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Blood & Chocolate
Studio album by
Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Released15 September 1986 (1986-09-15)
RecordedMarch–May 1986
StudioOlympic (London)
Genres
Length47:48
Labels
ProducerNick Lowe
Elvis Costello and the Attractions chronology
King of America
(1986) 		Blood & Chocolate
(1986) 		Out of Our Idiot
(1987)
Singles from Blood & Chocolate
  1. "Tokyo Storm Warning"
    Released: August 1986
  2. "I Want You"
    Released: October 1986

Blood & Chocolate is the eleventh studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his ninth album with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas (no relation). It was released on 15 September 1986 through Demon and Columbia Records. After mostly using outside musicians for his previous album King of America, Costello reunited the Attractions and his former producer Nick Lowe for Blood & Chocolate. Recorded in London during a period of heightened tensions between Costello and the Attractions, the tracks were recorded quickly, mostly live in first takes, while the band were set up simultaneously in the same room at Olympic Studios. Costello's then-girlfriend, Cait O'Riordan of the Pogues, sang backing vocals on two tracks and co-wrote another.

A departure from the roots rock of King of America, Blood & Chocolate musically and lyrically recalls Costello's early works, particularly This Year's Model (1978). Featuring a garage-sounding production, it is a straightforward rock and roll album with revenge and guilt-driven lyrics and imagery drawn from nightmarish worlds. After King of America was credited to "the Costello Show", Blood & Chocolate was credited once again to "Elvis Costello and the Attractions". The cover artwork is a painting by Costello himself titled "Napoleon Dynamite".

Released only seven months after King of America, Blood & Chocolate was Costello's lowest-charting album yet, reaching number 16 in the UK and number 84 in the US. Both of its over six-minute singles—"Tokyo Storm Warning" and "I Want You"—performed poorly. At the time, music critics considered the album substandard compared to Costello's previous works, though others deemed it a return to form for the artist. Retrospective reviews consider Blood & Chocolate one of Costello's finest, being praised for its simplicity and performances. Following the album's release and supporting tour, Costello did not work with the Attractions again for eight years. It has been reissued several times with bonus tracks, including in 1995 and 2002.

Background

[edit]
Main article: King of America

Elvis Costello recorded his tenth studio album King of America in Los Angeles between July and September 1985.[1] A roots rock and Americana album,[2][3] it was recorded in collaboration with T Bone Burnett and various American session musicians dubbed "the Confederates".[4][5] Costello had intended for his regular backing band, the Attractions, to appear on half of the album, but by the time they arrived half of the album was already completed.[6] The Attractions were upset at their sidelining,[7] leading to tense sessions; they ultimately appeared on only one track, "Suit of Lights".[4] Released in February 1986,[5] King of America sold poorly and was Costello's first album since My Aim Is True (1977) to miss the UK top 10.[8][9] The album's poor commercial performance led Costello to write songs more akin to his early work with the Attractions, namely This Year's Model (1978) and Armed Forces (1979).[8]

Recording

[edit]
An older man with glasses and gray hair
Blood & Chocolate was produced by Nick Lowe (pictured in 2017), who had not produced a Costello album since 1981's Trust.

Only six months after the Los Angeles sessions for King of America, Costello entered Olympic Studios in London with the Attractions—the keyboardist Steve Nieve, the bassist Bruce Thomas and the drummer Pete Thomas (no relation)—to record an album. The musician Nick Lowe acted as producer for the first time in five years, while Colin Fairley was engineer.[10][11] Lowe was reportedly brought back due to his history with the band—he had produced Costello's first four albums with the Attractions—and his ability to capture the raw sound Costello desired for the project.[12] Costello wrote new songs using both guitar and simply beating his hands on a table to find rhythms; "Blue Chair", "I Hope You're Happy Now" and "Next Time Round" were held over from the King of America sessions.[13][14] The songs fit the simplistic style of his working relationship with the Attractions, often only featuring two or three chords. A one-off session at London's Eden Studios with Jimmy Cliff yielded a track called "Seven Day Weekend" for the film Club Paradise (1986).[13]

The recording sessions lasted from March to May 1986.[13][12] With tensions still high between Costello and the Attractions,[10] the goal was to record the tracks as quickly as possible before the animosity between Costello and the band became so severe they would have to scrap the entire project.[13] The band set up in the studio similar to a rehearsal space, reportedly up to 25 feet between the bass and drums,[14] and used monitor speakers rather than headphones, meaning there was little separation between the instruments.[11][13] Costello remembered: "This made for a booming, murky sound that made subtlety impossible."[11] The author Graeme Thomson argued: "It was a unique approach, essentially like recording a live concert in a cavernous studio with a few microphones dotted around the room."[13] The album was recorded at high volume like a live concert, in a way Costello felt suited the material.[10] The band recorded most of the songs live in first takes, and a maximum of three takes,[13] while overdubs were limited to lead or harmony vocal retakes.[11] Costello stated in 1995: "We set up and played as loud as we did on stage. It didn't really sound like This Year's Model, but the component parts were just the four of us, and we did very few overdubs. We played as much a combo sound as possible."[15]

The experience did little to ease the tensions in the band.[13] Lowe remembered it was "a much more uptight situation ... There wasn't such a gang feeling."[14] Nevertheless, Lowe admitted to encouraging the tensions, believing they "added to" the recording environment.[13] Lowe also provided acoustic guitar on several numbers. Costello used his Telecaster guitar, which he felt gave his parts "a very harsh edge".[11] He also restricted Nieve's parts to organ and piano, with zero solos.[14] Costello's then-girlfriend Cait O'Riordan, the bassist for the Pogues, was present during recording, providing backing vocals on "Poor Napoleon" and "Crimes of Paris", and co-wrote "Tokyo Storm Warning" with Costello. The band also recorded a cover of Little Willie John's "Leave My Kitten Alone" (1959), which was left off the final album.[13]

Music and lyrics

[edit]

Departing from the roots rock of King of America,[16] Blood & Chocolate is a rock 'n' roll[12][17][18] and hard rock record,[19] with a back-to-basics[20] organ and guitar-led sound reminiscent of This Year's Model.[21][22] In his book The Words and Music of Elvis Costello, the author James E. Perone describes the album as "noisy, messy, loose and at times under-rehearsed sounding".[19] The album has also been classified as new wave[23] and identified by later reviewers as featuring an early grunge sound.[24][25][26] Other writers for Stereogum said the record offers a "terrific pub-rocking gut punch".[2] Joe Pelone of punknews.org summarised: "Blood & Chocolate is a lot of things. On some tracks, it's a return to early Costello's hard charged literate punk. Sometimes it combines that with the pop sensibilities Costello cultivated over the years."[27] Thomson argues that the album title, Blood & Chocolate, "perfectly summed up the texture of the music".[13]

