Spanish Model

by Elvis Costello, Elvis Costello & the Attractions

Overview

On the face of it, Spanish Model seems destined to be a curiosity: it features the original Attractions backing tracks from Elvis Costello's classic 1978 album This Year's Model with new vocal overdubs by contemporary Latin artists. Costello came up with the idea after revisiting the original session tapes for This Year's Model in 2018 -- he and his co-producer Sebastian Krys were turning "This Year's Girl" into a duet featuring Natalie Bergman -- and finding the band sounded powerful in their own right with his lead vocals stripped away. He soon came up with the idea of recording a Spanish-language version of the album, recruiting musicians from around the globe -- including Juanes, Nina Diaz, Jesse & Joy, Luis Fonsi, Fito Paez, and La Marisoul -- to help translate and shape the original material into something fresh. Far from being an intellectual exercise, the resulting Spanish Model retains the vigor of the Attractions yet sounds brighter and openhearted in the hands of Latin singers. Some of the change in tenor is certainly due to the absence of a vitriolic young Costello. Back in 1978, he sang in a furious rush, spitting out insults and paranoia. The singers here take their time with the melody and the words, a shift that helps pull the compositions into sharp relief; they sound more pop and less punk in this incarnation. Even if the melodies feel more pronounced on Spanish Model, the barbed humor and spiky politics remain -- "Night Rally," performed here by Jorge Drexler, sounds prescient about 21st century fascism -- and the decision to widen the net to include such non-LP songs as "Big Tears," "Radio, Radio," "Crawling to the USA," and "Running Out of Angels" (all included as bonus cuts on subsequent reissues; "Radio Radio" was on the original U.S. version of the LP) helps broaden the musical and emotional palette of the album. The end result winds up not as a curiosity but rather a small wonder, revealing new dimensions of the original recording while opening up these songs for new audiences. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	09/10/2021
Label:	Universal
UPC:	0602438261451

Tracks

13. Llorar [Big Tears]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Elvis Costello & the Attractions   Primary Artist
Elvis Costello   Primary Artist,Guitar,Voices
Marisol Hernandez   Primary Artist
Marisol "La Marisoul" Hernandez   Primary Artist,Voices
Jesse   Primary Artist,Primary Artist
Raquel Sofia   Primary Artist,Voices
Sebastian Yatra   Primary Artist,Voices
Morat   Primary Artist,Voices
Nicole Zignago   Primary Artist,Voices
Fito Paez   Primary Artist,Voices
Juanes   Primary Artist,Voices
Jorge Drexler   Primary Artist,Voices
Joy   Primary Artist
Luis Fonsi   Primary Artist,Voices
Jesse & Joy   Primary Artist,Voices
Gian Marco   Primary Artist,Voices
Nina Diaz   Primary Artist,Voices
Fuego   Primary Artist,Voices
Draco Rosa   Primary Artist,Voices
Cami   Primary Artist,Voices
Francisca Valenzuela   Primary Artist,Voices
Luis Humberto Navejas   Primary Artist,Voices
Vega   Primary Artist,Voices
Pablo Lopez   Primary Artist,Voices
Kike Fuentes   Guitar
Steve Nieve   Keyboards
Bruce Thomas   Bass
Pete Thomas   Drums
Mick Jones   Guitar

Technical Credits

Pablo Lopez   Lyric Adaptations,Translation
Raquel Sofia   Translation,Lyric Adaptations
Morat   Translation,Lyric Adaptations
Fuego   Lyric Adaptations,Composer,Translation
Andrea Sandoval   Translation,Lyric Adaptations
Luis Mitre   Translation,Lyric Adaptations
Elvis Costello   Composer
Elsten Creole Torres   Translation,Lyric Adaptations
Fito Paez   Translation,Lyric Adaptations
Juanes   Translation,Lyric Adaptations
Jorge Drexler   Translation,Lyric Adaptations
Sebastian Krys   Producer
Jesse & Joy   Translation,Lyric Adaptations
Nick Lowe   Producer
Draco Rosa   Translation,Lyric Adaptations
Ximena Munoz   Translation,Lyric Adaptations
Francisca Valenzuela   Translation
Brian Lucey   Mastering Engineer
Vega   Lyric Adaptations,Translation
Carlos Vandera   Translation,Lyric Adaptations
Luis Humberto Navejas   Translation