Elvis Costello has announced King of America & Other Realms, an expansive new box set that celebrates his passion for American music and the songs it has inspired throughout this career.
Due on November 1st via UMe, King of America & Other Realms will be a 6xCD set with 97 tracks in total, including a 2024 remaster of his 1986 album, King of America; a previously-unreleased London concert that was recorded in 1987; newly discovered demos; and a collection of other songs from throughout his discography, including collaborations with Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Rosanne Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and more.
Get Elvis Costello Tickets Here
Additionally, the King of America & Other Realms box set will include a number of Costello’s recordings with producer and longtime collaborator, T Bone Burnett, plus live tracks, outtakes, and more. There will even be three new recordings of Costello songs: a fresh arrangement of “Brilliant Mistake,” a version of “That’s Not the Part of Him You’re Leaving” with Larkin Poe, and a new take on “Indoor Fireworks.”
Today, a newly remastered version of the original “Indoor Fireworks” arrives as the box set’s first single. Stream it below.
Speaking about the box set’s second disc, which includes demos and outtakes from the King of America era, Costello said, “If you are familiar with the songs of King of America and then listen to the collection of sketches and solo performances… you may see a different picture.”
Continuing, Costello described the process of curating the demos and outtakes disc as “a little like developing an old negative to discover a photograph, close to a very familiar image but crucially different in composition and implication. It seems that sometime after these initial solo sessions, I resolved to balance the break-up theme with lyrics with a more satirical note.”
In addition to the six discs, the King of America & Other Realms box set will come with a new 35-page essay by Costello in an illustrated booklet. Upon arrival, it will also be available in 2xCD format. Check out the artwork, packaging, and tracklist below. Pre-orders are ongoing.
Up next, Costello will perform at a run of UK shows with Stevie Nicks later this month (get tickets), and In November, he’s booked for two shows in the Northeastern United States (get tickets).
King of America & Other Realms Artwork and Packaging:
King of America & Other Realms Tracklist:
CD 1
King of America (2024 Remaster)
01. Brilliant Mistake
02. Lovable
03. Our Little Angel
04. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
05. Glitter Gulch
06. Indoor Fireworks
07. Little Palaces
08. I’ll Wear It Proudly
09. American Without Tears
10. Eisenhower Blues
11. Poisoned Rose
12. The Big Light
13. Jack of All Parades
14. Suit of Lights
15. Sleep of the Just
CD 2
Le Roi Sans Sabots – Demos, Outtakes & Other Realms
01. The People’s Limousine (w/ The Coward Brothers)
02. Next Time Round
03. Deportee
04. Brilliant Mistake (First Draft)
05. Suffering Face
06. Poisoned Rose
07. Jack of All Parades
08. Sleep of the Just
09. Blue Chair
10. I Hope You’re Happy Now
11. I’ll Wear It Proudly
12. Indoor Fireworks
13. Having It All
14. Shoes Without Heels
15. King of Confidence
16. They’ll Never Take Her Love From Me (w/ The Coward Brothers)
17. American Without Tears No. 2 (Twilight Version)
CD 3
Kings of America Live at The Royal Albert Hall 27th January 1987
01. The Big Light
02. Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line
03. Our Little Angel
04. It Tears Me Up
05. I’ll Wear It Proudly
06. Lovable
07. Riverboat
08. Sally Sue Brown/36-22-36
09. American Without Tears
10. Brilliant Mistake
11. What Would I Do Without You
12. Your Mind Is on Vacation / Your Funeral, My Trial
13. Pouring Water on a Drowning Man
14. Payday
15. That’s How You Got Killed Before
16. Sleep of the Just
17. True Love Ways
CD 4
Il Principe Di New Orleans E Le Marchese Del Mississippi
01. There’s a Story In Your Voice (w/ Lucinda Williams)
02. Country Darkness
03. The Delivery Man
04. Nothing Clings Like Ivy
05. Heart Shaped Bruise (w/ Emmylou Harris)
06. Bedlam (Live at Montreal Jazz)
07. Either Side of the Same Town
08. Wonder Woman
09. In Another Room
10. The Monkey (w/ Dave Bartholomew & The Dirty Dozen Brass Band)
11. Monkey to Man
12. Deep Dark Truthful Mirror
13. Clown Strike (Live At Montreal Jazz)
14. Who’s Gonna Help Brother Get Further?
15. The River in Reverse
16. The Greatest Love – from Treme
17. Ascension Day
CD 5
El Príncipe Del Purgatorio
01. Stations of the Cross
02. Quick Like a Flash
03. Sulphur to Sugarcane
04. Red Cotton
05. Lost On The River #12
06. A Slow Drag with Josephine
07. I Felt the Chill
08. Complicated Shadows (Cashbox Version)
09. She’s Pulling Out the Pin
10. Condemned Man (Demo)
11. Hidden Shame
12. Red Wicked Wine (w/ Dr. Ralph Stanley)
13. The Scarlet Tide (Live at the Grand Ole Opry) (w/ Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings)
14. One Bell Ringing
15. Bullets for the New Born King
16. All These Strangers
17. For More Tears (Demo)
18. You Hung the Moon
CD 6
Der Herzog Des Rampenlicht
01. Stella Hurt
02. Mr. Feathers
03. Under Lime
04. Jimmie Standing in the Rain
05. Down Among the Wines and Spirits
06. Dr. Watson, I Presume
07. Church Underground (Demo)
08. A Voice in the Dark
09. April 5th (w/ Rosanne Cash & Kris Kristofferson)
10. Indoor Fireworks (Memphis Magnetic Version)
11. That’s Not the Part of Him You’re Leaving (w/ Larkin Poe)
12. Brilliant Mistake / Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Cape Fear Version)
13. That Day Is Done (w/ The Fairfield Four)