Lyrically, Blood & Chocolate represents a return to the more revenge and guilt-driven lyrics of Costello's earlier releases.[19] In Blender magazine, Douglas Wolk detailed "blistering songs about sexual despair and disgust".[28][29] Several songs contain imagery drawn from nightmarish worlds, offering "surreal snatches of stories detailing the dark agonies wreaked on a tortured soul by a Love Gone Mad."[30] Thomson splits the record in two: "The repetitive, mono-rhythmic nightmares" of tracks like "Uncomplicated" and "Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?"; and "the brighter pop" of tracks like "Blue Chair" and "Next Time Round".[31] On the record's original release, Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times said that "one of the album's central themes is man's capacity to endure. There are people and situations in Blood & Chocolate as dark, despairing and hopeless as those in [Bruce] Springsteen's Nebraska (1982). Still, life goes on."[32]

Side one

[edit]

"Uncomplicated" utilises a "lumbering" beat that conveys a "feeling of monotony and claustrophobia".[33] Its lyrics, offering themes of love, disgust, revenge and passion,[33] were interpreted by Perone as detailing a relationship with a controlling man.[19] "I Hope You're Happy Now" was compared by the author David Gouldstone to This Year's Model's "No Action", wherein the narrator condemns his ex-lover and her new partner.[33] The biographer Brian Hinton stated it is a "song of jealousy" that is "lovingly sung".[34] Perone says the instrumental performance, "a Wall of Sound-like block of rock band texture", highlights the anger of the lyrics.[19] The over six-minute "Tokyo Storm Warning" lacks a narrative, instead presenting various snapshots[11] of an apocalyptic and frightening world on the brink of collapse where people live for the moment and fail to consider consequences for their actions.[33] Hilburn interprets the track as wanting the listener to "find order and balance among the confusion and chaos".[32] The track also contains imagery detailing less-appealing aspects of 1980s society,[33] as well as images of KKK-infested Montgomery and the Malvinas.[30] Costello described it as a "protest song".[11]

"Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head" features similar themes as Costello's early albums, following a man abandoned by his lover, who has rejected him.[33] Perone describes it as a conventional pop song compared to the previous track, and "less hard-hitting", drawing comparisons to "the aesthetics" of Imperial Bedroom (1982).[19] "I Want You" follows the narrator's "stalker-like obsession" with his departed lover.[19] Variously described as a "slow walk"[34] and "an extended psychosexual drama",[35] it begins quietly before growing in intensity as the narrator harbours feelings of resentment, jealousy, lust and anger towards her,[34][33] further revealing darker and more obsessive qualities over its six-minute runtime. By the end, the character's declarations of "I want you" turn into weeps,[19] closing with Costello's voice alone.[33] The track's instrumental builds to match the narrator's anger.[19] Several commentators have compared the song's setting and style to the Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" (1969).[19][35][22]

Side two

[edit]

"Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?" is a rock and roll[19] and blues song[27] that is more lively and cheerful compared to "I Want You". In it, the narrator's lover is jealous of a perceived affair between him and another woman.[34][33][19] "Blue Chair" is a power pop[27] track that Costello said took musical inspiration from Prince for its arrangement.[11] Taking place in a pub, a man informs the narrator that his lover has begun an affair with the man; the narrator is supportive rather than resentful.[33] Hinton interprets the "blue chair" as possibly "therapy, or drink, or drugged oblivion".[34] The track possesses irony and different vocal tones between the choruses and verses offer contrasting moods.[19] "Battered Old Bird" observes the beaten-down occupants of a run-down boarding house.[33] Costello said that it was partially based on real people from his childhood.[11] Its music features changes in volume and intensity, using various studio effects through tape manipulation.[19]

"Crimes of Paris" is a cryptic song that dissects themes of troubled relationships with a sing-along chorus.[33] Perone likens its musical setting to UK pub rock, with its largely acoustic backing and harmony vocals between Costello and O'Riordan suggesting a live band in a pub.[19] "Poor Napoleon" continues the theme of sexual jealousy,[33] following "a proud and vain character" who finds his love "fatally compromised".[34] Hinton says O'Riordan appears as "the voice of pity".[34] It features an unconventional song structure, with the number of syllables in each line varying from verse to verse.[19] "Next Time Round", with themes of regret, anger and resentfulness,[19] is about a narrator who overhears his lover having an affair and wishes he could still have her.[34][33] A British Invasion-style rock song, Perone likens the production to the works of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in the latter half of the 1970s.[19]

Title and packaging

[edit]

The album's title, the first lyric of "Uncomplicated",[19][36][37] came from an incident that occurred on the 1977 Live Stiffs Tour when the tour's manager Les Brown was assaulted by some of the musicians.[38] Hilburn argued that the title "underscores the way things are often far different from their appearances: In some settings, blood and chocolate look the same."[32] Similar to King of America, Costello uses three different names to credit himself on Blood & Chocolate: his given name of Declan MacManus; his stage name of Elvis Costello; and the nickname Napoleon Dynamite, his alter ego as master of ceremonies for the Attractions' spinning songbook tour.[39] While King of America had been credited to "the Costello Show",[40] Blood & Chocolate reverts to the former credit of Elvis Costello and the Attractions.[31] Hilburn believed the reversion to Costello's stage name was for "greater consumer recognition".[32]

The album's cover artwork is a painting, titled "Napoleon Dynamite",[21] by Costello himself, credited to an alter ego named Eammon Singer.[31] Hinton says the sleeve is of Napoleon Dynamite, with the back containing photos of the band by Keith Morris, in which they are lit from the right.[38] The album uses Esperanto to list musician credits and LP sides,[19][21][38] to which Costello stated in the 1995 liner notes "for reasons I can no longer remember".[11]

Release and promotion

[edit]

Blood & Chocolate was released on 15 September 1986,[31] only seven months after King of America.[41] It arrived on LP, CD and cassette formats,[40] the last of which was packaged as a red and gold pastiche of a Cadbury's Bourneville bar.[38][30] Demon Records (XFIEND 80) handled its distribution in the United Kingdom (Demon IMP for its CD release), while Columbia Records (Columbia 40518) handled distribution in the United States.[40][42] It became Costello's lowest-charting album up to that point in both countries,[12] reaching number 16 in the UK and number 84 in the US.[43][44] It also reached the top 20 in the Netherlands and Sweden.[45][46] According to Costello, Columbia "hated it and subsequently just fucking buried it";[31] Blood & Chocolate was Costello's final album with the label.[47]

"Tokyo Storm Warning" and "I Want You" were released as singles in August and October 1986, respectively, both through Costello's own IMP label.[a][48] The former reached number 73 in the UK,[31] his worst performing single up to that point.[49] Costello later said: "I was always surprised it wasn't a hit. But maybe releasing this and 'I Want You' – six-minute singles, back to back – wasn't the way to do it!"[50] "I Want You" later became a live favourite.[12] A new recording of "Blue Chair" was later released as a single in January 1987,[48] backed by "American Without Tears No. 2 (Twilight Version)",[51] a sequel to the King of America track.[39]

