The Costello Show: Live at the El Mocambo

Elvis Costello | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 29, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hip-O Records
• ASIN: B002JCMZ78
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,616 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #100 in Music > Alternative Rock > British Alternative > British Punk

Editorial Reviews

This long-desired collectible finally became widely available in the 1993 boxed set 2 1/2 Years . This reissue preserves Costello's priceless patter, though, along with appealingly reckless versions of Radio, Radio; Watching the Detectives; Less Than Zero; Little Triggers; Pump It Up; The Beat , and more circa '78!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be There Now, October 2, 2009

By 

P. B. Fey (Phoenixville, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Costello Show: Live at the El Mocambo (Audio CD)

Longtime Costello fans may already have this disc from when it first appeared--legally--in the 2-1/2 Years box set. This incendiary performance documents Elvis and the Attractions quite early in their career (the Deluxe Edition My Aim Is True contains an even earlier, rougher live performance). The pace is frantic, the energy palpable. The band blazes through Elvis's already concise songs, and the set is relatively short. But this is all about quality, not quantity. Not to mention a little rock and roll history.

Given its origin as a concert broadcast on the radio, it's only natural that there are audience sounds. Sure, they can be a little annoying but, hearing this now, all these years later, it's as if you are there and you happen to be standing next to the idiot making all the noise. The important part is You Are There.

I would've liked to have seen some additional material with this reissue but the lack of this is offset by the great price point. The hardcore fans may not need this; but if you are new to Elvis, or weren't around when all this happened, you can't afford not to have it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great show, good recording., October 6, 2009

By 

Glenn Hendler "glenntwo" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Costello Show: Live at the El Mocambo (Audio CD)

Every Elvis fan should have this one, to know what those early shows were like. My only complaint: why is this listed under "The Costello Show"--a moniker that didn't appear for a decade or more after this recording?

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elvis concert series - and sounds better than ever!, September 30, 2009

By 

Chauncey Gardner (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Costello Show: Live at the El Mocambo (Audio CD)

Honestly, this one of the best shows, which really hasn't been available before commercially, and now sounds better than ever. Can you really go wrong with Elvis & The Attractions performing in 1978 and doing a set of MY AIM IS TRUE and THIS YEARS MODEL material?? I forgotten gem in the live canon of Declan! And sounds like we have more to look forward to in the coming months? I can't wait for Hollywood High!