Elvis Costello and the Attractions
24 September 1983
Civic Auditorium
San Francisco, California
JEMS Master Recording

Recording Gear: Sony WM-D6 with ECM-939 stereo mic

JEMS 2023 Transfer: Master cassettes > Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 3.3.3 (24/96 capture to .wav) > iZotope RX7 and Ozone 6 mastering > iZotope MBIT+ resample to 16/44 > FLAC > finishing with TLH

Musicians:

Elvis Costello - vocals, guitar
Steve Nieve - keyboards
Bruce Thomas - bass
Pete Thomas - drums

With The TKO Horns

Dave Plews - trumpet
Paul Speare - tenor saxophone
Jeff Blythe - alto saxophone
Jim Paterson - trombone

and Afrodiziak

Claudia Fontaine - backing vocals
Caron Wheeler - backing vocals

01. Intro
02. Let Them All Talk
03. Possession
04. Watching the Detectives
05. Watch Your Step
06. The Greatest Thing
07. Man Out of Time
08. Kid About It
09. Mystery Dance
10. Shabby Doll
11. The Bells
12. (What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding
13. New Lace Sleeves
14. Shipbuilding
15. Big Sister’s Clothes
16. Stand Down Margaret
17. Beyond Belief
18. Clubland
19. The World And His Wife
20. Alison (w/ “Living A Little, Laughing A Little”)
21. Backstabbers -> King Horse
22. Clowntime Is Over
23. Pills and Soap
24. Charm School
25. TKO (Boxing Day)
26. Everyday I Write the Book
27. Moods For Moderns Riff - > I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down
28. Pump It Up (incomplete)

Here’s a JEMS Master Recording of Elvis Costello and the Attractions, performing the final U.S. date in 1983 at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.

The end of the road found Elvis and his bandmates in a mood, alright. Things sound a bit rushed, and many familiar sounds get sung or played in slightly different ways. Was it meant to push boundaries, have fun, and get off the script a bit? That makes the most sense.

Whether you find playback intriguing or perplexing, the recording picked up a good amount of reverb, making most of Elvis’ remarks hard to decipher. It’s a boomy, distant capture that underscores what Jared would occasionally say: “a tape is better than no tape.”

Thanks to mjk5510 for mastering and to area51gm for presenting this tour and others. A tip of the hat to my cohort BK and the good people who maintain the Elvis Costello Wiki. We remember Jared and Stand for their wit, friendship, and taping savoir faire.

Here's to Clocking In. I look forward to the remainder of ’83 and already have an eye on 1984 — there’s always more to come.

Share it freely, and for free!

- slipkid68