Costello planned an ambitious tour with both the Attractions and the Confederates—the group of American session musicians that played on King of America—in the US and Europe, intended to juxtapose the different styles on both King of America and Blood & Chocolate.[43] The tour, which ran from October to December 1986, featured a variety of setlists and songs played in vastly different styles than their released versions.[52] The shows featured the Attractions, the Confederates (in the US only), the Coward Brothers (Costello and T Bone Burnett) and Costello solo.[53] In late January 1987, Costello performed a six-night residency at the Royal Albert Hall in London, three with the Attractions and three with the Confederates.[54][55]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Initial reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
QStarStarStar[56]
Record MirrorStarStarStarHalf star[57]
Smash Hits7/10[58]
SoundsStarStarStarHalf star[59]
The Village VoiceA−[60]

Blood & Chocolate received mixed-to-positive reviews on release.[12][31][61] Acknowledged as Costello's most musically straightforward album in many years,[20][22][31][60] with musical and lyrical comparisons to This Year's Model and Armed Forces.[17][30][32] In Los Angeles Times, Robert Hilburn summarised: "If you were a fan of Elvis Costello's late-'70s albums, from My Aim Is True through Armed Forces, the new Blood & Chocolate is the LP you've been waiting seven years for him to deliver."[32] The return to the punch and anger of Costello's early works was both welcomed and derided.[20][56][58] Its back-to-basics approach was also compared to Talking Heads' recently released Little Creatures (1985).[60][62]

Several reviewers criticised Blood & Chocolate as substandard compared to Costello's previous works.[17][57][56] Writing for Creem, Iman Lababedi felt Blood & Chocolate "feels like a holding action" following the "masterpiece" King of America.[17] Stuart Bailie of Record Mirror described Blood & Chocolate as a "predictable" record that is "decent" compared to other artists, "but we all know that this man can do a lot better".[57] Some predicted the album would fail to attract new fans beyond Costello's most loyal ones.[30][63] Others felt it was a return to form for Costello[35] following Punch the Clock (1983) and Goodbye Cruel World (1984),[17] with quality comparisons to Trust (1981).[29][30][62] Musician's Jon Young described Blood & Chocolate as Costello's "equivalent" of Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde (1966) and an "essential" Costello record.[64]

The album's garage-sounding production received mixed reactions.[59] In High Fidelity, David Browne felt the Attractions sounded muffled due to the blend of instruments creating "a rushed, underrehearsed jumble of guitars, drums, and organs".[29] Adrian Thrills wrote in the NME that the production makes Blood & Chocolate "the most un-easy listening LP in the entire Costello canon".[30] In Sounds magazine, Richard Cook felt the production made Nieve's contributions almost transparent and pushed Costello's voice up to the forefront;[59] Costello's vocal performance did receive positive reactions.[20][22] Others deemed the lyrics too complicated, jumbled and messy to enjoy;[20][35][62][59] Q's Mark Cooper said "the wordplay is too clever for many of the songs' emotional good".[56] Cook also criticised the return to older lyrical themes.[59] Several critics also singled out "I Want You" as one of the album's highlights.[60][62][58]

In The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for the year's best albums, Blood & Chocolate finished at number 9.[65] The album also placed at number three in Melody Maker's album of the year list.[b][66] NME placed it at number 13 in their end-of-year list.[67]

Legacy

[edit]

In a retrospective article Ultimate Classic Rock's Courtney E. Smith described Blood & Chocolate as an "end-of-an-era record".[41] Costello reported the relationship between him and the Attractions as having "soured", and after the album's supporting tour, Costello did not work with the band again for another eight years, until 1994's Brutal Youth,[10][12][39] and they were not credited on another LP cover until 1996's All This Useless Beauty.[41] Blood & Chocolate was also Costello's final collaboration with Nick Lowe[41] and his final album with Columbia.[47] Following his departure from the label, he signed a new record deal with Warner Bros., whom he released his next six albums with.[12] The Radiohead singer Thom Yorke said Blood & Chocolate changed how he approached recording and writing music and lyrics.[68]

Retrospective reviews

[edit]
Professional ratings
Retrospective reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar[16]
BlenderStarStarStarStarStar[28]
Chicago TribuneStarStarStarHalf star[69]
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStarStar[70]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[71]
MojoStarStarStarStarStar[72]
punknews.orgStarStarStarStar[27]
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarStarStarHalf star[73]

Retrospectively, Blood & Chocolate has ranked as one of Costello's finest records.[2][18][74] Perone and Pelone commented on its underproduced nature during a period of "glossy '80s" production,[27] the former believing the production "unwittingly predicting the sound of '90s rock production".[19] The record was called "a shining achievement in Costello's vast discography" by Pelone,[27] and a "tour-de-force" that is "one of the artist's best and surliest rock albums" by Stereogum.[2]

Critics have highlighted the album's simplicity[19] and name several tracks as some of Costello's finest, including "Uncomplicated", "Tokyo Storm Warning", "I Hope You're Happy Now" and "I Want You".[16][75][76] The band's performances were praised for their energy, although several agreed the album loses steam by its second half.[16][19] Thomson wrote that "as an extended mood piece it worked brilliantly, but Blood & Chocolate required an element of faith from the listener".[31] Writing for Mojo magazine in 2002, Jim Irvin agreed, finding that "the band's diminished enthusiasm is often audible, the claustrophobia's genuinely uncomfortable, and this time much of the hatred is directed inward."[76] AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine found that despite its mean-spirited nature, Blood & Chocolate is "lively" and "frequently compelling".[16]

In the context of Costello's entire career, Perone argued that Costello's sudden departure from the roots rock of King of America to the hard rock of Blood & Chocolate foreshadowed the abrupt excursions between rock, country, jazz and classical music he undertook later in his career.[19] Discussing Costello's subsequent records, Q's Tom Doyle found that Blood & Chocolate "has a weight and energy that was sorely lacking from much of the post-Attractions work that followed and is testament to the controlled power of their garage band sound."[77]

In 2000, Blood & Chocolate was voted number 475 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's book All Time Top 1000 Albums.[78] In 2013, NME placed the album at number 483 in their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[79] The album was also included in the 2006 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[80]

Reissues

[edit]
Professional ratings
2002 reissue
Review scores
SourceRating
QStarStarStarStar[81]
UncutStarStarStarStar[82]

Blood & Chocolate was reissued by Demon/Rykodisc in September 1995 with six bonus tracks,[83] including the 1987 single version of "Blue Chair".[81] It was reissued again in February 2002 by Rhino Records.[84] This release included five of the six Rykodisc bonus tracks, minus "A Town Called Big Nothing", along with ten others, including unreleased songs, B-sides, covers (including "Seven Day Weekend" and "Leave My Kitten Alone") and alternate versions of previously released tracks.[84]

