Suit of Lights (song)
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| "Suit of Lights" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Elvis Costello | |
| from the album King of America | |
| Released | 21 February 1986 |
| Recorded | July–September 1985[1] |
| Studio | Ocean Way, Sunset Sound, & Sound Factory Studio, Los Angeles |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:06 |
| Label | F-Beat (UK) Columbia (US) |
| Songwriter(s) | Elvis Costello |
| Producer(s) | T Bone Burnett |
"Suit of Lights" is a song written and performed by new wave musician Elvis Costello that was first released on his 1986 album King of America. Written about Costello's memories of his father, the song includes introspective lyrics about the "dubious embrace of celebrity"[2] while also featuring the sole performance of the Attractions on the album, who were largely supplanted by the studio professionals of the Confederates on the rest of King of America.
Released on King of America as the penultimate track, the song has since seen positive reception from critics and has appeared on compilation albums.
"Suit of Lights" was written by Elvis Costello as a reflection on his father, Ross McManus, who was a professional bandleader for the Joe Loss orchestra. Costello commented, "This was inspired by watching my father, Ross, sing of experience and tenderness to an uncomprehending rabble of karaoke-trained dullards. The lessons I might have learned from my own words seemed only to have dawned on me after the event."[1] The bitterness that Costello felt from observing this resulted in what he described as "a dense lyric written from the jaundices performer's perspective about mob instinct and how one man's amusement is another man's job of work."[3] At early stages of the album's composition, some lyrics that finally appeared in "Suit of Lights" were instead written as part of "Jack of All Parades".[3]
While most songs on King of America were recorded with the Confederates, a loose band of American studio musicians that included members of the TCB Band, "Suit of Lights" is the sole recording on the album that features Costello's long-term backing band the Attractions.[4] Costello had initially sought to use the band for more songs,[5] but sessions were largely unsuccessful, with the band failing to cut satisfactory versions of "Brilliant Mistake" as well as "Blue Chair" and "Next Time Round", two songs that would be rerecorded with the band for Costello's next album Blood & Chocolate.[3] After recording the B-side "Baby's Got A Brand New Hairdo", the band channeled its "pent-up frustrations" into what Costello described as "one of the most passionate Attractions recordings" on "Suit of Lights".[3]