Last year saw Costello touring heavily, taking to the road at different times with his long-serving Imposters, the genteel strings of The Brodsky Quartet and an ad hoc bluegrass band, as well as releasing a new album and overseeing the ongoing repackaging of his back pages. The activity that garnered the most press attention was, however, his new role as a TV chat show host.
Spectacle was the brainchild of Elton John and his partner David Furnish, a programme that would focus on musicians and their craft, rather than probe the nature of celebrity. Elton even offered himself up as the main guest on the opening show, relishing the chance to rave about idols such as David Ackles and Leon Russell, and not having to field questions about his past drug abuse or daffodil budget.
It’s fair to say Costello initially made for a nervous host, barking his introductions in a similar fashion to Jools Holland’s circus ringmaster on the BBC’s Later…; but, like that show, the meat and potatoes of the affair was always the music. Viewers got to see giants the calibre of Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett and Kris Kristofferson in an intimate setting, dissecting their classic works bar-by-bar or performing impromptu covers of favourite songs, with Costello often sitting in.
The 13 programmes in this first season box set hold many highlights: James Taylor and Costello strumming the Everlys’ Crying In The Rain; Lou Reed showing the audience how easy it is to play Sweet Jane; Jakob Dylan’s sombre take on The Clash’s Straight To Hell; Allen Toussaint trading verses with Costello on Elton John’s Border Song. Having said that, The Police and Costello attempting a mash-up of Walking On The Moon and Watching The Detectives doesn’t quite come off, but you have to admire their pluck.
Costello’s own intelligence, knowledge and enthusiasm is often the key to the interview segments, his subjects clearly aware they’re not talking to a standard TV host with a ream of researcher’s cue cards. Smokey Robinson opens up like never before when reminiscing about his Motown contemporaries, and even grumpy old Lou Reed lightens up with memories of his time as a jobbing songwriter and enlightening tales about the origins of old Drifters hits.
The episode with Bill Clinton as its star guest is a real eye-opener, the 42nd President of the United States speaking with authority about jazz and the importance of musical education in schools. As a dyed-in-the-wool Presley fan, his apperance gives Costello the opportunity to let rip with choice Sun tracks by the other Elvis.
Season Two is currently being aired in the US, with guests including Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Levon Helm, Richard Thompson and Nick Lowe, hopefully to be scheduled in the UK in a friendlier slot than the post-midnight broadcasts of the first series. Pick up this most revealing and well-appointed box set to see what you missed last time round by tuning in early.
