13 Steps Lead Down

"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"
Single by Elvis Costello
from the album Brutal Youth
B-side"Do You Know What I'm Saying?"
Released18 April 1994[1]
Genre
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Elvis Costello
Producer(s)Mitchell Froom
Elvis Costello singles chronology
"Sulky Girl"
(1994)		 "13 Steps Lead Down"
(1994)		 "You Tripped at Every Step"
(1994)

"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

"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."[2][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".[2]

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

"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

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

"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
Chart (1994) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[17] 59
US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100[18] 15
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[19] 6

References

Citations

  1. "News". Melody Maker. 16 April 1994. p. 4.
  2. Thomson 2006.
  3. Brutal Youth (Liner notes). Elvis Costello. 2002.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. Anderson, Rick. "13 Steps Lead Down - Elvis Costello | Song Info | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  5. Doggett, Peter (October 1995). "Elvis Costello: The Record Collector Interview, Part 2". Record Collector. 194.
  6. Mason, Stewart. "13 Steps Lead Down [EP] - Elvis Costello | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Allen, Jeremy. "Elvis Costello: 10 of the best". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  10. 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.
  11. Masley, Ed. "Essential Elvis Costello: 20 best albums". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  12. Hiatt, Brian. "Elvis Costello's 10 greatest tunes". Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  13. "Wendy James". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  14. "Elvis Costello - 13 Steps Lead Down". Discogs. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  15. Wilcox, Tyler (11 October 2018). "An Ode to Elvis Costello's Stellar Backing Bands, the Attractions and the Imposters". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  16. Harrod, Horatia (17 June 2009). "Elvis Costello: unsung hero of... comedy?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  17. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  18. "Bubbling Under the Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 14. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Apr 2, 1994. p. 77. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  19. "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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