13 Steps Lead Down

1994 song by Elvis Costello 13 Steps Lead Down "13_Steps_Lead_Down"_-_Elvis_Costello.jpg single Elvis Costello Brutal Youth "Do You Know What I'm Saying?" 18 April 199416 April 1994 News Melody Maker 4 New wave punk rock Warner Bros. Elvis Costello Mitchell Froom Elvis Costello Sulky Girl 1994 You Tripped at Every Step 1994 "13 Steps Lead Down" is a song written and performed by English new wave musician Elvis Costello that was first released on his fourteenth studio album, Brutal Youth (1994). 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 "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."Thomson 2006 Brutal Youth Brutal Youth Elvis Costello 2002 Liner notes 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".Thomson 2006 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.Anderson Rick 13 Steps Lead Down - Elvis Costello Song Info AllMusic https://www.allmusic.com/song/13-steps-lead-down-mt0005951429 AllMusic 20 May 2020 en-us 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". The song closes with what Rick Anderson of AllMusic describes as "one of his patented atonal solos". 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."Doggett Peter October 1995 Elvis Costello: The Record Collector Interview, Part 2 Record Collector 194 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. "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".Mason Stewart 13 Steps Lead Down [EP] - Elvis Costello Songs, Reviews, Credits AllMusic https://www.allmusic.com/album/13-steps-lead-down-ep-mw0001196147 AllMusic 20 May 2020 en-usStrauss Neil Review/Pop; Down Memory Lane the Elvis Costello Way https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/10/arts/review-pop-down-memory-lane-the-elvis-costello-way.html The New York Times 20 May 2020 10 June 1994 https://web.archive.org/web/20181108224919/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/10/arts/review-pop-down-memory-lane-the-elvis-costello-way.html 2018-11-08 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".Murray Noel Phipps Keith How to navigate through 40 years of Elvis Costello's pop mastery https://music.avclub.com/how-to-navigate-through-40-years-of-elvis-costello-s-po-1798214430 The A.V. Club 25 April 2008 20 May 2020 en-us 4 April 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200404185105/https://music.avclub.com/how-to-navigate-through-40-years-of-elvis-costello-s-po-1798214430 dead Allen Jeremy Elvis Costello: 10 of the best https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/jan/27/elvis-costello-10-of-the-best The Guardian 17 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190218081832/https://amp.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/jan/27/elvis-costello-10-of-the-best 18 February 2019 live 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".Considine J. D. Costello reaches back but still comes up short https://www.baltimoresun.com/1994/03/08/costello-reaches-back-but-still-comes-up-short/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210623041206/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-03-08-1994067139-story.html live June 23, 2021 The Baltimore Sun 20 May 2020 Masley Ed Essential Elvis Costello: 20 best albums https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/08/30/elvis-costello-20-best-albums-my-aim-roots/89541286/ The Arizona Republic 19 November 2019 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".Hiatt Brian Elvis Costello's 10 greatest tunes https://ew.com/article/2004/09/23/elvis-costellos-10-greatest-tunes/ Entertainment Weekly Meredith Corporation 22 February 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190223020426/https://ew.com/article/2004/09/23/elvis-costellos-10-greatest-tunes/ 23 February 2019 live 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.Wendy James https://trouserpress.com/reviews/wendy-james/ 2021-10-30 Trouser Press en-USElvis Costello - 13 Steps Lead Down https://www.discogs.com/master/39466-Elvis-Costello-13-Steps-Lead-Down 2021-10-30 Discogs 1994 en "Do You Know What I'm Saying?" - 7" "Puppet Girl" - 12" "Basement Kiss" - 12" "We Despise You" 12" Performance history "13 Steps Lead Down" has been performed live by Costello since the Brutal Youth tour. 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.Wilcox Tyler An Ode to Elvis Costello's Stellar Backing Bands, the Attractions and the Imposters https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/ode-to-elvis-costellos-stellar-backing-bands-the-attractions-the-imposters-invisible-hits/ Pitchfork 11 October 2018 20 May 2020 en Costello also performed the song for a scene in a season 3 episode of The Larry Sanders Show before trashing his dressing room.Harrod Horatia Elvis Costello: unsung hero of... comedy? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/5558148/Elvis-Costello-unsung-hero-of...-comedy.html The Telegraph 20 May 2020 17 June 2009 Charts Chart (1994)PeakpositionAustralia (ARIA)https://imgur.com/a/Ll2l4Kn Elvis Costello ARIA Chart History (1988-2024) ARIA Imgur.com 2 February 2025 N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.137UK 59 1994-04-30 27 February 2019 trueUK Airplay (Music Week)https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1994/Music-Week-1994-04-23.pdf The Airplay Chart Music Week 23 April 1994 26 23 May 202539US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Billboard Apr 2, 1994 106 14 77 https://books.google.com/books?id=OQgEAAAAMBAJ&q=elvis+costello+13+steps+lead+down+bubbling+under&pg=PA77 20 May 2020 Nielsen Business Media, Inc. en 15US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)Elvis Costello Modern Rock Tracks https://www.billboard.com/artist/elvis-costello/chart-history/mrt/ Billboard 20 May 20206 References Citations Sources Thomson Graeme Complicated Shadows: The Life and Music of Elvis Costello 2006 Canongate U.S. 978-1841957968 Category:Elvis Costello songs Category:1994 songs Category:1994 singles Category:Songs written by Elvis Costello