Blood & Chocolate was reissued again on CD, with no bonus tracks, in June 2007 by Hip-O Records and Universal Music Group.[85] An LP reissue by UMe followed in November 2015, again with no bonus tracks.[86]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks written by Declan MacManus (Elvis Costello) except as noted;[42] track timings taken from Rhino 2002 reissue.[39]

Side one: Flanko Uno

  1. "Uncomplicated" – 3:28
  2. "I Hope You're Happy Now" – 3:07
  3. "Tokyo Storm Warning" (MacManus, Cait O'Riordan) – 6:25
  4. "Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head" – 5:07
  5. "I Want You" – 6:45

Side two: Flanko Du

  1. "Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?" – 2:09
  2. "Blue Chair" – 3:42
  3. "Battered Old Bird" – 5:51
  4. "Crimes of Paris" – 4:20
  5. "Poor Napoleon" – 3:23
  6. "Next Time Round" – 3:28

Personnel

[edit]

According to the liner notes,[87] except where noted:

Additional personnel

Technical

  • Nick Lowe – producer
  • Colin Fairley – engineer[39]
  • Eamonn Singer (Elvis Costello) – cover painting
  • Keith Morris – photography
  • Michael Krage – design

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Blood & Chocolate
Chart (1986) Peak
Position
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[45] 19
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[46] 12
UK Albums Chart[88] 16
US Billboard Top Pop Albums[89] 84

Certifications

[edit]
Sales certifications for Blood & Chocolate
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[90] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Blood & Chocolate

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Blood & Chocolate is the eleventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello and his backing band the Attractions, released on 15 September 1986 by Demon Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States.[1] Produced by Nick Lowe, who had collaborated with Costello on several prior records, the album marked a return to the group's aggressive rock style after Costello's preceding release King of America, which featured American session musicians.[2] Recorded at Olympic Studios in London, it comprises eleven tracks characterized by sharp lyrical wit, thematic explorations of revenge and desire, and energetic performances from the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas, and drummer Pete Thomas.[3] Standout songs include "I Want You," a brooding eight-minute closer lauded for its emotional intensity and as one of Costello's finest compositions, and "Tokyo Storm Warning," which weaves global political references into its narrative.[4] Despite initial mixed reviews that critiqued it as uneven compared to Costello's earlier peaks, the record has since been reevaluated as a pivotal work in his catalog, highlighting the Attractions' final studio collaboration with him before their 1986–1987 hiatus.[5] Commercially, it underperformed, reaching number 16 on the UK Albums Chart and number 84 on the US Billboard 200, Costello's lowest-charting album until 1993.[5]

Background and Conception

Post-King of America Context

Following the February 21, 1986 release of King of America, which largely eschewed Elvis Costello's longstanding backing band in favor of American session musicians assembled by producer T Bone Burnett, the Attractions contributed to only two tracks—"Sleep of the Just" and "Smoke"—originally intended for broader involvement that was curtailed by the death of a mutual friend.[6] This shift marked a deliberate exploration of roots-oriented sounds, including country and folk influences, under the billing "The Costello Show (Featuring the Attractions and Confederates)," signaling a temporary divergence from the Attractions' angular new wave style.[2] By mid-1986, just over six months after the King of America Hollywood sessions, Costello reconvened the Attractions—bassist Bruce Thomas, drummer Pete Thomas (no relation), and keyboardist Steve Nieve—for recordings at Olympic Studios in London, enlisting longtime producer Nick Lowe to helm the project.[7] The reunion occurred amid strained relations, as the band's limited role in King of America had fostered resentment, particularly from Bruce Thomas, exacerbating existing frictions from years of intense collaboration.[2] These tensions contributed to a volatile atmosphere, with sessions emphasizing first-take energy and minimal overdubs to harness the group's raw chemistry, resulting in an album Costello later described in its reissue liner notes as "a record of people beating and twanging things with a fair amount of yelling."[7][2] The rapid pivot back to the Attractions contrasted sharply with King of America's introspective tone, yielding Blood & Chocolate's aggressive, confrontational rock sound upon its September 15, 1986 release—merely seven months after its predecessor—under the restored "Elvis Costello and the Attractions" moniker.[2] This period underscored Costello's pattern of stylistic reinvention, though the interpersonal discord foreshadowed an eight-year hiatus for the band after this outing.[8]

Reunion with the Attractions

Following the February 1986 release of King of America, which primarily featured American session musicians under producer T-Bone Burnett and included only one Attractions contribution—"Suit of Lights"—Elvis Costello sought to recapture the raw, propulsive energy of his earlier work with the band.[9] This reunion, announced implicitly through the album's billing as Elvis Costello and the Attractions, brought back keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas, and drummer Pete Thomas, who had formed the core of Costello's lineup since 1977.[2] The decision reflected Costello's intent to channel a set of aggressive, lyrically barbed songs into a rock format ill-suited to the more subdued, roots-oriented approach of King of America, where band tensions had already surfaced over stylistic shifts.[5] The Attractions' prior dissolution in 1984, after the critically panned Goodbye Cruel World—marked by production disputes and interpersonal friction—had left their future uncertain, with members pursuing side projects amid growing estrangement from Costello.[4] Yet, by early 1986, Costello prioritized the band's ingrained interplay for tracks demanding tight, angular rhythms and dynamic interplay, as evidenced by the rapid assembly for sessions starting in March at Olympic Studios in London. Producer Nick Lowe, who had shaped their breakthrough albums like My Aim Is True (1977) and This Year's Model (1978), was enlisted to facilitate this return to form, emphasizing live-band takes over overdubs.[4][2] Despite the creative spark—yielding 11 tracks in under two months—the reunion underscored unresolved rifts, particularly between Costello and bassist Bruce Thomas, whose contributions fueled the album's intensity but foreshadowed further discord.[5] Costello later described the process as a deliberate pivot to "reclaim the Costello name," prioritizing the Attractions' punk-inflected precision over external collaborators, though the sessions' volatility highlighted the band's fragility on the cusp of another split.[4] This effort culminated in Blood & Chocolate's September 15, 1986, UK release, positioning it as a defiant bridge between Costello's experimental phase and his Attractions-era legacy.[2]

