| "Complicated Shadows" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Elvis Costello & The Attractions | ||||
| from the album All This Useless Beauty | ||||
| A-side | "The Other End of the Telescope" | |||
| Released | July 15, 1996 | |||
| Length | 4:43 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Elvis Costello | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Elvis Costello & The Attractions singles chronology | ||||
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"Complicated Shadows" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and recorded by Costello with his backing band the Attractions. The song appeared on Costello's 1996 album, All This Useless Beauty.
Costello originally wrote the song for Johnny Cash, but after Cash did not record the song, he chose to record a version with the Attractions in 1996. Though initially more country-influenced in arrangement, the song was reworked by the band to be more rock-oriented. The final studio recording on All This Useless Beauty edits together studio takes of the song with a live performance from a show at the Beacon Theatre in 1995.
Though not released as a single, it appeared as a B-side to "The Other End of the Telescope" as well as on the soundtrack to the television series The Sopranos. Since its release, the song has been lauded by critics. Costello rerecorded the song in its original arrangement in 2009 for his album Secret, Profane & Sugarcane.