1994 song by Elvis Costello
"13 Steps Lead Down"
is a song written and performed by
new wave
musician
Elvis Costello
that was first released on his 1994 album
Brutal Youth
. Written quickly during a day-long session, the song features lyrics referencing
El Escorial
and the
twelve-step recovery movement
. The track is one of those on
Brutal Youth
that features the reunited
Attractions
, Costello's longtime backing band.
"13 Steps Lead Down" was released as the second single from
Brutal Youth
, reaching number 59 in the UK. It has since been lauded by critics as a return to his punk origins and it has become a live favorite.
Background
[
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]
"13 Steps Lead Down" was written quickly during a one-day writing spree by Costello; during this same day, Costello wrote "Rocking Horse Road," "Pony St.," "Clown Strike," "Still Too Soon to Know," and "Just About Glad."
[3]
Costello recalled, "I would work for about half an hour with the guitar cranked up really loud, and make a tape of just anything that came into my head. I did it in bursts, and then I listened to see if any of it was interesting. A lot of it was gibberish".
The song's title, according to Costello, "refers to that number being used to instill dread in those entering the Tomb of the Spanish Kings at
El Escorial
". He elaborated on the song's lyrical content, "Not that the song continues much with that theme ? it was more for those who could not subscribe to the new fashion of sobriety". Critics have pointed to the song as critical of the
twelve-step recovery movement
.
[4]
The track was one of the songs on
Brutal Youth
that featured Costello's reunited backing band
the Attractions
. Costello later named "13 Steps Lead Down" and "
Sulky Girl
" as "reminders that [the Attractions] could also be a pretty great rock and roll band".
[3]
The song closes with what Rick Anderson of
AllMusic
describes as "one of his patented atonal solos".
[4]
Release and reception
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]
"13 Steps Lead Down" was released as the second single from
Brutal Youth
in the UK, following "
Sulky Girl
". The single was moderately successful, reaching number 59 in the UK. In 1995, Costello criticized the label for releasing the single in the UK, claiming the song was chosen "for no better reason than the fact there was a video made for it" and asserting, "I knew that was never going to be a hit in England."
[5]
The song also reached number 15 on the
Billboard
Bubbling Under chart as well as number six on the
Billboard
Modern Rock chart. The song has since appeared on an
EP
of the same name as well as on the compilation album
Extreme Honey
.
[6]
"13 Steps Lead Down" has generally seen positive reception from critics.
AllMusic
's Stewart Mason called the song "the best and most Attractions-like song" from
Brutal Youth
, while Neil Strauss of
The New York Times
named it as one of the songs from
Brutal Youth
that "hold up to the band's best work from the late 1970's, but ... also dared to be different".
[6]
[7]
Noel Murray and Keith Phipps of
The A.V. Club
dubbed the song "one of Costello’s all-time best fist-pumping stingers" and Jeremy Allen of
The Guardian
called it a "classic".
[8]
[9]
J. D. Considine of
The Baltimore Sun
named the song as a moment on
Brutal Youth
"where you could almost close your eyes and imagine that it's 1978 again", while Ed Masley of
The Arizona Republic
described the song as a highlight of the album that "rock[s] with the infectious charge".
[10]
[11]
Brian Hiatt of
Entertainment Weekly
named the song as one of Costello's top ten tracks, stating, "This insistent, noisy punk track stands up against Costello and the Attractons' early landmarks".
[12]
Non-album B-sides
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]
In the early nineties, Costello was enlisted by
Wendy James
to write an entire album for her called
Now Ain't the Time for Your Tears
, with Costello's versions remaining unreleased until 1994, when many showed up as B-sides to
Brutal Youth
singles.
[13]
[14]
Performance history
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]
"13 Steps Lead Down" has been performed live by Costello since the
Brutal Youth
tour.
[7]
Costello and the reunited Attractions debuted the song live on
Late Show with David Letterman
in 1994, ending the song with the closing to "
Radio Radio
"; Letterman, a longtime Costello fan, was so impressed by the band's performance of the song that he brought the band back to perform again within months.
[8]
[15]
Costello also performed the song for a scene in a season 3 episode of
The Larry Sanders Show
before trashing his dressing room.
[16]
Charts
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]
References
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]
Citations
- ^
"News".
Melody Maker
. 16 April 1994. p. 4.
- ^
a
b
Brutal Youth
(Liner notes). Elvis Costello. 2002.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
- ^
a
b
Anderson, Rick.
"13 Steps Lead Down - Elvis Costello | Song Info | AllMusic"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
20 May
2020
.
- ^
Doggett, Peter (October 1995). "Elvis Costello: The Record Collector Interview, Part 2".
Record Collector
.
194
.
- ^
a
b
Mason, Stewart.
"13 Steps Lead Down [EP] - Elvis Costello | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
20 May
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Strauss, Neil (10 June 1994).
"Review/Pop; Down Memory Lane the Elvis Costello Way"
.
The New York Times
. Archived from
the original
on 2018-11-08
. Retrieved
20 May
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Murray, Noel; Phipps, Keith (25 April 2008).
"How to navigate through 40 years of Elvis Costello's pop mastery"
.
The A.V. Club
. Retrieved
20 May
2020
.
- ^
Allen, Jeremy.
"Elvis Costello: 10 of the best"
.
The Guardian
.
Archived
from the original on 18 February 2019
. Retrieved
17 February
2019
.
- ^
Considine, J. D.
"Costello reaches back but still comes up short"
.
The Baltimore Sun
. Archived from
the original
on June 23, 2021
. Retrieved
20 May
2020
.
- ^
Masley, Ed.
"Essential Elvis Costello: 20 best albums"
. The Arizona Republic
. Retrieved
19 November
2019
.
- ^
Hiatt, Brian.
"Elvis Costello's 10 greatest tunes"
.
Entertainment Weekly
. Meredith Corporation.
Archived
from the original on 23 February 2019
. Retrieved
22 February
2019
.
- ^
"Wendy James"
.
Trouser Press
. Retrieved
2021-10-30
.
- ^
"Elvis Costello - 13 Steps Lead Down"
.
Discogs
. 1994
. Retrieved
2021-10-30
.
- ^
Wilcox, Tyler (11 October 2018).
"An Ode to Elvis Costello's Stellar Backing Bands, the Attractions and the Imposters"
.
Pitchfork
. Retrieved
20 May
2020
.
- ^
Harrod, Horatia (17 June 2009).
"Elvis Costello: unsung hero of... comedy?"
. The Telegraph
. Retrieved
20 May
2020
.
- ^
"Official Singles Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^
"Bubbling Under the Hot 100"
.
Billboard
. Vol. 106, no. 14. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Apr 2, 1994. p. 77
. Retrieved
20 May
2020
.
- ^
"Elvis Costello | Modern Rock Tracks"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
20 May
2020
.
Sources
- Thomson, Graeme (2006).
Complicated Shadows: The Life and Music of Elvis Costello
. Canongate U.S.
ISBN
978-1841957968
.
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