Mighty Like a Rose

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Chicago Tribune	^[4]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	C+^[5]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[6]
Los Angeles Times	^[7]
NME	5/10^[8]
Q	^[9]
Rolling Stone	^[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[11]
Uncut	^[12]

Mighty Like A Rose is the 13th studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in 1991 on compact disc as Warner Brothers 26575. The title is presumably a reference to the pop standard "Mighty Lak' a Rose", and although that song does not appear on the album, the words of its first stanza are quoted in the booklet of the 2002 reissue.^[13]^:23 It peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart, and at No. 55 on the Billboard 200.

Content

Originally this album was to be released under Costello's actual name Declan MacManus, having grown tired of the Elvis Costello pseudonym. Record label pressures, however, won the day and it was released as an Elvis Costello record.

Mighty Like a Rose continues in the vein of Costello's previous album Spike from 1989, although with Mitchell Froom taking over the producer's chair from T-Bone Burnett. This time, the tracks were recorded in one location, Ocean Way in Hollywood, with orchestral and vocal overdubs taking place at Westside Studios in London.^[13]^:26 Two more songs from his collaboration with Paul McCartney appear, "Playboy to a Man" and a song selected as a single, "So Like Candy".

Costello refers to this as an angry record, recorded in the aftermath of the Gulf War.^[13]^:3 The opening track, "The Other Side of Summer" was designed as a Beach Boys pastiche after their style in the early 1970s.^[13]^:5 The track "Invasion Hit Parade" features a trumpet solo by Costello's father, Ross MacManus. The album also features a song written by his wife at the time, Cait O'Riordan, "Broken". The album is dedicated to her.

The lead single, "The Other Side of Summer", peaked at No. 43 on the UK Singles Chart. Although it missed the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, it reached No. 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 40 on the Album Rock Tracks chart. The second single, "So Like Candy", did not chart in either nation.

Release history

The album was released initially on compact disc in 1991. As part of the Rhino Records reissue campaign for Costello's back catalogue from Demon/Columbia and Warners, it was re-released in 2002 with 17 additional tracks on a bonus disc. Several of these were recorded at Costello's home.^[13]^:26

Track listing

All songs written by Elvis Costello, except where noted; track timings taken from Rhino 2002 reissue.

"The Other Side of Summer" – 3:56
"Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Taking Over)" (Declan MacManus, Jim Keltner) – 4:05
"How to Be Dumb" – 5:14
"All Grown Up" – 4:16
"Invasion Hit Parade" – 5:34
"Harpies Bizarre" – 3:44
"After the Fall" – 4:38
"Georgie and Her Rival" – 3:38
"So Like Candy" (Paul McCartney, MacManus) – 4:36
"Interlude: Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 2" – 0:22
"Playboy to A Man" (McCartney, MacManus) – 3:20
"Sweet Pear" – 3:36
"Broken" (Cait O'Riordan) – 3:37
"Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4" – 3:50

2002 bonus disc

Tracks 2, 9–13, and 15–17 are solo demo recordings.

"Just Another Mystery" – 4:15
"Sweet Pear" – 3:46
"Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4" – 4:18 live at Great Woods 21 June 1991 issued as a b-side to "So Like Candy"
"Mischievous Ghost" (with Mary Coughlan) – 5:47 released on Bringing It All Back Home for BBC Records
"St. Stephen's Day Murders" (Costello, Paddy Moloney) (with The Chieftains) – 3:25 released on The Bells of Dublin
"The Other Side of Summer" – 4:06 recorded for MTV Unplugged 3 June 1991
"Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" – 4:43 recorded for MTV Unplugged 3 June 1991
"Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Taking Over)" (Costello, Keltner) – 4:18 recorded for MTV Unplugged 3 June 1991
"All Grown Up" – 4:36
"Georgie and Her Rival" – 3:22
"Forgive Her Anything" – 4:02
"It Started to Come to Me" – 2:48
"I Still Miss Someone/The Last Town I Painted" (Johnny Cash/Roy Cash Jr., Buddy Word) – 2:47
"Put Your Big Toe in the Milk of Human Kindness" (with Rob Wasserman) – 4:10 released on Trios
"Invasion Hit Parade" – 4:21
"Just Another Mystery" – 3:43
"Broken" (O'Riordan) – 3:22

Personnel

Declan MacManus – acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, maracas, keyboards
Mitchell Froom – organ, celeste, harmonium
Larry Knechtel – organ, piano, Hammond organ, clavinet
Marc Ribot – guitar, cornet, rhythm guitar, horn
Jerry Scheff – electric bass, electric guitar
Jim Keltner – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

Lionel Batiste – drums
Nicholas Bucknail – clarinet
James Burton – acoustic guitar
Gregory Davis – trumpet
Andre Findon – flute
Steve George – backing vocals
Charles Joseph – trombone
Kirk Joseph – tuba
Roger Lewis – baritone saxophone
Ross MacManus – trumpet
Jenell Marshall – drums, percussion
Richard Morgan – oboe
Steve Nieve – keyboards
Richard Page – backing vocals
Simon Rayner – french horn
Steven Soles – backing vocals
Benmont Tench – piano
Pete Thomas – drums, percussion, castanets, tambourine, bells
Efrem Towns – trumpet
Rob Wasserman – electric bass
Tom "T-Bone" Wolk – bass

Charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart	5
The Billboard 200	55

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1991	"The Other Side of Summer"	UK Singles Chart	43
		Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	40
		Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	1

References

↑ Blackwell, Mark (May 1991). "Mighty Like a Rose". Spin. p. 79.
↑ John Floyd (11 July 1996). "Still The King". Miami New Times. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Mighty Like a Rose – Elvis Costello". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
↑ Kot, Greg (16 May 1991). "Elvis Costello: Mighty Like a Rose (Warner)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
↑ Christgau, Robert. "Elvis Costello: Mighty Like a Rose". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
↑ White, Armond (10 May 1991). "Mighty Like a Rose". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
↑ Willman, Chris (12 May 1991). "Costello's 'Rose' a Warm Tour de Force". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
↑ Ellen, Barbara (18 May 1991). "Imperial Boredom". NME.
↑ Snow, Mat (June 1991). "Vengeful". Q (57).
↑ Garbarini, Vic (16 May 1991). "Mighty Like a Rose". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
↑ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Elvis Costello". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside Books. pp. 193–95. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
↑ Hasted, Nick (January 2003). "Snide effects". Uncut (68): 138.
1 2 3 4 5 Costello, Elvis. Mighty Like A Rose. Rhino Records R2 78189, 2002, liner notes.

Elvis Costello

The Imposters: Steve Nieve Pete Thomas Davey Faragher The Attractions: Steve Nieve Pete Thomas Bruce Thomas

Studio albums	My Aim Is True This Year's Model Armed Forces Get Happy!! Trust Almost Blue Imperial Bedroom Punch the Clock Goodbye Cruel World King of America Blood & Chocolate Spike Mighty Like a Rose Brutal Youth Kojak Variety All This Useless Beauty When I Was Cruel North The Delivery Man Il Sogno Momofuku Secret, Profane & Sugarcane National Ransom

Live albums	Live at the El Mocambo Deep Dead Blue with Bill Frisell Costello & Nieve My Flame Burns Blue with Metropole Orkest Live at Hollywood High

Collaborations	The Juliet Letters with The Brodsky Quartet Painted from Memory with Burt Bacharach Terror and Magnificence with John Harle For the Stars with Anne Sofie von Otter Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland The River in Reverse with Allen Toussaint Wise Up Ghost with The Roots Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes

Singles	"Less Than Zero" "Alison" "Red Shoes" "Watching the Detectives" "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" "Pump It Up" "Radio Radio" "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" "Oliver's Army" "Accidents Will Happen" "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" "High Fidelity" "New Amsterdam" "Clubland" "From a Whisper to a Scream" "Sweet Dreams" "You Little Fool" "Man Out of Time" "Pills and Soap" (as The Imposter) "Everyday I Write the Book" "Let Them All Talk" "Peace in Our Time" (as The Imposter) "I Wanna Be Loved"/"Turning the Town Red" "The Only Flame in Town" "The People's Limousine" (as The Coward Brothers) "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" "Seven-Day Weekend" with Jimmy Cliff "Lovable" "Tokyo Storm Warning" "I Want You" "Blue Chair" "A Town Called Big Nothing" (as The MacManus Gang) "Veronica" "Baby Plays Around" "...This Town..." "The Other Side of Summer" "So Like Candy" "Jacksons, Monk & Rowe" with The Brodsky Quartet "Sulky Girl" "13 Steps Lead Down" "You Tripped at Every Step" "London's Brilliant Parade" "It's Time" "Little Atoms" "The Other End of the Telescope" "Distorted Angel" "All This Useless Beauty" "You Bowed Down" "Toledo" with Burt Bacharach "She" "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution)" "45" "Still" "Monkey to Man" "She's Pulling Out the Pin" "Brilliant Mistake" "Who Are These People?" with Burt Bacharach "Bedlam" "Complicated Shadows" "My All Time Doll"

Other songs	"Girls Talk" "Lipstick Vogue" "Almost Blue" "Shipbuilding"

Classical works	Il Sogno performed by the London Symphony Orchestra

Scores	G.B.H. with Richard Harvey Jake's Progress with Richard Harvey

Collaborations	Terror & Magnificence by John Harle The Sweetest Punch by Bill Frisell Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland

Compilations	Taking Liberties Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How's Your Fathers The Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions The Man Out of Our Idiot Girls Girls Girls 2½ Years The Very Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions 1977–86 Extreme Honey The Very Best of Elvis Costello Cruel Smile Rock and Roll Music The Best of Elvis Costello: The First Ten Years Pomp and Pout In Motion Pictures Unfaithful Music and Soundtrack album

Related articles	Discography Ghost Brothers of Darkland County

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