Blood and Chocolate (album)

Blood and Chocolate
Studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Released	September 15 1986
Recorded	March-May 1986
Genre	Rock
Length	47:48
Label	Demon (UK) Columbia (US) Rykodisc (September 5 1995 Reissue) Rhino (February 19 2002 Reissue)
Producer	Nick Lowe and Colin Fairley
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A-) link Rolling Stone (not rated) link
Elvis Costello and the Attractions chronology
King of America (1986) Blood and Chocolate (1986) Out of Our Idiot (1987)

Blood and Chocolate is an album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The album reunited Costello, the Attractions and producer Nick Lowe, but it was the last recorded by the group before a breakup that would last for eight years. The album was, unusually for its time as a studio album, recorded in a single large room at high volume, with the band listening to each other on monitor speakers rather than headphones. Costello describes it as "a record of people beating and twanging things with a fair amount of yelling". Costello's singing and playing is credited on the album under the pseudonym "Napoleon Dynamite," while his songwriting is credited to him under his actual surname, "MacManus" (with the exception of "I Hope You're Happy Now", which is credited to "Costello"). The album uses Esperanto to list musician credits and LP sides.

Track listing

All songs written by Elvis Costello unless otherwise indicated.

Side one

1. "Uncomplicated" – 3:26
2. "I Hope You're Happy Now" – 3:07
3. "Tokyo Storm Warning" (Costello, Cait O'Riordan) – 6:24
4. "Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head" – 5:04
5. "I Want You" – 6:40

Side two

1. "Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?" – 2:08
2. "Blue Chair" – 3:09
3. "Battered Old Bird" – 5:50
4. "Crimes of Paris" – 4:19
5. "Poor Napoleon" – 3:21
6. "Next Time Round" – 3:35

CD reissue bonus tracks (1995 Rykodisc)

1. "Seven Day Weekend" (with Jimmy Cliff) (Costello, Jimmy Cliff) – 2:36
2. "Forgive Her Anything" – 3:11
3. "Blue Chair" (Single version) – 3:38
4. "Baby's Got a Brand New Hairdo" – 3:23
5. "American without Tears No. 2" (Twilight version) – 3:33
6. "A Town Called Big Nothing (Really Big Nothing)" – 5:44

Bonus disc (2002 Rhino)

1. "Leave My Kitten Alone" (Little Willie John, James McDougal, Titus Turner) – 3:24
2. "New Rhythm Method" – 2:30
3. "Forgive Her Anything" (new version) – 3:51
4. "Crimes of Paris" (electric version) – 4:37
5. "Uncomplicated" (alternate version) – 3:06
6. "Battered Old Bird" (alternate version) – 4:24
7. "Seven Day Weekend" (with Jimmy Cliff) (Costello, Cliff) – 2:36
8. "Blue Chair" – 3:41
9. "Baby's Got a Brand New Hairdo" (live) – 3:25
10. "American Without Tears No. 2" – 3:35
11. "All These Things" (Allen Toussaint) – 3:04
12. "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" (Drew Baker, Dani McCormick) – 2:34
13. "Running Out of Fools" (Richard Ahlert, Kay Rogers) – 2:35
14. "Tell Me Right Now" (Joe Tex) – 3:05
15. "Lonely Blue Boy" (Benjamin Weisman, Fred Wise) – 2:04

Note: The Rykodisc version has the original tracks and bonus tracks on one CD. The Rhino version has two CDs with the original tracks on the first CD.

Personnel

• Elvis Costello – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals, harmonium, tambourine, bellows, canes, knives, bass, Vox Continental electric organ
• Steve Nieve – piano, organ, harmonium
• Bruce Thomas – bass, electric guitar, saxophone
• Pete Thomas – drums, alto saxophone

Additional personnel

• Nick Lowe – acoustic guitar
• Cait O'Riordan – vocals, backing vocals

Note: Instrumental credits were listed in Esperanto. Translations of balgo, kanoj, klingovaroj approximate, at best.

External links

• "Napoleon Dynamite's Last Stand" - essay by Connor Ratliff