ELVIS COSTELLO : LONELY IN BERLIN

 

Disc One (72:30)

  1. Temptation
  2. Talking in the Dark
  3. American Without Tears
  4. Toledo
  5. What's Her Name Today
  6. (I Don't Wanna Go To) Chelsea
  7. Little Atoms
  8. Almost Blue
  9. Accidents Will Hapen
  10. You Lie Sweetly
  11. Painted From Memory
  12. The House Is Empty Now
  13. Pads, Paws & Claws / Baby, Please Don't Go
  14. Indoor Fireworks
  15. Radio Sweetheart (incl. Winter Interlude / Reet Petite / Jackie Wilson Said)

Disc Two (73:29)

  1. God's Comic (incl. "Heavenly" sequence)
  2. All This Useless Beauty
  3. Deep Dark Truthful Mirror
  4. Alison
  5. In the Darkest Place
  6. applause
  7. Inch by Inch / Fever
  8. Shallow Grave
  9. Watching the Detectives
  10. Every Day I Write the Book (with Ron Sexsmith)
  11. I Want You
  12. I Still Have That Other Girl
  13. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
  14. God Give Me Strength
  15. Couldn't Call It Unexpectd #4

Label : TomTomBoy Productions

Venue : Großer Sendesaal des SFB, Berlin, Germany

Recording Date : May 10, 1999

Quality : Pre-FM Recording (A+)

Review : The 10th of May, 1999 saw the end of the European leg of the Lonely World Tour. Despite the problems of the other German gigs (the Frankfurt show was cancelled due to poor ticket sales), in Berlin Elvis and Steve managed to sell out a 1.100 capacity venue. The Grosse Sendesaal is a historical radio studio from the early 1930s, bringing back pictures from the time when music on the radio was actually played live. Elvis clearly loved the acoustics of the place. On a few occasions, he stepped away from the microphone and sang straight to the audience. His voice carried beautiful through the hall and the attendees obviously loved it. The Songs from "Painted From Memory" formed the spine of this special night, complemented by tunes from all decades of his career. As a special treat for the listeners Elvis performed "Everyday I Write The Book" together with Ron Sexsmith in order to celebrate the last night of their European tour. A radio DJ summed up the night nicely by saying "There were quite a few local musicians in the audience. Unlike the enthusiastic ordinary punters, they looked rather depressed after the show as they slunk out of the venue into the warm spring rain." This gig ranges in the top 5 of all EC recordings I have listened to. Elvis and Steve deliver a delicious setlist and a thrilling performance - all in crystal clear sound. It is a professional recording by Berlin radio station Radio 1, but it never was broadcasted completely (there is only a hard-to-find bootleg called Necessary Illusions around, which captures the 85 minutes which were aired by Radio 1). Now you can listen to it in its entire beauty.