TRUST
ORIGINAL ALBUM (41:53)
- Clubland (3:42)
- Lovers Walk (2:16)
- You'll Never Be A Man (2:55)
- Pretty Words (3:10)
- Strict Time (2:40)
- Luxembourg (2:26)
- Watch Your Step (2:58)
- New Lace Sleeves (3:45)
- From A Whisper To A Scream (2:53)
- Different Finger (1:58)
- White Knuckles (3:47)
- Shot With His Own Gun (3:29)
- Fish 'N' Chip Paper (2:54)
- Big Sister's Clothes (2:12)
BONUS DISC (50:02)
- Black Sails In The Sunset (3:07)
- Big Sister (2:15)
- Twenty-Five To Twelve (4:03)
- Sad About Girls (2:47)
- From A Whisper To A Scream (alternate version) (3:24)
- Watch Your Step (alternate version) (2:44)
- Clubland (alternate take) (4:00)
- You'll Never Be A Man (alternate take) (3:08)
- Slow Down (2:23)
- Big Sister (alternate version) (5:04)
- Black Sails In The Sunset (alternate version) (3:05)
- Hoover Factory (alternate version) (1:43)
- Love For Sale (3:02)
- Boy With A Problem (2:30)
- Weeper's Dream (1:05)
- Gloomy Sunday (3:12)
- The Long Honeymoon (instrumental piano demo) (1:41)
Trust was one of the more
impressive releases in Rykodisc's mid-'90s reissue campaign. Because
only two non-album tracks from the period had previously been released,
it was necessary to dig a little to find additional bonus material,
resulting in seven previously unreleased recordings. (Only six are
repeated here, since "Seconds Of Pleasure" has been moved to Rhino's Imperial Bedroom
bonus disc.) With many of the best outtakes already available, Rhino's
bonus disc was bound to be a bit anticlimactic, but the nine new
outtakes, all studio recordings, prove the bottom of the barrel had not
yet been scraped.
There is some confusion surrounding the Trust recording sessions. Elvis wrote in the Ryko liner
notes that the album "was recorded in late October and early November of
1980 at DJM Studios near Holborn, although we inevitably returned to
Eden Studios for the final sessions." Despite this suggestion that the
majority of the album was recorded at DJM, the Rhino liner notes have
Elvis telling of the DJM sessions being such a disaster that "it quickly
became apparent" that a different studio was needed, and "we effectively
began again" upon moving to Eden.
Rhino's track notes add to the confusion by repeating "late
October/early November" as the date of the album sessions, but also
offering July 1980 as the recording date for outtakes from the DJM
sessions and September 1980 for additional Eden recordings. Certainly it
seems unlikely that the band would return to DJM in late October if the
July sessions had not gone well. I will operate under the assumption
that the Trust sessions
encompassed all of the reported dates: July at DJM and September at
Eden, with the final sessions taking place in late October and early
November, presumably also at Eden.
WHAT'S NEW
FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM
(ALTERNATE VERSION)
WATCH YOUR STEP (ALTERNATE VERSION)
CLUBLAND (ALTERNATE TAKE)
YOU'LL NEVER BE A MAN (ALTERNATE TAKE)
Deliberately or not, this four-song sequence effectively
illustrates the band's progress in what Elvis describes as "our attempts
to batter the material into shape" during the troubled July 1980
sessions at DJM Studios. "From A Whisper To A Scream" is quite rough and
in some ways a regression from the November 1979 version on the Get Happy!!
bonus disc. (Both versions are sung by Elvis alone and predate Glenn
Tilbrook's involvement.) "Watch Your Step" improves on its November 1979
counterpart (also on the Get Happy!! bonus disc) while
retaining a similarly frenetic approach. "Clubland" is the first to
resemble its album version, with a less ornate but otherwise very
similar instrumental backing. The track is marred only by a weak vocal
and a couple of inferior lyrics which would be rewritten before the
album was completed. "You'll Never Be A Man" is quite close to the final
take and is perhaps the most similar "alternate" which has appeared on a
Rhino bonus disc to date.
SLOW DOWN
A definite highlight of the bonus disc, this is Elvis' only
officially released version of the Larry Williams song. It was recorded
at Eden in September 1980.
BIG SISTER (ALTERNATE VERSION)
This much slower and longer (the latter not entirely due to the
former) attempt at "Big Sister" downplays the humor and focuses on the
anger in the lyrics. It was recorded at DJM in July 1980.
BLACK SAILS IN THE SUNSET
(ALTERNATE VERSION)
This earlier version of "Black Sails In The Sunset" with Elvis
accompanied only by Steve Nieve was recorded at Eden Studios in October
1979 during the Get
Happy!! sessions (or "shortly after" those sessions,
according to Elvis' liner notes). This had been mentioned as "lost" in
the liner notes for the Ryko Trust.
