Kojak Variety

Kojak Variety is a 1995 album by Elvis Costello, composed of cover songs written by others.

Costello's rendering of "Days" by The Kinks had previously appeared on the album Until the End of the World, the 1991 soundtrack to Wim Wenders' film of the same name. The remainder of the songs were recorded specifically for this album. The title Kojak Variety refers to the name of a variety store in Barbados near where the album was recorded; Costello was amused by the seemingly random name of the enterprise, and in a similar spirit, decided to apply the name to his album.

Track listing
Tracks 1 and 5 are faded later and have slightly longer running times on the 2004 reissue
 * 1) "Strange" (Screamin' Jay Hawkins) – 2:39 (2:49 on 2004 reissue)
 * 2) "Hidden Charms" (Willie Dixon) – 3:29
 * 3) "Remove This Doubt" (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland, Jr.) – 3:52
 * 4) "I Threw It All Away" (Bob Dylan) – 3:23
 * 5) "Leave My Kitten Alone" (Little Willie John, Titus Turner) – 3:10 (3:18 on 2004 reissue)
 * 6) "Everybody's Crying Mercy" (Mose Allison) – 4:05
 * 7) "I've Been Wrong Before" (Randy Newman) – 3:01
 * 8) "Bama Lama Bama Loo" (Richard Penniman) – 2:45
 * 9) "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face?" (Bill Anderson) – 3:49
 * 10) "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" (Drew Baker, Dani McCormick) – 3:39
 * 11) "The Very Thought of You" (Ray Noble) – 3:42
 * 12) "Payday" (Jesse Winchester) – 2:57
 * 13) "Please Stay" (Burt Bacharach, Bob Hilliard) – 4:49
 * 14) "Running Out of Fools" (Richard Ahlert, Kay Rogers) – 3:04
 * 15) "Days" (Ray Davies) – 4:54

Bonus disc (2004 Rhino)

 * 1) "Ship of Fools" (Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter) – 5:21
 * 2) "My Resistance Is Low" (Harold Adamson, Hoagy Carmichael) – 2:00
 * 3) "Innocent When You Dream" (Tom Waits) – 4:30
 * 4) "I'm Coming Home" (T-Bone Burnett) – 3:13
 * 5) "The Dark End of the Street" (Chips Moman, Dan Penn) – 3:10
 * 6) "Congratulations" (Paul Simon) – 2:47
 * 7) "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" (Dylan) – 2:13
 * 8) "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" (Alternate version) (Baker, McCormick) – 2:54
 * 9) "Still Feeling Blue" (Gram Parsons) – 2:23
 * 10) "Brilliant Disguise" (Bruce Springsteen) – 4:03
 * 11) "How Long Has This Been Going On?" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 2:31
 * 12) "Sleepless Nights" (Felice Bryant, Boudleaux Bryant) – 3:58
 * 13) "Step Inside Love" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 2:49
 * 14) "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (Lennon, McCartney) – 2:38
 * 15) "Sally Sue Brown" (Arthur Alexander) – 2:19
 * 16) "Sticks and Stones" (Turner) – 1:36
 * 17) "That's How You Got Killed Before" (with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band) (Dave Bartholomew) – 3:14
 * 18) "The Night Before Larry Was Stretched" (traditional) – 5:10
 * 19) "But Not for Me" (with Larry Adler) (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin) – 5:04
 * 20) "Full Force Gale" (Van Morrison) – 2:59

Personnel

 * Elvis Costello – harmonica, vocals
 * James Burton – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, rhythm guitar
 * Jim Keltner – drums
 * Larry Knechtel – piano Hammond organ, electric piano
 * Marc Ribot – banjo, electric guitar, rhythm guitar, horn, classical guitar
 * Jerry Scheff – bass
 * Pete Thomas – drums

Charts
Album