EC to release Secret, Profane and Sugarcane

[invisible Pole]

Just saw this on Ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ELVIS-COSTELLO-Secr ... otohosting

Yes I saw one on eBay about 2 weeks ago. It's amazing with all these promo copies floating around that the album hasn't leaked onto the internet yet.

I've just did a little search and the album has leaked now.

[thepopeofpop]

Just saw this on Ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ELVIS-COSTELLO-Secr ... otohosting

Yes I saw one on eBay about 2 weeks ago. It's amazing with all these promo copies floating around that the album hasn't leaked onto the internet yet.

I've just did a little search and the album has leaked now.

Yes, I noticed that too, earlier today. However, I already have a CD of the album in my hot little hands. Yes, EC can rest easy in the knowledge that someone has actually paid for it!

[the_platypus]

I am head over heels in love with this record. What a fantastic piece of work. Elvis does not need to worry about getting my money, I am really looking forward to buying it-- if I can find it anywhere!

[johnfoyle]

It's on sale in HMV, Grafton Street, Dublin-



Proof I bought it ( Elvis gnashes his teeth ; one less reason for thinking we're all robbing him blind) -



The cover is tagged with words from reviews-



The disc carries on the Specialty label type design that was used on the Complicated Shadows 7" vinyl -



The credits ( why the Lou Reed credit? Is it a hidden track? I must play it and find out!)




It wasn't in the HMV branch in Dundrum Shopping Centre. In both branches, interestingly, the TYM double re-issue from last year has been reduced from the crazy amount of €28.50 to the more reasonable €14.99.

[John]

Interesting to look at Amazon's charts at the moment. No 14 in the US and no 314 in the UK. I think that says a lot about where Elvis is at.

[thepopeofpop]

€13.99? I paid €19.99! There was a "special edition" version in a digipack that was €21.99 (no extra tracks so I passed).

People in the UK and Australia think CDs are expensive there - but €19.99 equals:

$35.32 Australian dollars (new release CDs in Australia typically cost between $20 and $30)

£17.47 UK

$28.30 US

Yet CD stores do a roaring trade here in Amsterdam - they're not closing down here, unlike in the USA. Weird. It's not like people here are millionaires. Maybe it's the cheap, legal, pot?

Or maybe Elvis is right about record companies destroying the music business - in the USA.

[invisible Pole]

Still two weeks before the album's out here in Poland.

[cwr]

Interesting to look at Amazon's charts at the moment. No 14 in the US and no 314 in the UK. I think that says a lot about where Elvis is at.

Did EC's anti-UK statements around the time of North really have that big an impact? Or is it something else? Ten years ago, he managed to sneak his way into the Top 20 singles with "She", which he flogged all over UK television, at music festivals and pretty much anywhere someone would let him belt it out. Now, a new album getting good early reviews doesn't even merit a slot in the top 300?

Momofuku didn't even get reviewed in the major UK music magazines, which review everything-- even reissues get at least a paragraph. How did he manage to lose the interest of an entire country in such a short span of time??

[The imposter]

Just come across this, looks to be the best deal yet with the 15 tracks..

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=UCCO-3012#

Price: 2381yen (2500yen Tax incl.)
[EUR 17.49] Change Reference Currency
[US$ 24.43
[GBP 15.09]

Don't know what the postage is though..

thoughts anyone..?

[bambooneedle]

thoughts anyone..?

Downright dumb.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Maybe with good reviews its UK position will improve once it's actually been released, i.e. Monday. It seemed the non-promotion of MF included not actually sending it to anyone for review. 'Let's see if we can release it without anyone actually noticing!' If EC and his people did a few things to retain his visibility, like touring for a start, then things might change a bit. Clearly he's more than happy to see his grudges borne out by not playing the game, limiting his presence to a handful of low-key Brodsky dates, further enhancing the image of a dilettante which, in his eyes, and with some justification, all the people who think he should just be reliving the TYM glory days find so hard to stomach. Maybe is Spectacle had been on at 9 or 10pm, it would have changed things a bit.

