Elvis/T Bone 'acoustic album' , 2008

[johnfoyle]

Elvis' vague comments aside it seems this album is definitely on the way. This comment from a session player on it seems to be the most telling so far.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/06 ... 1806.shtml

(extract)

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Mandolin player Mike Compton says "life is good," and who can argue with the native of Meridian, Miss., who lives outside of Nashville, Tenn., near Roy Acuff's former home.

He just finished a CD with Elvis Costello, performed in Australia in February, toured for several years with John Hartford, played mandolin on the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack and teaches mandolin to about 60 students by webcam on the Internet.

Mr. Compton's mandolin playing is heard in the opening of The Soggy Mountain Boys' hit version of I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow on the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack. He also played on the follow-up Down From the Mountain traditional folk album and was on the resulting tour with Ricky Skaggs, Patty Loveless and others.

His relationship with O Brother music producer T-Bone Burnett led to Mr. Compton's recording in early April with British rocker Mr. Costello on an acoustic CD that Mr. Burnett produced.

Mr. Costello's knowledge of country music was impressive.

"He knows a ton of old country songs," Mr. Compton said. "He recently did a Hazel Dickens session that (producer) Todd Phillips was putting together, a project of all Hazel Dickens songs. Todd said not only did Elvis agree to do the recording session, he told Todd which songs that Hazel wrote that he wanted to do. Todd said he didn't figure Elvis Costello would know who Hazel Dickens was, much less any of her material."

[verbal gymnastics]

Thanks John.

[Neil.]

I'm really hoping this will be the one that gets Elvis back into the charts again.

If it's released at the same time as his TV series airs this autumn, I think the TV prog's high profile will rekindle interest in Elvis - and I think the acoustic nature of the album is a good way in for non fans!

I really have my fingers crossed for this!

[Mikeh]

Has anyone noticed the resemblance between T Bone Burnett and Mikey from Big Brother? No? I'll shut up then.

[Neil.]

So, what do we reckon are the most likely songs to surface on this album?

And is it gonna be a Coward Brothers album or an Elvis Costello album?

[migdd]

Sulfur to Sugarcane:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLoQ-Hq7LpE

Down Among the Wines and Spirits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY1Xq-Rb ... re=related

Also, as ba pointed out in another thread, Life’s Companion (Crooked Line) could be on there are well. Good question as to whether or not this will be a proper Coward Brothers album.

[sweetest punch]

Will Emmylou Harris be a part of this?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 11NSJU.DTL

(...)
At 61, Emmylou Harris remains as busy as ever. She has just released her first new studio album in five years, "All I Intended to Be," which includes covers of songs by Billy Joe Shaver, Patty Griffin and Merle Haggard. In the meantime, Harris recorded an album with Mark Knopfler and provided her heavenly harmonies for new projects by Elvis Costello and Conor Oberst. And more than 30 years after being introduced to the genre by cult hero Gram Parsons, Harris was this year inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Next Sunday the former high school beauty queen plays the Mountain Winery in Saratoga.
(...)

[johnfoyle]

From the context I would guess that's a reference to TDM.