Elvis Costello to release 97-song box set

Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Elvis Costello announced on Friday that he will release King of America & Other Realms, a six-disc box set, in November.

The collection, which is now available for pre-order, spans 97 songs and includes a 35-page essay written by Costello.

The first disc is a remaster of his 1986 King of America while the second, titled Le Roi Sans Sabots, is described as "demos, outtakes and other realms."

"Assembling Le Roi Sans Sabots has been a little like developing an old negative to discover a photograph, close to a very familiar image but crucially different in composition and implication," Costello said in his essay. "It seems that sometime after these initial solo sessions, I resolved to balance the break-up theme with lyrics with a more satirical note."

Disc 3 centers around a concert and is titled Kings of America Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

"Some of Costello's many collaborations with American musicians are represented throughout the three discs, labeled Il Principe Di NewOrleans E Le Marchese Del Mississippi (Disc 4), El Príncipe Del Purgatorio (Disc 5) and finally Der Herzog Des Rampenlicht (Disc 6)," an official description says."Including several studio and previously unreleased tracks from his collaborations with New Orleans R&B legend, Allen Toussaint, and longtime creative accomplice, T Bone Burnett."

The collection, retailing for $139.98, will be available for purchase Nov. 1.