Studio B, where the "Stranger in the House" duet was sung two years prior, with Pete Drake on pedal steel and Sherrill producing. The session would foreshadow Almost Blue. The band also road-tested several country songs during the tour. Although the rest of the band had hesitations about the project, Costello did not want to perform on his own with session musicians, stating: "Then it would be just like going to the funfair and sticking your head through one of those little cut-out things and having your picture taken. I thought it could a good emotional record. It was something that was very real to me when I did it." Rehearsals for the project commenced at Nick Lowe's Am-Pro Studios in early April 1981. Pete Thomas' associate from his former band Chilly Willy and the Red Hot Peppers, Paul "Bassman" Riley, contributed bass after Bruce Thomas fell ill. Over 40 songs were rehearsed in total. On 28April, Costello was in Los Angeles, contributing to a television special based on My Very Special Guests, performing "Stranger in the House", "He's Got You" and Haggard's "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" (1966). With Bruce Thomas still unavailable, the lineup consisted of Nieve, Pete Thomas, Lowe on bass and John Hiatt on guitar; Bruce recovered in time for the album sessions. Songs Costello chose for the project included tracks recorded by Jones, Stonewall Jackson, Janis Martin, Webb Pierce, Conway Twitty and Charlie Rich. When Costello submitted his ideas to Sherrill, the producer felt the material was outdated and presented cassette tapes of songs he felt were better suited. Of the titles, Costello recalled seeing Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" (1956) and a Willie Nelson demo titled "I Just Can't Let You Say Goodbye", which contained the bleak lines "the flesh around your neck is pale/indented by my fingernail". However, Sherrill was willing to see how the band would interpret the material "unless we write a new one". Sherrill also convinced Costello to record his own song "Too Far Gone". Production Recording The album was recorded from 18 to 29 May 1981 at Nashville's CBS Studio A. Studio B, where classics such as Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde (1966) and Tammy Wynette's Stand by Your Man (1969) and Rich's Behind Closed Doors (1973) were recorded, was being renovated so operations were forced to move to Studio A, which Costello described as more generic and less