Matters of intraband discord aside, the fact that Costello did not make King of America as a proper Attractions album makes some sense. Its fixation on American music--specifically country music, folk, and blues--required a reserved simplicity outside the natural styles of the jittery, virtuosic Thomases: bassist Bruce and drummer Pete, that is. Perhaps Elvis had learned his lesson after making the fairly unnatural Almost Blue, his previous C&W experiment, with the Attractions. In any event, King of America sounds correct. The basic, professional backing Costello receives is not spectacularly exciting, but it allows the classic craftsmanship of his songwriting to shine through. "Brilliant Mistake", "Our Little Angel", "I'll Wear It Proudly", "American Without Tears", "Little Palaces", and "Suit of Lights", a bitter reflection on his dad's career as a band leader, are all fine pieces of work. A cover of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" was slinky and seething enough to released as a single. Some of the material is fairly forgettable, but King of America likely helped Costello accept the idea that he could go it sans-Attractions, which, following one last fiery dust-up with Blood and Chocolate, released a few months after King, is exactly what he did.
My introduction to King of America was Rykodisc's 1995 CD reissue, and I found it odd that Costello would go to the trouble of making such authentically rustic American-style music only to produce it with T Bone Burnett in harsh, digital fashion. After my wife passed her old vinyl copy on Columbia along to me, I realized the sound-issue was Rykodisc's and not King of America's and was surprised by how warm and natural the record sounded.
So my big question when I heard that King of America would be getting a vinyl reissue this year was "how will this new reissue stand up against that warm, old Columbia disc?" Well, it's fairly warm but not as punchy, nor is it cut as loudly. The vinyl is quiet and flat, though, and there's no groove distortion.
