Pitchfork

The first half of every great artist's career is spent becoming immortal and the last half is spent reaffirming that immortality. At least that's the case with the prolific and well-loved musician Elvis Costello, who recently emerged from a large pile of anthologies and compilations to announce the reissuing of his 1986 album, King of America. The LP marks the first effort in which Costello left his longtime supporting band, the Attractions (they appear here on only one track). Costello assures his listeners, however, that this is not a marketing tool or a chance to rack in more and more dough. According to a Billboard report, during a brief question/answer session at this year's annual SXSW festival Costello remarked, "[The reissues are] for those who missed it the first time around, not for those obsessed with having everything."

Due April 26 from Rhino, the set will include a 21-song second disc of rarities such as a spattering of Costello solo demos, live recordings, and work with the Coward Brothers.

Interestingly, a reissue of the same album in 1995 through Rykodisc proves to have some of the same material. Most of the the live material featured on Rhino's version once appeared on the previous Ryko effort. The solo demo recordings found on Rhino's version act as the major difference between the two reissues.