Recording Process

Studio Sessions

The recording sessions for Blood & Chocolate occurred primarily at Olympic Studios in London, with some additional work at Eden Studios, spanning March to May 1986.[10][11] These sessions marked the reunion of Elvis Costello with the Attractions following their limited involvement on the prior album King of America, where the band contributed only to one track, "Suit of Lights."[9] Produced by Nick Lowe, the process emphasized live band performances captured in a single large room at high volume, with the musicians monitoring each other through headphones to maintain intensity despite interpersonal strains.[2][12] Tensions from prior collaborations lingered, as the Attractions and Costello communicated minimally off-stage, yet their established live chemistry enabled rapid tracking—often in first takes—with minimal overdubs to preserve raw energy.[13][5] The 24-track Olympic facility, despite its modern capabilities, evoked an older aesthetic that suited the album's aggressive rock sound, including prominent organ work by Steve Nieve and driving rhythms from Pete Thomas and Bruce Thomas.[14] Engineer Colin Fairley handled much of the technical oversight, focusing on capturing the group's unpolished dynamics without extensive post-production refinement.[10] This approach yielded the album's core tracks efficiently, reflecting a deliberate shift from the more experimental sessions of Costello's recent solo-oriented work toward a return to the Attractions' punk-inflected roots.[15] The sessions concluded without major delays, producing material that Costello later described in liner notes as born from a fraught but productive environment, prioritizing collective performance over individual revisions.[14]

Production and Band Dynamics

The recording of Blood & Chocolate took place at Olympic Studios in London from March to May 1986, under the production of Nick Lowe, who had helmed Costello's first five albums with the Attractions.[4] [11] This reunion emphasized a return to high-energy, band-centric rock, with tracks captured mostly live in the studio at concert-level volumes to evoke a raw, garage-like immediacy, diverging from the introspective country-folk leanings of Costello's prior solo effort King of America.[2] [8] Lowe's approach favored minimal overdubs and first-take vigor, resulting in a "booming, murky" sonic palette dominated by Costello's harsh Telecaster guitar tones.[14] Band dynamics during these sessions were marked by significant strain, as the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas, and drummer Pete Thomas—grappled with resentment over Costello's recent solo pursuits and his collaboration with producer T-Bone Burnett on King of America, which featured only one Attractions credit ("Suit of Lights").[2] Personal frictions, including Costello's marriage and diverging creative visions, fueled a tense atmosphere, with bassist Bruce Thomas later citing Costello's perfectionism and high expectations as flashpoints.[16] Despite the discord, the group channeled it into aggressive performances, recording swiftly to harness the underlying volatility, which mirrored lyrical themes of obsession and betrayal.[13] [8] The album's production effectively closed a chapter for the original Attractions lineup, as internal conflicts precluded further joint recordings for eight years, until a partial reunion for 1994's Brutal Youth.[5] Only one track, "I Want You," received a co-writing credit for the full band, underscoring their limited collaborative input amid the prevailing acrimony.[2]

Musical Style and Lyrics

Overall Sound and Structure

Blood & Chocolate features a raw, energetic rock sound characterized by nervy, ramshackle arrangements that recapture the punk-inflected new wave intensity of Elvis Costello's late-1970s work with the Attractions, such as This Year's Model. Produced by Nick Lowe, the album emphasizes live-band dynamics with minimal overdubs, resulting in a visceral, unpolished feel driven by aggressive instrumentation: Pete Thomas's pounding, relentless drums; Bruce Thomas's propulsive bass lines; Steve Nieve's angular keyboard flourishes and garage-band organ swells; and jagged, chord-bashing guitars that underscore Costello's snarling, vitriolic vocals.[17][4] This "controlled viciousness" contrasts with the stripped-down roots-oriented style of Costello's preceding solo album King of America, marking a deliberate return to the band's harder-edged, high-tension rock aesthetic amid strained group relations that infused the recordings with authentic urgency.[17][2] The album's structure comprises 11 tracks totaling approximately 48 minutes, blending uptempo rockers with brooding, extended compositions to create a dynamic flow that alternates between snarling immediacy and simmering menace. Most songs adhere to concise 3- to 4-minute formats suited to punchy, riff-driven hooks—exemplified by openers like "Uncomplicated" (3:28) and "I Hope You're Happy Now" (3:07)—while longer pieces such as "Tokyo Storm Warning" (6:25) and "I Want You" (6:44) build through repetitive, hypnotic builds and layered intensities, incorporating subtle country-folk tinges amid the dominant rock framework.[3] This sequencing prioritizes emotional escalation, starting with jagged urgency and culminating in tracks like the brooding "Battered Old Bird" (5:55), fostering a cohesive yet varied listening experience that highlights the Attractions' tight, combative interplay.[17][4]

Key Song Analyses

"I Want You", the album's second single, exemplifies Costello's shift toward introspective venom, blending declarations of desire with escalating accusations of infidelity and self-inflicted torment. The lyrics repeat the titular phrase in varying shades—from honeyed longing to sneering rage—mirroring a lover's descent into obsessive jealousy, where imagined betrayals fuel a cycle of possession and pain. Musically, the track unfolds over nearly seven minutes with a sparse, piano-led intro that builds to a chaotic guitar-driven climax, underscoring the emotional unraveling through the Attractions' raw interplay.[18][4] "Tokyo Storm Warning", the lead single exceeding six minutes, functions as a claustrophobic travelogue, layering personal alienation against imagery of urban apocalypse and geopolitical strain, such as "two nightmares collide" amid "cheap Korean monster-movie scenery." Costello described it as capturing confinement in transient spaces, with lyrics alluding to distant locales like Montgomery to evoke disorientation. The arrangement drives forward with urgent rhythms and jagged guitars, reflecting the song's thematic collision of private despair and public chaos.[19][20] "Uncomplicated", the album opener, launches with Bo Diddley-inspired guitar riffs and pounding drums, setting a tone of deceptive simplicity masking relational fallout. Its lyrics sarcastically address a former partner's presumed satisfaction—"Blood and Chocolate, I hope you're satisfied what you have done"—implying the conflict's persistence despite appearances of resolution, aligning with the album's vengeful undercurrents. The track's energetic, riff-heavy structure prioritizes propulsion over subtlety, highlighting the band's reunited aggression.[13] "Crimes of Paris" probes infidelity's aftermath through a narrative of optimism shattered by deceit, with the narrator confronting an unfaithful lover's excuses amid threats of retribution. Phrases like "murder my love" evoke simmering rage without resolution, tying into Costello's broader motif of betrayal's lingering grip. Backed by acoustic elements and steady propulsion, the song contrasts introspective lyrics with a rustic drive, emphasizing emotional entrapment.[21]

Title, Packaging, and Artwork

Title Etymology

The title Blood & Chocolate was devised by Elvis Costello as a metaphorical encapsulation of the album's thematic and sonic duality—pairing visceral aggression ("blood") with indulgent allure ("chocolate")—to convey the raw emotional turbulence in the lyrics and the band's volatile reunion dynamics. In the liner notes to the 2002 Rhino/Edsel reissue, Costello explicitly links the title to "some intense and uncertain sensations," tying it to the fraught studio atmosphere marked by interpersonal tensions and the music's blend of punk-inflected fury and pop craftsmanship._liner_notes) This choice underscores the record's departure from Costello's prior solo-oriented work, emphasizing instead the Attractions' confrontational energy during sessions at London's Olympic Studios in early 1986. The phrase itself appears nowhere in the album's lyrics, distinguishing it from titles like This Year's Model derived directly from song content, and instead functions as an evocative, non-literal emblem of passion's destructive and seductive poles.[2]