HOOVER FACTORY (ALTERNATE VERSION)
This version of "Hoover Factory" is a bit of a mystery. It was
apparently added to the bonus disc at the last minute and is not
mentioned at all in Elvis' liner notes. It is credited as an Eden
Studios recording from "late 1980/early 1981." Since the earlier
recording of "Hoover Factory" had been released in November 1980 on Taking Liberties
and Ten Bloody Marys, there
would be little reason for Elvis to record it again in the months
immediately following. It seems far more likely that this would have
been recorded during the earliest portions of "late 1980" -- perhaps in
September, when "Twenty-Five To Twelve" and "Slow Down" were recorded at
Eden. In this speculative scenario, Elvis attempted this version of
"Hoover Factory" either as a contender for Trust or perhaps even specifically
for Taking Liberties/Ten Bloody Marys but, dissatisfied
with the result, decided to release the original version instead. The
alternate is notable for replacing the eccentric instrumentation of the
original with a more traditional keyboard-led backing (presumably
featuring Steve Nieve). The vocals, particularly the multi-tracked
background vocals, are surprisingly faithful to the earlier version.
THE LONG HONEYMOON (INSTRUMENTAL
PIANO DEMO)
Recorded along with "Gloomy Sunday" at September Sound Studios in
Huddersfield during the Trust
tour in March 1981, this is one of those recordings which Elvis had
spoken about for years prior to its official release. Elvis had
attempted without success to instigate a songwriting collaboration with
Sammy Cahn by sending him this instrumental demo and inviting him to
write lyrics for it. Strangely, Elvis says on 1982's A Conversation With Elvis Costello
promo LP that Steve Nieve played the piano on the demo, but it is almost
certainly the work of Elvis himself.
RYKO
REPEATS
BLACK SAILS IN THE SUNSET
Elvis' liner notes say this was recorded at DJM Studios and
considered a contender for Trust,
which would seem to place the recording date as no later than November
1980, while Rhino's track notes identify it as an Eden Studios recording
from "late 1980/early 1981." The confusion may be the result of the Out Of Our Idiot track notes
indicating it was mixed at Eden
(in 1980) without identifying the studio where it was recorded.
According to Elvis' recollection in the Ryko notes, "This version was
removed from the album sequence, as I believed we might still record a
superior version. However the song never seemed to fit onto any
subsequent album," and this recording eventually surfaced in 1986 on the
B-side of "Tokyo Storm Warning" and on Out
Of Our Idiot the following year. The version on the Ryko Trust inexplicably fades about 13
seconds early, but it is complete on all other releases.
BIG SISTER
Intended for Trust but
removed once the song was reworked as "Big Sister's Clothes," this is
identified as a DJM recording in Rhino's track notes, although Out Of Our Idiot had placed it as
coming from Eden. This was first issued on the obscure NME Dancin' Master cassette and later
found wider release on the B-side of "You Little Fool" and Out Of Our Idiot.
TWENTY-FIVE TO TWELVE
Recorded in September 1980 at Eden Studios, "Twenty-Five To
Twelve" was an entirely unknown song prior to its appearance on the Ryko Trust. The Rhino version runs about
10 seconds longer than the Ryko.
SAD ABOUT GIRLS
The Attractions had probably just put the finishing touches on
their album without Elvis, Mad About
The Wrong Boy (released in September 1980), when they re-recorded
one of its songs with Elvis at DJM in July 1980. Written by Steve Nieve
and his then-girlfriend Fay Hart, "Sad About Girls" had been sung by
Elvis in concert a few times, but it is unclear how serious a contender
it ever was for Trust. It was
released for the first time on the Ryko CD.
LOVE FOR SALE
BOY WITH A PROBLEM
WEEPER'S DREAM
These three tracks were released for the first time on the Ryko
CD. All were recorded at Eden Studios and credited with the vague
recording date of "early 1980/late 1981," which means they were recorded
either at the end of the Trust
sessions or shortly after. Certainly none of these is likely to have
been intended for Trust. Cole
Porter's "Love For Sale" was recorded with Rockpile guitarist Billy
Bremner. "Boy With A Problem" should probably be labeled "Boy With A
Problem (demo)," as it sounds like an attempt to get a rough version of
the Difford/Costello composition on tape rather than an attempt to
create a releasable performance. It is notable as an early example of
Elvis playing piano and for presenting Chris Difford's original lyric,
which Elvis had altered slightly by the time it was re-recorded for Imperial Bedroom.
"Weeper's Dream" is a brief solo guitar instrumental which Elvis had
written "around 1973."
GLOOMY SUNDAY
Although Elvis' studio recording of this song associated with
Billie Holliday was released for the first time on the Ryko CD, a live
performance of the same guitar-and-vocal arrangement from June 1, 1981
had previously been available on the video Fundamental Frolics. The studio
version was recorded at September Sound Studios in Huddersfield in March
1981.
WHAT'S MISSING (RELEASED RECORDINGS)
All previously released recordings from the Trust period are included in this
collection. However, the demo of "Seconds Of Pleasure" (recorded at
Pathway Studios in August 1981) which had appeared on Ryko's version of Trust
is not included here, turning up instead on Rhino's Imperial Bedroom bonus disc along
with several other demos recorded at the time.
WHAT'S MISSING (UNRELEASED RECORDINGS)
STRICT TIME (REHEARSAL)
NEW LACE SLEEVES (REHEARSAL)
PRETTY WORDS (REHEARSAL)
These three tracks from the Trust
rehearsals (held at a cottage in Devon) were included on an early track
listing for the bonus disc, but they were eventually dropped. It seems
very likely that additional songs exist from the rehearsals.
