"Watching the Detectives" is a 1977 single by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello. Inspired by

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

and

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely r ...

, the song features a reggae beat and cynical lyrics. Costello's fourth single overall, "Watching the Detectives" was his first hit single on any national chart, peaking at number 15 in the UK and also charting modestly in Canada, Australia and the United States. The song featured on ''Rolling Stone'''s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at number 363.

Background

The song, with a lyric about a lover who would rather watch TV, sung over a simple

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

beat,Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, , p.101 was described by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' as "a clever but furious burst of cynicism", and they also described the song as "indisputably classic".Watching the Detectives – Elvis Costello
, ''

'', 9 December 2004Conner, Shawn (1999)
Elvis Costello Shows Maturity in Vancouver
, ''

'', 2 June 1999 ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

s Mark Deming described the song: "a skeletal minor-key melody that slowly but effectively wound itself into a solid knot of fierce emotional tension, pushing the bitter lyrical atmosphere further into the darkness".Deming, Mark " Elvis Costello – Watching the Detectives, ''

'', Macrovision Corporation Costello described how he wrote the song:

I was in my flat in the suburbs of London before I was a professional musician, and I'd been up for thirty-six hours. I was actually listening to another inductee's record, the Clash's first album. When I first put it on, I thought it was just terrible. Then I played it again and I liked it better. By the end, I stayed up all night listening to it on headphones, and I thought it was great. Then I wrote "Watching the Detectives".Crandall, Bill (2003)
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Elvis Costello
, ''Rolling Stone'', 28 February 2003

Costello considers "Watching the Detectives" his favourite song from the first five years of his career.Harrington, Richard (2006)

, ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'', 14 April 2006 He later performed the song with a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

arrangement, which he admitted was "a desecration to people who love the tenseness of the original recording", but explained that "the story that's going on, and the musical allusions in the original arrangements, relate very much to the realization of this song as an orchestral piece using the film music feeling and the swing rhythms of '50s detective shows."

Recording and release

The single, produced by

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and New wave music, new wave,Steve Goulding Steve Goulding (born 1954) is an English drummer, who has played as a member of Graham Parker and The Rumour, The Associates, Poi Dog Pondering, The Waco Brothers, Sally Timms and the Drifting Cowgirls and The Mekons. He also played the drums ...

on drums and Andrew Bodnar on bass guitar, both from

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

's band,

The Rumour The Rumour was an English rock band in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records (from 1976 to 1980) were credited to Graham Parker & The Rumour. However, The Rumour also ...

.Gimarc, George (2005) ''Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970–1982'', , p.95 Keyboard overdubs were added later by Steve Nason (later better-known as

Steve Nieve Steve Nieve ( "naïve"; born Stephen John Nason, 21 February 1958) is an English musician and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Nieve has been a member of Elvis Costello's backing bands the Attractions, the Imposters and Madnes ...

). Costello recalled, '' Cash Box'' said that it has "a subtle reggae beat and a sinister

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

Secret Agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

guitar." "Watching the Detectives" was the first top 40 hit in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for Costello, reaching number 15 and spending a total of eleven weeks in the chart.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p.36-39"Watchin' the Detectives"
Official Charts It also charted in several other countries including Australia, where it reached number 35, and Canada, where it reached number 60. In the United States it reached number 108 on the Hot 100. The UK and US singles (released in October and November 1977 respectively) featured different B-sides. The UK single was backed by two live tracks from an August 7 performance at the Nashville Club, and these live tracks were credited to Elvis Costello and the Attractions. (This was the first appearance of

The Attractions The Attractions were an English backing band for the English new wave musician Elvis Costello between 1977 and 1986, and again from 1994 to 1996. They consisted of Steve Nieve (keyboards and ukulele), Bruce Thomas (bass guitar), and Pete Tho ...

on a record; the A-side is billed solely to Costello.) The US single is backed by " Alison", the lead track from Costello's second UK single. The song was also used as the theme for the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

program ''

History Detectives ''History Detectives'' is a documentary television series on PBS. It features investigations made by members of a small team of researchers to identify and/or authenticate items which may have historical significance or connections to important h ...

''.

Personnel

* Elvis Costello – vocals, guitar * Andrew Bodnar – bass *

Steve Goulding Steve Goulding (born 1954) is an English drummer, who has played as a member of Graham Parker and The Rumour, The Associates, Poi Dog Pondering, The Waco Brothers, Sally Timms and the Drifting Cowgirls and The Mekons. He also played the drums ...

– drums *

– piano, organ

Track listing

UK Stiff Records release

*Release date: October 1977 *Format: 7" *Catalogue No.: BUY20 #"Watching the Detectives" #"Blame it on Cain (live)" #"Mystery Dance (live)"

US Columbia Records release

*Release date: November 1977 *Format: 7" *Catalogue No.: 3-10705 #"Watching the Detectives" #" Alison"

Inclusion on albums

The song was not included on the original UK releases of either ''

My Aim Is True ''My Aim Is True'' is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, originally released in the United Kingdom on 22July 1977 through Stiff Records. After years of little success performing in Britain, Costello was signed ...

'', which preceded it, or ''

This Year's Model ''This Year's Model'' is the second studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 17March 1978 through Radar Records. After being backed by Clover for his debut album '' My Aim Is True'' (1977), Costello formed t ...

'', which followed in March 1978. It was, however, added to the US release of ''My Aim Is True'' (March 1978). Two live versions of "Watching the Detectives" from 1978 were released, one from 6 March on the Canadian promotional album '' Live at the El Mocambo'', and another from 4 June on the ''

Live at Hollywood High ''Live at Hollywood High'' (officially released as ''Live at Hollywood High/The Costello Show Vol. 2'') is a recording by Elvis Costello and the Attractions from a 1978 concert at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, California. Three songs f ...

'' EP, which came with initial copies of the '' Armed Forces'' album (January 1979). A later live version was included in the '' Costello & Nieve'' box-set in 1996. A live medley of "Watching the Detectives" and " My Funny Valentine" recorded in Tokyo was included on the ''

Cruel Smile ''Cruel Smile'' is a 2002 album by Elvis Costello, Elvis Costello and the Imposters. It consists of B-sides and leftover material from the ''When I Was Cruel'' sessions. Track listing All songs written by Elvis Costello except where indicated. ...

'' album by Elvis Costello & the Impostors in 2002. The studio version was also included on several 'best of' compilations of Costello's work, including '' Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How's Your Fathers'' (1980, Stiff), ''The Best of Elvis Costello – The Man'' (1985, Telstar), '' Girls Girls Girls'' (1989, Demon), '' The Very Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions'' (1994, Demon), and '' The Very Best of Elvis Costello'' (1999, Universal TV). It was also included on the Argentinian print of ''This Year's Model'' in 1978.

Cover versions

* Jazz singer Jenna Mammina covered the song on her debut album ''Under the Influence'' in 1999.Richardson, Derk (2001)
It's 'Dirty Work,' But Jenna Mammina's Got To Do It: Bay Area jazz vocalist reworks new rock standards
, ''

SF Gate The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pap ...

'', 30 August 2001 * Toto covered the song on ''

Through the Looking Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

'' in 2002. * The Henry Girls covered the song on their album ''December Moon'' in 2011. * Duran Duran covered the song on their 1995 album ''Thank You''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watching the Detectives Elvis Costello songs 1977 songs Reggae rock songs Songs written by Elvis Costello Song recordings produced by Nick Lowe Stiff Records singles Columbia Records singles 1977 singles