Cover Design and Packaging

The cover artwork for Blood & Chocolate features a painting titled "Napoleon Dynamite," created by Elvis Costello under his birth name Eamon Singer.[22] This self-produced image depicts a stylized, explosive scene reflecting the album's intense thematic elements, with graphic design contributions from Paul West.[23] The standard vinyl edition, released on September 15, 1986, by Demon Records in the UK and Columbia in the US, utilized a gatefold sleeve format printed by Shorewood Packaging Corp.[24] Inner sleeves included lyrics and credits, consistent with Costello's emphasis on detailed liner notes across his discography.[25] A limited-edition UK cassette, exclusive to Virgin Megastores, was packaged in a box designed to resemble a Cadbury's Bournville dark chocolate bar, tying into the album's titular motif of contrasting sweetness and violence.[26] This promotional variant enhanced collectibility but was not widely distributed beyond initial stock. Later reissues, such as the 2018 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab 180-gram vinyl, retained the original artwork while upgrading mastering from analog tapes for audiophile appeal.[27]

Release and Commercial Performance

Initial Release Details

Blood & Chocolate was released on September 15, 1986, marking the eleventh studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions and arriving seven months after Costello's prior release, King of America.[2] In the United States, Columbia Records issued the album under catalog number FC 40518.[3] The United Kingdom edition appeared via Demon Records with catalog number XFIEND 3.[3] The initial format was vinyl LP, pressed in stereo with variants including Pitman and Carrollton pressings for the US market.[3] Cassette editions followed concurrently through the respective labels, while compact disc versions emerged in subsequent pressings aligned with the vinyl launch.[3]

Promotion and Singles

"Tokyo Storm Warning" served as the lead single from Blood & Chocolate, released on August 1, 1986, in the United Kingdom via Demon Records in 7-inch and 12-inch formats as a double A-side featuring "Part 1" (3:56) and "Part 2" (3:32), both edited versions of the full 6:24 album track.[28] The single included no additional B-sides beyond the parts themselves and received limited airplay due to its length and unconventional split format, failing to enter the UK Singles Chart.[29] "I Want You" followed as the second and final single on October 6, 1986 (with some sources noting November 1 for wider distribution), issued as a 7-inch vinyl featuring the full 6:44 album version backed by "I Hope You're Happy Now" from the same record.[30] [31] Like its predecessor, it underperformed commercially, constrained by radio reluctance toward extended runtimes exceeding six minutes.[3] Promotion centered on live performances rather than extensive media campaigns, aligning with Costello's emphasis on touring to showcase the Attractions' raw energy. The band undertook a 1986-1987 world tour supporting the album, which included intimate venues and culminated in a five-night residency in New York City, where setlists heavily featured Blood & Chocolate material such as "Poor Napoleon" and "Crimes of Paris" to demonstrate the record's live potency.[15] Promotional materials, including numbered LP pressings and posters distributed by labels like CBS/Columbia, highlighted the album's visceral rock sound but did not translate to strong single sales, reflecting the era's challenges for non-radio-friendly new wave tracks.[32]

Chart Performance and Sales

_Blood & Chocolate, released on September 15, 1986, by Elvis Costello and the Attractions, achieved moderate chart success primarily in the United Kingdom. It debuted and peaked at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart, maintaining a presence for 5 weeks.[33] In the United States, the album reached a peak position of number 84 on the Billboard 200, reflecting subdued initial reception amid competition from contemporary releases.
Chart (1986)Peak PositionWeeks Charted
UK Albums (OCC)165
US Billboard 20084Not specified
Sales for the album were modest by Costello's standards, with no comprehensive global figures publicly reported, though its UK performance aligned with shipments exceeding 100,000 units as later evidenced by certification thresholds.[34] The record's commercial trajectory marked a dip from prior Attractions efforts like Armed Forces, which had stronger peaks and longevity, underscoring a shift in audience engagement during Costello's mid-1980s phase.[33]

Certifications

Blood & Chocolate was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in January 1988, signifying shipments of at least 100,000 units in the United Kingdom.[35][36] No certifications have been awarded by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) or other major industry bodies such as Music Canada. The album's modest commercial performance, peaking at number 84 on the US Billboard 200 and number 16 on the UK Albums Chart, aligns with the absence of further accolades.[35]

Critical Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Upon release, Blood & Chocolate garnered generally favorable reviews from critics, who viewed it as a vigorous return to Elvis Costello and the Attractions' raw, punk-inflected style after the folk-leaning King of America earlier in 1986. The album's live-in-the-studio recording approach, produced by Nick Lowe, was praised for capturing the band's tense chemistry and Costello's acerbic lyrics, though some noted its unrelenting intensity as wearying. It ranked ninth in the Village Voice's 1986 Pazz & Jop critics' poll, based on votes from 124 participants, underscoring its critical esteem among U.S. music writers.[37] Robert Christgau, in his Village Voice consumer guide, assigned an A- grade, calling the album "tough and single-minded" like This Year's Model but enriched by a decade's maturation, with a focus on personal torment and global strife that sustained power in longer tracks like "I Want You" and "Tokyo Storm Warning."[38] In Rolling Stone, the review highlighted "I Want You" as the album's standout, "as good a performance as Costello has ever recorded," while observing that the record evoked the "venom" of Costello's early work yet felt tentative overall.[4] British publications offered mixed but engaged takes. NME's Adrian Thrills deemed it Costello's "most bruisingly direct" effort since Trust, commending the "grit and bile" in tracks like "Tokyo Storm Warning" and its dense, nightmarish sonics, though unlikely to attract new listeners.[39] Sounds' Richard Cook portrayed it as an "endless, exhausting record from rock's outlaw bookworm," produced to sound like a "polished, slumming garage band," with Costello's rapid-fire wordplay forming an impenetrable bulk.[40]

Criticisms and Achievements

Criticisms of Blood & Chocolate centered on its raw, aggressive production and Costello's unpolished guitar work, which some reviewers found overwhelming. In a November 1986 Rolling Stone review, critic Michael Marotta described tracks like "Uncomplicated" as ruined by "psychedelic clutter and punkish clatter," particularly highlighting Costello's "awful guitar playing," while noting that several songs suffered from similar excesses that obscured lyrical strengths.[4] This unrefined sound, recorded amid reported tensions between Costello and the Attractions, alienated listeners accustomed to more polished efforts like Imperial Bedroom, contributing to the album's perception as abrasive rather than innovative at the time.[2] Despite these critiques, the album garnered notable achievements in artistic execution and lasting impact. The closing track "I Want You" received universal praise, even from detractors; Rolling Stone called it "the record's one pure invention" and "as good a performance as Costello has ever recorded," underscoring its emotional depth and restraint amid the album's chaos.[4] Retrospectively, Blood & Chocolate has been ranked among Costello's strongest works, placing fourth in analyses of his first decade's output for its return to visceral rock energy with the Attractions.[41] It also influenced subsequent artists, with Radiohead's Thom Yorke citing it in a 1997 Big Issue interview as "awesome" and crediting the album—encountered at age 16—with fundamentally changing his views on recording and songwriting techniques.[42] As the band's final studio album for eight years, it captured a pivotal, fraught collaboration that resonated in post-punk circles.[43]

