Artist

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

United Kingdom · 1977 – 1996

Elvis Costello & The Attractions is a music group from United Kingdom, active 1977–1996. Their discography on Gatefold includes 24 records.

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Albums tracked

408

In collections

1977

Since

Biography

Nick Lowe sat in Pathway Studios in Islington with a budget that barely covered a decent lunch and told Declan MacManus to sing faster. That eighty-pound-an-hour room with a four-track tape machine gave birth to My Aim Is True, but the real monster woke up when they hired the Attractions. Steve Nieve on the Vox Continental, Pete Thomas behind the kit, and Bruce Thomas on the bass didn't just back Elvis. They turned his venom into a hyperactive, tightly wound wall of sound that ran circles around the lazy pub rock scene. By 1984, the wheels were coming off. Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley overproduced Goodbye Cruel World into a synthetic, lifeless mess that even Costello called a bad record. The band was fighting constantly. They proved they could still rip your head off on Blood & Chocolate in '86, but the internal friction was too much. The Attractions were one of the tightest, nastiest backing bands in rock history, and they went out swinging before the final split in '96.

Bio from The Clerk

The Arc of Elvis Costello & The Attractions

The pivots — what forced Elvis Costello & The Attractions to reinvent.

The Nick Lowe Speed Trials
From '78 to '80, the band and producer Nick Lowe ran a marathon of amphetamine-fueled recording sessions. Lowe kept the arrangements lean, packing up to twenty tracks onto Get Happy!! by cutting most of them live in single takes. Pete Thomas played like he was trying to break his cymbals, while Bruce Thomas ran busy, melodic basslines that defied the standard three-chord punk rules. You hear this pressure-cooker environment in the breathless pacing of 'Oliver's Army' and 'I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down'.
The Nashville Detour
In 1981, Costello dragged a reluctant rock band to Nashville's CBS Studio B to cut a record of country covers with legendary producer Billy Sherrill. Sherrill was famous for his polished 'Countrypolitan' sound, which was the exact opposite of the Attractions' jagged edge. Steve Nieve traded his frantic organ for classic country piano rolls, and Bruce Thomas had to scale back his aggressive bass runs. The session was tense, but it forced the band to learn how to play with space and restraint.
The Baroque Studio Experiment
For Imperial Bedroom in '82, they ditched the quick-and-dirty approach and locked themselves in AIR Studios with former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick. Emerick encouraged them to use the studio as an instrument, piling on harpsichords, horn sections, and complex vocal overdubs. The Attractions ceased being a touring punk band and became a studio orchestra. The result was a dense, dark pop masterpiece where Steve Nieve's classical training finally took center stage.

Influences

The Byrds — Costello modeled his early 12-string Rickenbacker chime directly on Roger McGuinn's signature sound. You can hear this distinct, jangly guitar tone driving the main riff of '(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes.' He has repeatedly cited their mid-60s albums as the blueprint for his pop sensibilities.
Sam & Dave — The groove of 'Get Happy!!' was a deliberate attempt to clone the Stax Records rhythm section. The band lifted the exact groove of Sam & Dave's 'I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down' and sped it up to a frantic punk tempo. Pete Thomas's drumming on those tracks is a direct tribute to Stax house drummer Al Jackson Jr.
Bob Dylan — Costello's rapid-fire, wordy lyrical delivery on 'Pump It Up' is a direct descendant of Dylan's 'Subterranean Homesick Blues.' He famously covered Dylan's 'I Threw It All Away' during early live sets. The bitter, biting tone of his early lyrics borrows heavily from Dylan's mid-60s venom.
The Spencer Davis Group — Steve Nieve's aggressive, biting Vox Continental organ style was heavily shaped by Steve Winwood's early keyboard work. The driving organ hook on 'Radio Radio' is a direct nod to the British beat-group sound of the mid-60s. It gave the Attractions their signature garage-rock edge.
Gram Parsons — Costello's obsession with country music started with Parsons' work in the Flying Burrito Brothers, leading him to record 'Almost Blue' as a tribute to that cosmic American music scene. He even recorded a duet version of 'I'm Your Toy' with the Attractions. The weeping, country-soul phrasing in Costello's early ballads is a direct imitation of Parsons' style.