Kojak Variety

Kojak Variety is an album by English musician Elvis Costello, released in 1995 through Warner Bros. Records. It is composed of cover songs written by others. In 2004, Rhino Records reissued an expanded, double-CD version of the album, containing a bonus disc.^[12]

Kojak Variety
Studio album by Elvis Costello
Released	9 May 1995
Recorded	1989–1994[citation needed]
Genre	Rock
Length	53:57
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Kevin Killen and Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello chronology
The Very Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions 1977–86 (1994) Kojak Variety (1995) Deep Dead Blue (1995)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
Chicago Tribune	[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[5]
The Guardian	[6]
Los Angeles Times	[7]
Mojo	[8]
Q	[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Uncut	[11]

Background

Costello said in the liner notes this was a "record of some of my favourite songs performed with some of my favourite musicians."^[13] but that he didn't want to record songs that were too familiar. Costello had searched independent record shops: Potter's Music in Richmond, Probe in Liverpool, Rock On in Camden Town, and many American thrift stores and pawn shops to discover albums that he previously had only known from singles or compilations. Costello said he made his best discoveries in what he called "the greatest record collecting store in the world", Village Music in Mill Valley, California.^[13]

The first song recorded for the album was "Running Out of Fools", while the last was a new rendering of "Days" by The Kinks, which he had previously recorded for the album soundtrack album Until the End of the World, for the Wim Wenders' film of the same name. The title Kojak Variety refers to the name of a variety store in Barbados near where the album was recorded; Costello was amused by the seemingly random name of the enterprise, and in a similar spirit, decided to apply the name to his album.^[14]

Track listing

No.	Title	Original artist	Length
1.	"Strange" (Screamin' Jay Hawkins)	Screamin' Jay Hawkins	2:39 (2:49 on 2004 reissue)
2.	"Hidden Charms" (Willie Dixon)	Willie Dixon	3:29
3.	"Remove this Doubt" (Brian Holland / Lamont Dozier / Edward Holland, Jr.)	The Supremes	3:52
4.	"I Threw It All Away" (Bob Dylan)	Bob Dylan	3:23
5.	"Leave My Kitten Alone" (Little Willie John / Titus Turner)	Little Willie John	3:10 (3:18 on 2004 reissue)
6.	"Everybody's Crying Mercy" (Mose Allison)	Mose Allison	4:05
7.	"I've Been Wrong Before" (Randy Newman)	Cilla Black	3:01
8.	"Bama Lama Bama Loo" (Richard Penniman)	Little Richard	2:45
9.	"Must You Throw Dirt in My Face" (Bill Anderson)	Louvin Brothers	3:49
10.	"Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" (Drew Baker / Dani McCormick)	James Carr	3:39
11.	"The Very Thought of You" (Ray Noble)	Al Bowlly	3:42
12.	"Payday" (Jesse Winchester)	Jesse Winchester	2:57
13.	"Please Stay" (Burt Bacharach / Bob Hilliard)	The Drifters	4:49
14.	"Running Out of Fools" (Richard Ahlert / Kay Rogers)	Aretha Franklin	3:04
15.	"Days" (Ray Davies)	The Kinks	4:54

• Tracks 1 and 5 have slightly longer running times and later fade-outs on the 2004 reissue.

2004 Rhino bonus disc

No.	Title	Original artist	Length
1.	"Ship of Fools" (Jerry Garcia / Robert Hunter)	The Grateful Dead	5:21
2.	"My Resistance Is Low" (Harold Adamson / Hoagy Carmichael)	Hoagy Carmichael	2:00
3.	"Innocent When You Dream" (Tom Waits)	Tom Waits	4:30
4.	"I'm Coming Home" (T-Bone Burnett)	T-Bone Burnett	3:13
5.	"The Dark End of the Street" (Chips Moman / Dan Penn)	James Carr	3:10
6.	"Congratulations" (Paul Simon)	Paul Simon	2:47
7.	"You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" (Dylan)	Bob Dylan	2:13
8.	"Pouring Water on a Drowning Man (Alternate Version)" (Baker / McCormick)	James Carr	2:54
9.	"Still Feeling Blue" (Gram Parsons)	Gram Parsons	2:23
10.	"Brilliant Disguise" (Bruce Springsteen)	Bruce Springsteen	4:03
11.	"How Long Has This Been Going On?" (George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin)	Bobbe Arnst	2:31
12.	"Sleepless Nights" (Felice Bryant / Boudleaux Bryant)	The Everly Brothers	3:58
13.	"Step Inside Love" (John Lennon / Paul McCartney)	Cilla Black	2:49
14.	"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (Lennon / McCartney)	The Beatles	2:38
15.	"Sally Sue Brown" (Arthur Alexander)	Arthur Alexander	2:19
16.	"Sticks and Stones" (Turner)	Ray Charles	1:36
17.	"That's How You Got Killed Before (with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band)" (Dave Bartholomew)	Dave Bartholomew and His Orchestra	3:14
18.	"The Night Before Larry Was Stretched" (Traditional)	Johnny Moynihan	5:10
19.	"But Not for Me (with Larry Adler)" (Gershwin / Gershwin)	Ginger Rogers	5:04
20.	"Full Force Gale" (Van Morrison)	Van Morrison	2:59

Personnel

• Elvis Costello – vocals, harmonica
• James Burton – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, rhythm guitar
• Jim Keltner – drums
• Larry Knechtel – piano, Hammond organ, electric piano
• Marc Ribot – banjo, electric guitar, rhythm guitar, horn, classical guitar
• Jerry Scheff – bass
• Pete Thomas – drums

Charts

Chart performance for Kojak Variety

Chart (1995)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[15]	102

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Kojak Variety – Elvis Costello". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
2. Wolk, Douglas (March 2005). "Elvis Costello: Kojak Variety". Blender. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
3. Caro, Mark (18 May 1995). "Elvis Costello: Kojak Variety (Warner)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
4. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Costello, Elvis". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
5. Ehrlich, Dimitri (12 May 1995). "Kojak Variety". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
6. Sullivan, Caroline (19 May 1995). "Elvis Costello: Kojak Variety (WEA)". The Guardian.
7. Rosenbluth, Jean (14 May 1995). "Elvis Costello 'Kojak Variety' Warner Bros". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
8. Snow, Mat (September 2004). "Elvis Costello & the Attractions: Almost Blue / Goodbye Cruel World / Elvis Costello: Kojak Variety". Mojo. No. 130. p. 111.
9. Aizlewood, John (September 2004). "Elvis Costello & the Attractions: Almost Blue / Goodbye Cruel World / Elvis Costello: Kojak Variety". Q. No. 218. p. 134.
10. Walls, Richard C. (29 June 1995). "Elvis Costello: Kojak Variety". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
11. Roberts, Chris (September 2004). "Fifth phase of two-disc reissue series". Uncut. No. 88. p. 113.
12. "Kojak Variety [Expanded] - Elvis Costello | Release Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
13. "Kojak Variety (2004) liner notes - The Elvis Costello Wiki". www.elviscostello.info. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
14. Larry David Smith - Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, and the Torch Song Tradition Page 218 0275973921 2004 "The Kojak Variety project was, no doubt, a wonderful relief for an artist committed to pushing the musical envelope ... close to five years after it was recorded in Barbados (the album's title reflects the name of a department store near the studio)."
15. "Elvis Costello Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 February 2024.

External links

• Kojak Variety at Discogs (list of releases)