Limited 180 gm vinyl LP pressing. ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY was the 17th studio album by English Rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, originally released in 1996. The album peaked at #28 on the UK album chart, and at #53 on the Billboard 200. It is his final album with his long-standing backing band the Attractions. In it's original conception, the album was to be a set of songs written for other artists, entitled a CASE FOR SONG with backing by a diverse array of musicians. Instead, Costello chose to record the songs himself with the Attractions. For instance, 'Complicated Shadows' had been intended for Johnny Cash, and 'Why Can't a Man Stand Alone?' for Sam Moore, and the b-side opens with his collaboration with Paul McCartney: 'Shallow Grave'. Four songs previously released by others also made it to the final track listing: 'The Other End of the Telescope' was co-written with Aimee Mann; 'You Bowed Down' was recorded by Roger McGuinn; 'All This Useless Beauty' and 'I Want to Vanish' were recorded by June Tabor.