Sound Check: Elvis Costello
May 10, 2001 -- ELVIS LIVES: Rhino Records will reissue all of Elvis Costello's recordings for Columbia and Warner Bros. Records, according to Billboard magazine. The first set of reissues, due Aug. 7, will include 1977's My Aim Is True, 1989's Spike, and 1996's All This Useless Beauty. Added to the remastered originals will be previously unreleased outtakes and other rare material. The second set of reissues — comprised of three albums he recorded with the Attractions — is due Oct. 16.
MICHAEL AND THE SAINTS: R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe lent electronica duo Utah Saints a hand — or a voice, at least — on their first album since 1992. Two, due July 30 on Nettwerk Records, features Stipe's voice, recorded with his permission in a lengthy telephone conversation, spliced into four songs.
COME IN, HOUSTON: Whitney Houston is reportedly planning to return to the studio to begin a follow-up to 1998's My Love Is Your Love. Rap star Missy Elliott has said she plans to work with the diva, and Lionel Richie is rumored to have penned some songs for her.
ORDER IN THE COURT: New York hard rock act Vision of Disorder has completed work on its fourth album — and first for TVT Records — for a planned June 22 release. The disc, From Bliss to Devastation, was produced by someone who calls himself or herself Machine — the same person who produced typographical curiosity (hed) p.e.
HELP WANTED: Looking for a big break? Rapper Slick Rick is inviting aspiring producers to upload samples of their work in the next three months through the StreetLabs Web site, www.streetlabs.com. Slick Rick will tap a producer he likes for a guest spot on his next album.
EXTENDED PLAY: Scottish pop act Belle and Sebastian are planning two EPs for release this summer. The first, Jonathan David, is due June 12 from Matador Records, while there is no information yet on the second release. The group also recently recorded music for Todd Solondz's film Storytelling, due out this fall.
PRESIDENT DIES IN COUP: Political hip-hoppers The Coup teamed with rap act Dead Prez this week in New York to record a song for an upcoming album, The Party. The Bay Area group, featuring Boots Riley and DJ Pram the Funkstress, plans to release the disc this fall on 75 Ark.
THE 300 PERCENT PRODUCTION: With a three-to-one ratio of producers to artists, Scapegoat Wax's Okeeblow promises plenty of studio trickery. Scapegoat Wax is, essentially, Marty James, but he gets a hand on his Grand Royale debut from Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys), Mickey P (Beck), and Eric Valentine (Smash Mouth).
THOMAS & THOMAS: R&B singer Carl Thomas plans to team with (unrelated) Matchbox Twenty singer Rob Thomas for Carl's second, as-yet-untitled album, according to MTV. The last time the Matchbox Twenty singer lent his help to another artist, piles of cash and boxes of Grammy trophies followed.
PENNING AND PICKING TUNES: Singer-songwriter Michael Penn recently completed work on the soundtrack for The Anniversary Party, a movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Penn wrote and recorded the incidental music for the film, in addition to selecting tunes by the Eels, Sammy Davis Jr., and Marlene Dietrich.
For a comprehensive list of CDs due in the next few weeks, check Wall of Sound's Release Dates.