Almost Blue

''Almost Blue'' is the sixth studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his fifth with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas (no relation). It was recorded in May 1981 at CBS Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee, and released in October 1981 through F-Beat Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States. A departure from Costello's previous works, it is a covers album composed entirely of country music songs, including works written by Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, George Jones and Gram Parsons. Having already experimented with country during his career, the project originated with Costello's desire to record a collection of covers after '' Get Happy!!'' (1980) and ''Trust'' (1981) commercially underperformed following ''Armed Forces'' (1979).

Produced by Billy Sherrill, the recording sessions were marked by a fraught atmosphere, including resistance from Sherrill himself. The Doobie Brothers member John McFee contributed pedal steel as a way to add an authentic country sound. The album's songs are relatively straightforward renditions of their original counterparts, although Costello based some numbers off of other covers rather than the originals. His poor health during recording and troubled personal life, including his failing marriage and alcoholism, reflected in the song choices. All of the tracks express a "blue" state of mind, which is reflected in the cover artwork, an homage to Kenny Burrell's ''Midnight Blue'' (1963).

The lead single, a cover of Jones's "Good Year for the Roses", received heavy airplay and peaked at number six in the UK, while the second, a cover of Don Gibson's " Sweet Dreams", reached number 42. Upon release, ''Almost Blue'' reached number seven in the UK and number 50 in the US due to a lack of promotion. It received mixed reviews from music critics, who were divided on the vocal performances and debated on Costello's success as a country singer. It has continued to receive mixed reactions in later decades from critics and Costello's biographers and has placed low on lists ranking the artist's albums. Nevertheless, ''Rolling Stone'' argued in 2016 that the album predicted numerous unexpected musical excursions Costello took later in his career. It has been reissued multiple times with bonus tracks and extensive liner notes written by Costello himself.

Background

Elvis Costello had experimented with country music throughout his entire career to 1981. While he did not grow up listening to country music, his discovery of Gram Parsons' work with both the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, specifically ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' (1968) and ''The Gilded Palace of Sin'' (1969), respectively, inspired the artist to explore other acts country acts such as Merle Haggard and the Louvin Brothers. He played country rock songs during his time with the pub rock band Flip City in the mid-1970s and recorded the country tracks "Radio Sweetheart" and " Stranger in the House" during the sessions for his debut album ''My Aim Is True'' (1977); he originally intended to include the latter on the album but it was removed by his record label for being "too country". At the suggestion of Columbia Records' executive Greg Geller—who signed Costello to Columbia in America in 1977—Costello sang "Stranger in the House" as a duet with country musician George Jones in 1979, which appeared on the latter's ''My Very Special Guests'' album the same year. Costello first met Jones' longtime producer, Billy Sherrill, during an initial session in Nashville, Tennessee a year earlier, when Jones failed to show up, and the two hit it off, with Costello proclaiming: "If we are going to do a record of ballads and country music, I want to do it properly and go to the heart of it and do it with Billy Sherrill."

The weaker commercial performances of both '' Get Happy!!'' (1980) and ''Trust'' (1981) following the successful ''Armed Forces'' (1979) made Costello question where he was at in his career. He was unable to express his current thoughts in his own music and proclaimed that he "just wanted to sing other people's songs". Intending to explore his capabilities as a performer of cover versions, he recorded acoustic demos of "Gloomy Sunday" (1933), Cole Porter's " Love for Sale" (1930) and other classic popular songs. His initial vision was not limited to country music but rather "a collection of melancholy songs of many styles", similar to Frank Sinatra's ''Only the Lonely'' (1958). In an interview with Nicky Campbell, the artist explained:

Development

Released in January 1981, ''Trust'' featured the country pastiche song "Different Finger", which Costello wrote when he was 20. Shortly after its release, Costello and his backing band the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas (no relation)—were in Nashville on tour and taped covers of Hank Cochran's " He's Got You" (1962) and Bobby Bland's " I'll Take Care of You" (1959) at CBS Studio B, where the "Stranger in the House" duet was sung two years prior, with Pete Drake on pedal steel and Sherrill producing. The session would foreshadow ''Almost Blue''. The band also road-tested several country songs during the tour. Although the rest of the band had hesitations about the project, Costello did not want to perform on his own with session musicians, stating: "Then it would be just like going to the funfair and sticking your head through one of those little cut-out things and having your picture taken. I thought it could a good emotional record. It was something that was very real to me when I did it."

Rehearsals for the project commenced at Nick Lowe

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