Legacy and Retrospective Views

Reappraisals Over Time

In the years following its 1986 release, Blood & Chocolate underwent a gradual reappraisal, transitioning from perceptions of inconsistency to recognition as a raw, high-energy pinnacle of Elvis Costello and the Attractions' collaborative work. Critics who initially noted its unevenness amid Costello's experimental phase began highlighting its visceral songcraft and live-in-the-studio intensity; for instance, a 2000 retrospective review described it as lean and direct, emphasizing its stripped-back production as a deliberate counterpoint to prior polish. By the early 2000s, fan and archival reassessments positioned it as a "top-notch post-punk album," valuing its refusal to soften edges despite commercial underperformance.[44][45] The 2010s saw broader acclaim in music publications, with reviewers praising its "vicious" lyrical bite and rustic warmth as prescient of alternative rock's grit. A 2012 Punknews.org analysis rated it 8/10, commending the album's acoustic leanings and immersive live feel as evoking an organic, unpolished Attractions sound. Similarly, a 2015 appraisal in God is in the TV zine lauded it as one of the "most virulent" records in rock history, contrasting its aggression favorably against milder contemporaries. These views aligned with reissue campaigns, which amplified its stature by showcasing alternate takes that underscored the band's chemistry.[46][47] Into the 2020s, retrospectives have solidified Blood & Chocolate as an era-closing triumph, often ranked highly within Costello's discography for its uncompromised fury and melodic invention. A 2021 Ultimate Classic Rock piece framed it as the end of multiple creative phases, yet celebrated its enduring punch and thematic depth on tracks like "I Want You." Blog and aggregator analyses, such as a 2021 Riley Haas review, affirmed its strong songwriting as consistent with Costello's 1980s peak, while fan forums reported personal evolutions from viewing it as weaker to a favorite for its industrial-like cohesion. Robert Christgau's archived consumer guide reiterated its structural boldness, with extended cuts like the title track exemplifying matured pop ambition. This consensus reflects empirical growth in appreciation, driven by streaming accessibility and contextual reevaluation against Costello's later, more eclectic output, though some user-generated rankings on platforms like Rate Your Music remain divided, averaging around 3.6/5 from thousands of votes.[2][48][38][49]

Cultural Impact and Influences

Blood & Chocolate marked a return to the aggressive, guitar-driven sound of Elvis Costello and the Attractions following the more subdued roots-oriented King of America, exerting influence on subsequent alternative rock acts through its raw production and literate, venomous songcraft. Thom Yorke of Radiohead has credited the album with transforming his approach to songwriting and recording, describing it in 1997 as "awesome" and the record that prompted him to rethink music creation during his formative years.[42] The album's unpolished garage rock aesthetic, achieved via collaboration with producer Nick Lowe to emphasize live-band intensity, resonated with artists seeking to blend punk energy with sophisticated lyrics, reinforcing Costello's role in bridging punk-inspired rock and intelligent pop traditions.[5][50] Lyrically, the record's themes of romantic betrayal, guilt, and revenge—drawn from Costello's personal experiences—contributed to its reputation as one of the era's most confrontational albums, with tracks like "I Want You" showcasing extended, brooding arrangements that echoed soul influences while prioritizing emotional catharsis over melody.[21] This intensity has been retrospectively hailed for prefiguring the cynical edge in 1980s and 1990s singer-songwriter output, though its direct stylistic impact remains more evident in niche indie and post-punk circles than mainstream trends.[2] The album's production choices, rejecting the polished Americana of T Bone Burnett's prior work on King of America, underscored a deliberate pivot toward visceral rock fundamentals, influencing perceptions of authenticity in band dynamics and album sequencing.[2]

Reissues and Remasters

Major Reissue Editions

In 1995, Demon Records issued a remastered compact disc edition of Blood & Chocolate, which appended the previously unreleased track "Forgive Her Anything" as a bonus, drawn from sessions associated with the album's production.[14][11] This reissue aimed to enhance audio fidelity while introducing supplementary material for collectors, though it remained limited in scope compared to later expansions.[3] A more substantial expanded edition followed in 2002 from Rhino Records in collaboration with Edsel, formatted as a two-disc set that preserved the original album alongside B-sides, outtakes, and alternate versions, including "Leave My Kitten Alone," "New Rhythm Method," and an NME-session rendition of "Uncomplicated."[51][52] The package featured extensive liner notes penned by Costello, reflecting on the album's raw recording process at Olympic Studios and its role in marking the Attractions' final full collaborative effort during that era.[2] This release, part of Rhino's broader campaign to revisit Costello's catalog with added historical context and audio variants, elevated the album's archival value by incorporating material from contemporaneous singles and demos.[53] Subsequent vinyl reissues have focused on audiophile-grade pressings, such as the 2015 180-gram edition remastered from the original master tapes, emphasizing the album's aggressive rock dynamics through improved dynamic range and pressing quality at facilities like RTI.[54] Similarly, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab produced a limited numbered LP edition, also derived from the source masters, to deliver enhanced clarity in the mix's layered guitars and rhythms while adhering to the 1986 configuration without bonuses.[27] These formats catered to analog enthusiasts seeking fidelity to the production overseen by Nick Lowe and Costello.[12]

Audio Quality Improvements

The 2002 Rhino reissue of Blood & Chocolate underwent remastering that resulted in crisper vocals, enhanced guitar bite, and preserved dynamic range, distinguishing it from prior compact disc editions through improved overall clarity and punch in the album's raw, aggressive production.[3] This edition, released on February 19, 2002, as a two-disc set, drew from high-quality source material to accentuate the Attractions' live-in-the-studio energy without altering the original's unpolished aesthetic.[51] Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's limited-edition 180-gram vinyl pressing, released circa 2017 and mastered directly from the original analog master tapes at RTI, delivered further refinements including dead-quiet backgrounds, expanded soundstage, and heightened detail retrieval, making it a preferred analog option for audiophiles seeking maximal fidelity to the 1986 recording's intensity.[27] These enhancements stemmed from Mobile Fidelity's half-speed mastering process and premium vinyl formulation, which minimized surface noise and groove distortion compared to standard pressings.[55] While the album's core sound—characterized by bleed between microphones and minimal processing—resists overt audiophile polish, this reissue amplified instrumental separation and rhythmic drive without introducing artificial brightness.[56] Earlier UK Demon/Imp Fiend compact disc variants, such as those from the late 1980s or 1990s, also garnered praise for stellar sound quality, offering a balanced alternative to louder modern remasters by adhering closer to the era's mastering norms with adequate headroom and transparency.[57] However, some Rhino-era digital transfers faced critique for elevated loudness levels, potentially compressing peaks relative to vinyl originals, though the 2002 version mitigated this through judicious EQ and gain staging.[58] These iterative improvements reflect broader trends in archival reissues, prioritizing access to pristine tapes amid advancing digital-to-analog conversion technologies.

