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'{{Infobox Album <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums --> | Name = Live at the El Mocambo | Type = Live album | Artist = [[Elvis Costello and The Attractions]] | Cover = ecelmocambo.jpg | Released = October 12, 1993 | Recorded = March 6, 1978, [[El Mocambo|The El Mocambo]], [[Toronto, Ontario]], [[Canada]] | Genre = [[New Wave music|New Wave]] | Length = 48:59 | Label = [[Demon Records|Demon]]/[[Rykodisc]] | Producer = | Reviews = *[[Allmusic]] {{Rating|3.5|5}} [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:aex1z81ajyvn link] | Last album = ''[[2 1/2 Years|2½ Years]]''<br/>(1993) | This album = '''''Live at the El Mocambo'''''<br/>(1993) | Next album = ''[[Brutal Youth (Elvis Costello album)|Brutal Youth]]''<br/>(1994) }} '''Live at the El Mocambo''' is a 1993 [[live album]] by [[Elvis Costello and The Attractions]]. Recorded in 1978 and released only as a Canadian promotional album in the same year, it was heavily bootlegged. It was first legally made available with this release: either as one disc of the ''[[2 1/2 Years|2½ Years]]'' box set, or to purchasers of the first three CDs, in exchange for tokens included in the CD packaging, directly from Rykodisc. It was set for a new release September 29, 2009 by [[Hip-O Records]] as part of their new "Costello Show" series of arhival live recordings. First, a list of the songs, since these are not listed elsewhere: ==Track listing== All songs written by [[Elvis Costello]]. # "Mystery Dance" – 2:19 # "Waiting for the End of the World" – 3:52 # "Welcome to the Working Week" – 1:19 # "[[Less Than Zero (song)|Less Than Zero]]" – 4:08 # "The Beat" – 3:33 # "Lip Service" – 2:26 # "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" – 3:56 # "Little Triggers" – 2:47 # "[[Radio Radio]]" – 2:33 # "Lipstick Vogue" – 4:46 # "[[Watching the Detectives (song)|Watching the Detectives]]" – 5:48 # "Miracle Man/Band Introduction" – 4:07 # "You Belong to Me" – 2:32 # "[[Pump It Up (Elvis Costello song)|Pump It Up]]" – 4:42 Elvis Costello and "Proper Live Album" were two terms that could not be used smoothly in the same sentence for over a quarter of a century from the beginning of Elvis's recording career. Oh sure, you could find live songs on B-sides, live contributions to collections (such as "Live Stiffs" or "The Concerts for Kampuchea"), live songs on many of the Ryko or Rhino reissues, an import only short CD ("Deep Dead Blue")of a live collaboration during the Meltdown festival from 1995 with Bill Frissell, and even a limited edition collection of 5 CD singles documenting some stops on Elvis's duo tour with Steve Nieve in 1996. Still, the first domestic stand-alone "retail available", full length Live CD in Elvis's storied career was a collaboration with the Metropole Orchestra called "My Flame Burns Blue" in 2004, 27 years after the release of his debut album. Prior to that time, you had to do some digging (or spending) to find "Live at the El Mocombo", the only prior "official" full length CD somewhat available domestically, and the only one until the late 2000s to feature the original Attractions lineup. This disc was the first CD issue (and the only one to date) of a Canadian promo LP on Columbia records from later in 1978 that was not officially commercially available. Even when Ryko issued it on CD in 1993, you couldn't just go down to the neighborhood cool record store and buy it alone. It only came as a bonus in the "2 1/2 years" box set that Ryko issued that year (along with the first of what was to become a series of reissues of the first three discs, My Aim Is True, This Year's Model, and Armed Forces.) It's important to note that My Aim Is True had just been released in North America; yet this March 6, 1978 show demonstrates that Elvis is already chomping at the bit to move on to album number 2, This Year's Model (which had already been recorded and was released in March in the UK: it would come out in May in the US). 