| Mighty Like a Rose | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Elvis Costello |
| Cover: | Elvis Costello - Mighty Like a Rose.jpg |
| Released: | 14 May 1991 |
| Recorded: | 1990–1991 |
| Studio: | Ocean Way, Hollywood |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 54:19 |
| Label: | Warner Bros. |
| Producer: |
|
| Prev Title: | Spike |
| Prev Year: | 1989 |
| Next Title: | G.B.H. |
| Next Year: | 1991 |
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.[3] It peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart, and at No. 55 on the Billboard 200.
The album was initially intended to be released under Costello's birth name, Declan MacManus, as the singer had grown tired of the Elvis Costello pseudonym. Record label pressures, however, won the day and the release was 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.[3] 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.[3] The opening track, "The Other Side of Summer" was designed as a Beach Boys pastiche after their style in the early 1970s.[3] The track "Invasion Hit Parade" features a trumpet solo by Costello's father, Ross MacManus. The album also features "Broken", a song written by his wife at the time, Cait O'Riordan, to whom the album is dedicated.
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.
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.[3]
All songs written by Elvis Costello, except where noted; track lengths taken from Rhino 2002 reissue.
Tracks 2, 9–13, and 15–17 are solo demo recordings.
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 5 |
| The Billboard 200 | 55 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "The Other Side of Summer" | UK Singles Chart | 43 |
| Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 40 | ||
| Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 1 | ||