Album Components

Track Listing

All tracks are written by Elvis Costello, except where noted.[3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
Side one
1"Uncomplicated"Costello3:28
2"I Hope You're Happy Now"Costello3:07
3"Tokyo Storm Warning"Costello, Cait O'Riordan6:25
4"Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head"Costello5:05
5"I Want You"Costello6:44
Side two
6"Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?"Costello2:08
7"Blue Chair"Costello3:41
8"Battered Old Bird"Costello5:55
9"Crimes of Paris"Costello, O'Riordan4:20
10"Poor Napoleon"Costello3:25
11"Next Time Around"Costello3:37
Total length: 47:15.[3] The track listing reflects the original 1986 vinyl release on Demon Records (FIEND 17) in the UK and Vertigo Records (422 828 491-1) in the US, with minor duration variations across formats due to mastering differences.[25][51]

Personnel

The album was performed primarily by Elvis Costello and the Attractions, consisting of Elvis Costello on vocals and guitar (both electric and acoustic), Steve Nieve on keyboards (including piano, organ, and harmonium), Bruce Thomas on bass guitar and saxophone, and Pete Thomas on drums and percussion.[59][3] Additional instrumentation included contributions from Ross MacManus (Costello's father) on trumpet for select tracks, as noted in the album's reissue liner notes. Cait O'Riordan provided backing vocals on "Crimes of Paris" and "Poor Napoleon".[3] Nick Lowe contributed bass guitar on at least one track.[59] Production was handled by Elvis Costello (credited as Declan MacManus) and Nick Lowe, with recording taking place at Olympic Studios in London.[3] Engineering support came from Colin Fairley, though primary oversight remained with the co-producers.[59] The Attractions' lineup marked a return to the band's raw, energetic style following Costello's previous solo-oriented release.

References

  1. https://www.elviscostello.com/discography/blood-chocolate/
  2. How Elvis Costello Ended Several Eras With 'Blood and Chocolate'
  3. Elvis Costello And The Attractions - Blood & Chocolate
  4. Blood And Chocolate - Rolling Stone
  5. 30 Years Ago: Elvis Costello Devours 'Blood & Chocolate' - Diffuser.fm
  6. Liner Notes - King of America - Elvis Costello
  7. https://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Blood_&_Chocolate_(2002
  8. Blood & Chocolate (Elvis Costello) - tijdloze.rocks
  9. Blood & Chocolate (2002) liner notes - The Elvis Costello Wiki
  10. https://www.discogs.com/release/1493679-Elvis-Costello-The-Attractions-Blood-Chocolate
  11. Blood & Chocolate
  12. Elvis Costello's Blood & Chocolate Reissue, Revisited
  13. Blood And Chocolate - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
  14. Blood & Chocolate (1995) liner notes - The Elvis Costello Wiki
  15. 1986, Blood and Chocolate sleevenote - Elvis Costello Fan Forum
  16. Elvis Costello Singles Ranked, 1-10 - According to Doyle
  17. Blood & Chocolate - Elvis Costello & the Attra... - AllMusic
  18. The blissed out curmudgeon | Music | The Guardian
  19. Elvis Costello: The Rolling Stone Interview
  20. Tokyo Storm Warning - Recliner Notes
  21. Elvis Costello on Betrayal and the Many Troubles of Love
  22. Blood & Chocolate was released on this day in 1986. The album's ...
  23. Elvis Costello. The cover painting also partially included the name of ...
  24. https://www.discogs.com/release/3299552-Elvis-Costello-And-The-Attractions-Blood-Chocolate
  25. Blood And Chocolate (LP) - Elvis Costello Official Store
  26. https://www.discogs.com/release/4165396-Elvis-Costello-And-The-Attractions-Blood-Chocolate
  27. https://www.musicdirect.com/music/vinyl/elvis-costello-blood-and-chocolate-numbered-vinyl-lp/
  28. https://www.discogs.com/master/42943-Elvis-Costello-The-Attractions-Tokyo-Storm-Warning-Pts-1-2
  29. Tokyo Storm Warning (single) - The Elvis Costello Wiki
  30. https://www.discogs.com/release/900969-Elvis-Costello-And-The-Attractions-I-Want-You
  31. I Want You (single) - The Elvis Costello Wiki
  32. BLOOD & CHOCOLATE 1986 PROMO POSTER CBS - 24 x 36 - eBay
  33. ELVIS COSTELLO songs and albums | full Official Chart history
  34. ELVIS COSTELLO album sales - BestSellingAlbums.org
  35. Elvis Costello - Album artist 97 - TSort.info
  36. Elvis Costello Net Worth | TheRichest
  37. Pazz & Jop 1986: Critics Poll - Robert Christgau
  38. Album: Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Blood and Chocolate
  39. New Musical Express, September 13, 1986 - The Elvis Costello Wiki
  40. Sounds, September 13, 1986 - The Elvis Costello Wiki
  41. Elvis Costello Albums: Ranked from Worst To Best (The First Ten ...
  42. The Big Issue, December 1, 1997 - The Elvis Costello Wiki
  43. Every Elvis Costello Album, Ranked - SPIN
  44. Elvis Costello – Blood and Chocolate – Reviewed in 2000
  45. Elvis Costello - John McFerrin's
  46. Elvis Costello - Blood & Chocolate | Punknews.org
  47. Diamonds And Rust: Elvis Costello - Blood & Chocolate
  48. Blood and Chocolate (1986) by Elvis Costello and the Attractions
  49. Reviews of Blood & Chocolate by Elvis Costello and The Attractions ...
  50. On This Day September 15 1986 – Blood and Chocolate Album by ...
  51. https://www.discogs.com/release/372394-Elvis-Costello-And-The-Attractions-Blood-Chocolate
  52. Blood & Chocolate (2002 Rhino/Edsel edition) by Elvis Costello
  53. https://www.elviscostellofans.com/wiki/index.php?title=Blood_%26_Chocolate_%28Rhino/Edsel_reissue%29
  54. Blood & Chocolate [2015 Reissue 180G] [New Vinyl Record LP] - eBay
  55. Mobile Fidelity 180g Vinyl Reissues - The Elvis Costello Wiki
  56. Blood & Chocolate by Elvis Costello - Amazon.ca
  57. Best early Elvis Costello CDs | Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  58. https://trouserpress.com/forum/read.php?1,8539
  59. https://www.allmusic.com/album/blood-chocolate-mw0000468630/credits
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