The premiere episode features
Costello performing Elton
John’s Border Song.
to maybe talk about some
things that they don’t get
to talk about in the regular
showbiz interview.”
Spectacle strives for a
different stylistic approach
than on the talk show
circuit. Interviews are not
intended as a vehicle for
artists to promote their
latest work.
Cadence & Camaraderie
Each show opens with the
performance of a song, to
set the tone and establish
a context for the figure
in the spotlight. To kick
off the Clinton episode,
Costello was joined by
guitarist James Burton, a
former member of Elvis Presley’s band,
for a version of Mystery Train. According to Costello, the performance of the
Sun Records classic, covered in a 1955
recording by the King, is a nod to the fact
that Clinton’s nickname in the White
House was Elvis. It also sets the stage
for the former president to talk about
music as an important element in his
early life, and for discussion of certain
qualities that politicians and performers
share. As Costello put it in L.A., “Some of
the talents that a politician needs—the
ability to command a room, a sense of
cadence—are the same things musicians
know about.”
The inaugural episode of the series,
featuring John, opens with a stirring rendition of the British pop icon’s gospel-infused Border Song. With John waiting
in the wings, Costello lets it rip, backed
by Burton on guitar, the rhythm section
from his own band The Imposters, and
New Orleans R&B legend Allen Toussaint on piano. Toussaint also contributes a silken second verse, lending an
exquisite counterpoint to Costello’s
throaty lead vocal.
Such considered performances are
sprinkled through the shows. Together
with a number of more intimate, illustrative moments—John at the piano
describing the stylistic influence of
Leon Russell; Lou Reed strumming an
acoustic guitar as he explains the original rhythm figure for Sweet Jane—they
provide a lively soundtrack for the series.
Playing the Host
The concept for Spectacle began to gel in
2003, after veteran music writer Stephen
Warden, the creator of the show, saw
Costello sit in one night for David Letterman as a guest host of The Late Show on
CBS. Watching Costello’s turn in the
