Elvis Costello is urging fans to stay away from a new reissued vinyl version of his 1991 Mighty Like A Rose album. The album, which featured two of his then-recent collaborations with Paul McCartney, was his second in his contract with Warner Bros. Records. The singer/songwriter has taken to his social media platforms to let fans know the album has been reissued and marketed without his input.
Costello, who has always take a very active role in how his catalogue is handled, tweeted:
Really mystified why these gimmicky, opportunistic releases are being punted out to “specialist” vinyl imprints by WB. These are CD era recordings that took advantage of the larger canvas.
WB have never consulted or asked for the involvement of the artist, missing the opportunity to make these worthwhile double-vinyl editions. Do not patronize. They are just making up the numbers. ELVIS COSTELLO – MIGHTY LIKE A ROSE – Music On Vinyl.
When we last caught up with Elvis Costello, he spoke about the process of how he usually interacts with his record labels regarding reissues and assorted compilations: “They run by me the list of things, y'know, that we might do. I know most of the records by now, I don't listen to my own records very much. When they send them over, y'know, they remaster them — or something like that — I probably check 'em to make sure they've come out sounding like I remember. I mean, you're trying to make a program that might interest people who've maybe never heard you before. I mean, I would've thought by now most of the people who followed my career avidly, probably have all my records — but there's a lot of people in the world, y'know. That's the thinking.”