Elvis Costello - Beyond Belief
over and over
Had no idea he originally recorded this as 'the land of give and take'
Elvis Costello & The Attractions - The Land Of Give And Take (Early Version of Beyond Belief) 1982 so glad he went back to the drawing board on this one, as this version pales in comparison
edit- had to post this link to this fan talking about the song and the recording of it
Close Up on Beyond BeliefI always loved this effect
recording some of the lines individually, allowing him to hold the end note of one line over the beginning of the nextand this part about Pete's drumming is ...well fantastic
Pete?s drumming drives Beyond Belief forward. He?s often told the story of his single take ?morning after the all night before? drum track. Coming to the studio straight from an all night party, he pleaded with Elvis to let him off work for the day so he could get home to bed. What we get is the guide track Elvis insisted Pete lay down before he was allowed to pull a sickie, so work in the studio could continue. It just so happens that in that moment Pete gave Elvis the key to the song and provided probably the most archetypal Attractions performance ever recorded.
Pete wasn?t just drumming blind drunk, but blind also in the sense that little else of the song was in place, thus his rhythm doesn?t follow any verse/chorus structure, there not being one yet. Things like his drum rolls (except for the later overdubbed deep Kettle drum effect ones) and changes to using the cymbals instead of the hi-hat (which he?d usually do to mark the chorus) are arbitrary and out of sync with the final song. Noticeably, after the line ?you see your Alice?, the drums lose the rhythm completely, except for the pounding kick. It?s to Elvis?s credit that he never got Pete to rerecord his contribution after he?d recovered: ?The strength of Pete?s performance meant that I was able to consider a more ambitious?approach.?
