The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook [CD/DVD/10″ Vinyl EP]

The good news is that Elvis Costello and The Imposters have a new live compilation from the Spinning Songbook Tour coming out on December 6, 2011. The unfortunate news is that this super deluxe box set will set you back $268.14 US Dollars on Amazon.com. If you think that’s pretty steep, then you aren’t the only one. Here’s what the Right Reverend Jimmy Quickly (EC by any other name) recently had to say about it at ElvisCostello.com:

There was a time when the release of a new title by your favourite record artist was a cause for excitement and rejoicing but sadly no more.

6th December 2011 sees the issue of “The Return Of The Spectacular Spinning Songbook” by Elvis Costello and the Imposters.

This beautifully designed compendium contains all manner of whimsical scribblings, photographs and cartoons, together with some rock and roll music and vaudevillian ballads.

Tape and celluloid were rolling at the Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles in April this year and present a vivid snapshot of the early days of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook show on “The Revolver Tour” of 2011.

The live recording finds the Imposters in rare form, while the accompanying motion picture blueprints the wilder possibilities of the show, as it made its acclaimed progress across the United States throughout the year.

Unfortunately, we at www.elviscostello.com find ourselves unable to recommend this lovely item to you as the price appears to be either a misprint or a satire. [emphasis mine -ed.]

All our attempts to have this number revised have been fruitless but rather than detain you with tedious arguments about morality, panache and book-keeping – when there are really bigger fish to filet these days – we are taking the following unusual step.

If you should really want to buy something special for your loved one at this time of seasonal giving, we can whole-heartedly recommend, “Ambassador Of Jazz” – a cute little imitation suitcase, covered in travel stickers and embossed with the name “Satchmo” but more importantly containing TEN re-mastered albums by one of the most beautiful and loving revolutionaries who ever lived – Louis Armstrong.

The box should be available for under one hundred and fifty American dollars and includes a number of other tricks and treats. Frankly, the music is vastly superior.

If on the other hand you should still want to hear and view the component parts of the above mentioned elaborate hoax, then those items will be available separately at a more affordable price in the New Year, assuming that you have not already obtained them by more unconventional means. [ElvisCostello.com]

After reading that, I’m brought to mind the words of a young man named Declan Macmanus:

  I want to bite the hand that feeds me,
  I want to bite that hand so badly
  I want to make them wish they’d never seen me.

All upcoming Elvis Costello US and international Spinning Songbook tour dates after the jump.

Elvis Costello Spinning Songbook Tour Dates
04/23/12 Melbourne, FL King Center For Performing Arts
04/24/12 Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall
04/25/12 Hollywood, FL Seminole Hard Rock Live
04/27/12 Jacksonville, FL Florida Theatre
04/29/12 Durham, NC Durham Performing Arts Center
05/09/12 Dublin, Ireland Grand Canal Theatre
05/11/12 Glasgow, United Kingdom Clyde Auditorium
05/12/12 Manchester, United Kingdom O2 Apollo Manchester
05/13/12 Liverpool, United Kingdom Liverpool Empire Theatre
05/15/12 Birmingham, United Kingdom Symphony Hall
05/16/12 Brighton, United Kingdom The Brighton Centre
05/18/12 Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom Newcastle City Hall
05/19/12 Nottingham, United Kingdom Royal Concert Hall
05/20/12 Bournemouth, United Kingdom Bournemouth International Centre
05/22/12 Bristol, United Kingdom Colston Hall
05/23/12 London, United Kingdom Royal Albert Hall
05/24/12 London, United Kingdom Royal Albert Hall
05/26/12 Cambridge, United Kingdom Cambridge Corn Exchange
05/27/12 Basingstoke, United Kingdom The Anvil
05/29/12 Paris, France Olympia
06/02/12 Aarhus, Denmark Musikhuset Aarhus
06/04/12 Zurich, Switzerland Kongresshaus Zurich
06/05/12 Amsterdam, Netherlands Melkweg