THIS IS THE 2006 EUROPEAN ORIGINAL PRESSING on VERVE FORECAST Records. IN SHRINK SINGLE COVER + INSERT + HYPE STICKER. The cover is in VG+ condition: normal wear and without any major deterioration BUT discolouration/wear on corners [where missing shrink], surface sticker mark on rear (top left corner), left spine is fully readable; INSERT also in great condition; please for details see photos (with and without flashlight). Vinyls in EX condition [barely played] and play wonderfully.

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ELVIS COSTELLO & ALLEN TOUSSAINT

Elvis Costello arrived as a sneering spitfire, the smartest and meanest singer/songwriter in the first wave of 1970s British punk backed by the Attractions, a band who could match his ferocity. Soon, Costello galloped away from the loud, fast rules of punk, demonstrating his musical and verbal facility with Armed Forces, a 1979 album that contained "Oliver's Army," "Accidents Will Happen," and his cover of Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding," a trio of singles that turned into new wave standards. Such rapid musical evolution and switches in style became the rule in Costello's career, as he amassed a catalog that seemed to touch upon every conceivable genre of popular music. Producer, songwriter, arranger, session pianist, solo artist -- Allen Toussaint wore all these hats over the course of his lengthy and prolific career, and his behind-the-scenes work alone would have been enough to make him a legend of New Orleans R&B. Thanks to his work with numerous other artists, Toussaint bore an enormous amount of responsibility for the sound of R&B in the Crescent City from the '60s on into the '70s. His productions kept with the times, moving from rollicking, earthy soul in the '60s to gritty, rambunctious funk in the '70s. As a composer, Toussaint proved himself a consistent hitmaker, penning more than a few gems that have since become R&B standards and been covered by countless artists working in many different styles. In keeping with that across-the-board appeal, Toussaint worked in some supporting capacity for a wide variety of rock and blues legends, particularly from the '70s on. On top of all that, Toussaint waxed his own records from time to time, enjoying a creative peak in the '70s with several albums that highlighted his laid-back vocals and elegantly funky piano work. Even if he wasn't always the most visible figure, Toussaint's contributions to New Orleans music -- and to rock & roll in general -- were such that he earned induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
"THE RIVER IN REVERSE" tracklist Side A: ON YOUR WAY DOWN - NEARER TO YOU - THE SHARPEST THORN Side B: TEARS, TEARS AND MORE TEARS WHO'S GONNA HELP BROTHER GET FURTHER? - THE RIVER IN REVERSE Side C: FREEDOM FOR THE STALLION - BROKEN PROMISE LAND - ASCENSION DAY Side D: INTERNATIONAL ECHO - ALL THESE THINGS - WONDER WOMAN - SIX-FINGERED MAN
2006      2LP     VERVE FORECAST RECORDS     0602498564547
MADE IN THE EU  ORIGINAL PRESSING
IN SHRINK SINGLE COVER + GLOSSY FOLDOUT INSERT + HYPE STICKER
NOTES: Sticker on cover: "A LANDMARK RECORDING! Inspired versions..........."
Barcode and Other Identifiers Barcode: (text) 6 02498 56454 7 Label Code: LC 00383 Rights Society: BIEM / SABAM Other (LP01): 0602498564523 Other (LP02): 0602498564554 Other (Set): 0602498564547
LABEL: VERVE FORECAST - GREEN LABEL - BLACK/WHITE TEXT
Catalog on cover: 0602498564547
Catalog on labels:  DISC ONE: 0602498564523 LP01  0602498564547 DISC TWO: 0602498564524 LP02  0602498564547
Matrix / Runout (Side A, Etched): B 654098 - 01 A1 Matrix / Runout (Side B, Etched): B 654098 - 01 B1 Matrix / Runout (Side C, Etched): B 654098 - 02 C1 Matrix / Runout (Side D, Etched): B 654098 - 02 D1
On labels: rim text "℗ 2006 The Verve Music.......Made in the E.U.  BIEM/SABAM, LC-00383" Produced by Joe Henry Executive...........Toussaint Verve Forecast A Universal Music Company
On Back Cover: Tracklist + Credits file under: rock ℗ 2006 The Verve Music Group................0602498564547.
grading RECORDS EX but (please, read above description) SLEEVE VG+ but (please, see pictures and read above description)

It's impossible to consider The River in Reverse without taking the devastation Hurricane Katrina wreaked upon New Orleans into account. Indeed, it's quite likely that this collaboration between Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint would not even have occurred if it weren't for that cataclysmic event. They've collaborated before -- Toussaint wrote horn charts for Costello's 1989 album Spike -- but neither had plans to work together until they appeared together at several benefit concerts for the victims of Katrina in September of 2005. That kick-started the album that became The River in Reverse. Initially, the plan was for the collaboration to be a songbook album, with Costello and Toussaint performing some highlights from Allen's rich songbook, and while the record bears some remnants of that blueprint -- seven of its 13 songs were written by Toussaint in the '60s and '70s -- the finished work evolved into an elegant, eloquent protest album crafted out of old songs and new. Costello alone wrote the title track, premiering at a benefit concert at Town Hall that September, and its angry account of the flood that wrecked New Orleans provides a touchstone for the other five new songs here, all co-written with Toussaint. "Broken Promise Land," "Ascension Day," and "International Echo" explore the aftermath of Katrina, while "Six-Fingered Man" is a funny acerbic take on a sinful sloth who is "always the first to blow his horn/His achievements multiply/Pity half of them seem to be lies." Toussaint's presence on these five songs tempers but doesn't dilute the churning anger that roils underneath The River in Reverse: "Broken Promise Land" drives along on a swampy funk rhythm, the spare and laid-back "Ascension Day" is a showcase for Allen's piano, "International Echo" revives the rolling spirit of classic New Orleans R&B, while "Six Finger Man" has a grinding, gritty blues backbeat. All five of these new songs are genuine collaborations, bearing the unmistakable stamp of both highly distinctive musicians, but the best compliment that can be paid to them is that they blend seamlessly with the classic Toussaint songs that comprise the rest of the record. When placed next to explicit songs of protest like "Broken Promise Land," such New Orleans R&B and soul staples as "On Your Way Down," "Tears, Tears and More Tears," "Freedom for the Stallion," and especially "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further" with its chorus of "What happen to the Liberty Bell, I heard so much about?/Did it really ding-dong?/It must have dinged wrong/It didn't ding long" take on an entirely different, politically charged meaning...(AllMusic)