SPECTACLE: Elvis Costello With... to Get DVD and Blu Ray Release

MUSIC NEWS - It was announced that the complete first season of the acclaimed Spectacle: Elvis Costello With... tv show will release on November 17, 2009 in DVD and Blu-Ray formats via Video Service Corp (VSC).

Recorded last year at both Harlem's world famous Apollo Theater in NYC and New York’s historic 30 Rockefeller Center, Spectacle featured veteran rocker Elvis Costello as the ultimate talk show hyphenate as he hosted, interviewed, performed and led the house band behind superstars from music, art and even politics. Guests in the first season included Sir Elton John, The Police (Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers), James Taylor, Herbie Hancock, John Mellencamp, Tony Bennett, Renée Fleming, Lou Reed, Julian Schnabel, Jakob Dylan, She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward), Norah Jones, Jenny Lewis, and former President Bill Clinton. WOW !

Available only on the DVD (five disc) and Blu-Ray (4 disc) releases are four bonus performances from Costello not seen on the original telecast: Ballad of a Well Known Gun, Beginning to See the Light, Purple Haze (with The Police), No More Tearstained Makeup and backstage interviews with Sir Elton John, Sting, Smokey Robinson, Rufus Wainwright, Rosanne Cash and Elvis Costello.

“It’s been quite head-spinning to find myself in conversation with some of my favorite musicians and even share a song or two with them,” said Costello, who proved deft in balancing his chat sessions between the artistic process and entertaining backstage anecdotes. “Our guests have been faultlessly generous with their time, their reflections and their music.”

“The response we've had to the show is so gratifying - not only from people who've seen it, but all the artists who've come on with Elvis have been thrilled to be a part of something that's genuinely – and passionately - about music!” said executive producer and guest star Sir Elton John. Sir Elton even plays interviewer in one episode, chatting and interviewing Costello’s wife, singer Diana Krall !

The one-hour series premiered on the Sundance Channel, consistently garnering critical acclaim. With Season Two now in production, viewers can look forward to more A-list guests when the show premieres on December 9, 2009.