In the summer of 1990, when he thought he was going to be doing an album with the Attractions, Elvis brought some of his last touring band to Barbados to record a pile of covers, as a goodbye of sorts, for possible future release. When negotiations with the Attractions fell through, he ended up recording Mighty Like A Rose with most of that touring band, and the covers project was largely put on the shelf, and promptly bootlegged. When the album was finally released five years later—amidst the continuing Rykodisc reissue campaign and plans for his next album—Elvis took the time to promote it, despite his dubious contention that he just wanted it to “sneak out”.
Kojak Variety is very much a vanity project that has the cohesiveness of his earlier Nashville experiment Almost Blue. Like that album, its success depends largely on what you think of his versions of other people’s songs (many of which dotted the setlists on the Mighty Like A Rose tour, much to the confusion of the audience). The songs could be considered “oldies”, as they run the gamut of pop standards, jazz, and blues, with a couple of obscure tunes by some of his favorite songwriters.
Don’t let the false start at the top of “Strange” fool you—this is hardly a tossed-off session. Willie Dixon’s “Hidden Charms” showcases the band, and the Supremes’ “Remove This Doubt” gives him his first chance to emote. He holds back on “I Threw It All Away” and leans more on Little Wille John for “Leave My Kitten Alone”. Mose Allison’s “Everybody’s Crying Mercy” is given a “broken” reading, far surpassed by a haunting take on Randy Newman’s early “I’ve Been Wrong Before”.
Little Richard’s “Bama Lama Lama Loo” blows the dust off fairly well, and “Must You Throw Dirt In My Face” and “Pouring Water On A Drowning Man” find the country in soul. “The Very Thought Of You” is the oldest song here, and he wisely sings it straight. By contrast, Jesse Winchester’s “Payday” is the newest tune, and isn’t as effective. “Please Stay” is another reason to cover his beloved Burt Bacharach, and “Running Out Of Fools” was probably best known by Aretha Franklin. But his closing take on the Kinks’ “Days”, first released on the wide-ranging soundtrack to a Wim Wenders film alongside contributions from U2, Talking Heads, R.E.M., Lou Reed, and the like, is a wonderful departure.
The performances are stellar, with the dueling guitar styles of James Burton and Marc Ribot adding contrast, and the powerful drumming of Pete Thomas and Jim Keltner—at one instance on the same kit. Few of the performances stand a chance of “replacing” the originals, and Elvis himself had done better versions of some of these songs before or since. But it wasn’t intended to be a major statement, and wasn’t treated as such. Nor should it be. If Elvis sulked about that, he soon moved on.
The reissue delivered further on the concept with the inclusion of the Dead’s “Ship Of Fools” (the only “outtake” from the Kojak sessions) and other tracks from various ubiquitous cover albums, plus ten covers he’d recorded as demos for George Jones (which the man apparently ignored) that further explore some of his favorite songs. The George Jones tracks aside, the bonus disc was a nice way to mop up some strays that were the only reason to buy some of those odd albums. Yet it remains one of the lesser lights in the catalog.
Elvis Costello Kojak Variety (1995)—2½
2004 Rhino: same as 1995, plus 20 extra tracks
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