Costello sings the song with enchanting vocals. Next is a demo for the song “Seconds Of Pleasure” that Costello played with a smooth, melodic piano and dreamy keyboard tracks as he sings his powerful, nostalgic Tin Pan Alley-inspired lyrics that includes a powerful chorus of “And the lucky girl leads a life of leisure/Though she might have to wait forty-five years/For seconds of pleasure”. The final song on the bonus disc is the title track to “Imperial Bedroom” that is recorded solely by Costello that would become a B-side to a 12-inch version of “Man Out Of Time”. That opens with a drum machine with claps as Costello plays piano an and an accompanying bass track as he sings the song with its accompanying organ and Tin Pan Alley-inspired chorus of ‘The imperial bedroom, the regal boudoir/This casual acquaintance led to an intimate bonsoir” that is followed by classical-inspired lyrics of “So the best man will do his best again/Now they’re getting dressed again/Blushing bright red from her head to her feet/Sneaking out of the bridal suite” as he sings the chorus again with its accompanying clapping tracks.

Upon its July, 1982 release, “Imperial Bedroom” drew massive rave reviews from critics all over the world as Costello suddenly began to be compared to the likes of Cole Porter and George Gershwin. Even Costello’s American label, Columbia, was touting it as a masterpiece as part of a promotional strategy to release the album. Despite all the reviews and everything, “Imperial Bedroom” didn’t sell as well as Costello’s previous albums and Costello at the time wondered if he made the wrong move, which led to make more accessible pop music in the mid-80s. Then in early 1986 while recording “King of America” in Hollywood, California, Costello overheard a conversation between a bartender and Broadway musical composer Michael Feinstein. Feinstein talked about his days when he worked as a musical assistant for Ira Gershwin (George’s brother and lyricist) in the final years of his life. Feinstein talked about a review from the New York Times where the critic compared the work of George Gershwin and Feinstein bought a copy of the album and played it for Ira Gershwin. Then Costello began to conjure bad thoughts in his head when he pretended to look at the face of Ira Gershwin listening to the intro to “Man Out Of Time” as if he was like “This is what people think of my brother’s music” but then Feinstein talked to Ira about the album and Ira was actually impressed with the entire album and thought Costello did an excellent job in channeling the work of George Gershwin which made him feel better about “Imperial Bedroom”.

Today, there’s never really been an album as grand or as more traditionally based than “Imperial Bedroom” as far as pop music goes. With its lush, orchestral arrangements and grand production, it’s one of the greatest pop albums of all time and thanks to the Rhino Reissue with a bonus disc, it needs to be taken a second listen for those who heard it the first time in 1982. While Elvis Costello never made another album that great again after “Imperial Bedroom”, it did however put his legacy into stone. While some might favor the soulful, simplistic songwriting of his debut “My Aim is True”, “Imperial Bedroom” is really Costello’s greatest achievements and for anyone who wants to know what a great pop album sounds like, pick up “Imperial Bedroom”.

What early 1980s rock star made this scathing comment about Costello’s affair with music critics, “The only reason music critics like Elvis Costello is because he looks like them”?


Recommended: Yes

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