[sweetest punch]

Get FREE MP3 of "What Lewis Did Last" when preordering CD of Secret, Profane and Sugarcane at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Elvis-Costello/e/B000APURAS

[John]

Continuing my chart watch. The album is currently an incredible no 8 on Amazon.com, 2 days prior to its US release and no 894 on Amazon.co.uk. It no longer seems available to order on Amazon.co.uk. My copy was dispatched by Play.com on Friday, 3 days before its UK release. All very strange.

[sheeptotheslaughter]

I bought it this morning on HMV Moorgate in the City Of London, There were only two copies in the racks, cant be expecting to sell many. It was hidden away. £9.99 for anyone buying it in central London

[Deportee]

On second listen today and finding it all a bit dreary. I love bluegrass and it's usually a very spiritually uplifting type of music for me, but this is quite disappointing. Apart from the title track, these great bluegrass players don't sound to me as if they're having a very good time. Finding Eels' Hombre Lobo (also out today) far more enjoyable - great album.

[John]

My copy arrived this morning. It's good to hear the songs in higher quality than the website stream. The packaging is a lot nicer than Momofuku, booklet, artwork etc.
Red Cotton is initially my favourite, I always like Elvis' story songs. John, there's two more Liverpool locations for you to research when you next come over!
If I was part of Elvis' management team I would have promoted The Crooked Line as the lead track/single, foot-tappingly radio friendly.
Very enjoyable. Smelling sweet, as Elvis would say.


Currently no 5 on Amazon's US chart which hopefully indicates a better sales performance than normal.

[Otis Westinghouse]

£10 in Fopp. So far so good. First play only. It's on spotify too, if you want to play off your computer with good sound quality.

[martinfoyle]

Must give this album a spin again. Listened to it a few times when we got the leak 2 months ago and liked it. It'll be way better live. The KOA pt 2 thng is pure spin, it's more like Tbone Burnetts self-titled 1986 labum pt 2. KOA is more of a country-rock thing with the mighty Jim Keltner helping create so much of the magic. Bearing in mind that apparently Jim was allowed similiar free reign on the new Marshall Crenshaw album, also out this week, that album is probably more like KOA. Looking forward to the bootlegs of the Sugarcane shows, and, of course, what Elvis does next.

[The imposter]

Downright dumb.

?

The credits ( why the Lou Reed credit? Is it a hidden track? I must play it and find out!)

Well John..? Is it?

Get FREE MP3 of "What Lewis Did Last" when preordering CD of Secret, Profane and Sugarcane at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Elvis-Costello/e/B000APURAS

If the standard issue contains "Femme Fatale" as a hidden track and "What Lewis Did Last" is available as a download, may as well go for that.

Don't make it easy do they?

[invisible Pole]

Currently no 5 on Amazon's US chart which hopefully indicates a better sales performance than normal.

And it's no 10 on Amazon Canada. Not bad either.

[Mikeh]

There is ONE copy in HMV Bradford. Whether this means they have nearly sold out or that they only got stocked one copy in the first place, I don't know. But I suspect the latter.

[pophead2k]

Listening to my copy right now and really enjoying it. I'm the first to admit that I am extremely uncritical when it comes to EC, so I'm not a good indicator of how everyone else will receive it. Especially liked 'She Was No Good' on first listen!

[bambooneedle]

?

The idea of being ripped off with a high-priced import from Japan just for a couple of tracks that they should have included anyway.

Don't make it easy do they?

All the more reason to just download them for free at one's leisure with minimum fuss, then.

[cwr]

I just posted this in another thread, but it turns out that "Femme Fatale" IS available as a single track download on iTunes USA, just like "What Lewis Did Last" is available for 99 cents on Amazon. So this time, they actually HAVE made it pretty easy.

(I'm sure "Dirty Rotten Shame" will show up for sale at some point, too. Otherwise, it's just going to spread around for free on the 'net.)

So at least in this instance, iTunes has gotten the message that if they bundle these extra tracks as "Album Only" they simply lose a lot of sales from fans who want to own the album in a physical format but might want to put the bonus tracks onto their mp3 players, too. I'll bet that most EC fans who loved TRIR have never heard the song "Where Is The Love?" -- a song that EC and AT co-wrote-- simply because it's only available if you buy the whole album on iTunes. After two years, shouldn't they really un-bundle that song??

[pophead2k]

It was number 15 on iTunes USA this morning.