7 of the 11 songs on the initial US vinyl release of This Years Model are played at this show; another one, (I Don't Want To Go To )Chelsea, is on the UK version(and all subsequent reissues)of This Year's Model. That leaves 6 My Aim Is True songs to round out the set list. Note that Elvis starts with four of these and then finally comes back to the other two after a six song This Year's Model preview. He also closes with two of the more hard-rockin' This Year's Model songs. El Mocombo is a storied yet small club in Toronto. It's the site of some Rolling Stones live recordings (On "Love You Live") and a blistering Stevie Ray Vaughan video from 1983, among other things. The cramped confines of this club lead to a problem with this particular recording; some loudmouthed, drunken idiot is sitting way too close to one of the stage mikes during this show, and his incessant high-pitched, cowpoke "Yee Haas" and various other "Yips" and "Woo Hoos" cause increasingly annoying distractions during the first 2/3rds of this disc. Mercifully, he passes out or is otherwise subdued enough to shut his yap for the final few songs. His self-imposed need to yell out, really loudly, every half minute or so for a good half hour makes this hard to listen to at times, though. Couldn't they have found a way to mix his caterwauling out of this? I hope the "30 years later" version of that guy, if he's still alive, is properly chagrined and embarrassed at his excessive outcries as he hears this. Other than this, the Attractions and Elvis are in "set to stun" mode, rocketing through the set and laying waste to the Canadian audience. This is a powerful, driving set of state-of-the-art songcraft churned out by a seemingly humorless, defiant 23 year old Elvis and his high octane cohorts. The live versions are usually faster but similar to the studio counterparts with a notable exception: "Less Than Zero" features the alternate set of lyrics known as the "Dallas version" that Elvis came up with when he learned that Americans thought the "Oswald" in the song referred to President Kennedy's assassin (rather than the British Fascist/Nazi sympathizer Oswald Mosely, whom he had referred to originally). The material that surfaced on This Year's Model is crisply done and lets the crowd know that they will need to stay tuned to this band. The whole thing sounds like a vindication to some of the excessive hype Elvis had been getting courtesy of some overzealous Columbia records promotion---this show says to you, "hey, they are as good as promised, maybe even better." It would have been hard to find a tighter, more driving four-piece band on any given March night in 1978 than this one. So far this decade, we have finally gotten some other opportunities to own some full or nearly-full-length live recordings from the '77/'78 Attractions, such as the nine songs from Hollywood High on the Rhino Armed Forces reissue (from June 4, 1978),the My Aim Is True Universal "Deluxe Edition" featuring a great early Attractions set from the Nashville Rooms in August 1977, or the This Years Model Universal "Deluxe Edition" with a whole show from Washington, D.C. taped on February 28, 1978, just six days before this El Mocombo show. That particular show may be a bit less manic than this one, but there is no yelling idiot marring the proceedings, and you get a few more songs, such as "(The Angels Want To Wear My) Red Shoes", "Blame It On Cain", and a solo "Chemistry Class" (this particular song was also on the Rhino "Armed Forces" reissue to close out the bonus disc.)to add to the same 14 (in a different order for the most part) featured on "El Mocombo". Given the expense of this disc in the aftermarket, I would recommend you go with the This Year's Model Deluxe Edition if you want to satisfy your urge for a whole live Attractions show from 1978. If, however, you are a completist and money is no real obstacle, then track this one down for its manic and noisy punch. ==Personnel== *[[Elvis Costello]] – [[Guitar]], [[vocals]] *[[Steve Nieve]] – [[keyboard instrument|keyboards]] *[[Bruce Thomas]] – [[bass guitar|bass]] *[[Pete Thomas]] – [[drum]]s {{Elvis Costello}} [[Category:Elvis Costello albums]] [[Category:Live albums]] [[Category:1993 albums]] [[Category:Rykodisc albums]] [[fr:Live at the El Mocambo (Elvis Costello)]]'