Secret, Profane and Sugarcane was produced by T Bone Burnett and recorded by Mike Piersante during a three-day session at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studio. Joining Costello were Jerry Douglas (dobro), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Mike Compton (mandolin), Jeff Taylor (accordion) and Dennis Crouch (double bass), some of the most highly regarded recording artists and musicians in traditional American country music, bluegrass and beyond. Several of these songs, including “Down Among The Wines and Spirits”, were given their first public performances during Costello’s acclaimed solo appearances as part of The Bob Dylan Show in late 2007. The album includes ten previously unrecorded songs. “Sulphur to Sugarcane” and “The Crooked Line” were co-written with T Bone Burnett, while “I Felt The Chill” marks Costello’s second recorded songwriting collaboration with Loretta Lynn. Costello revisits two songs from his catalogue in string band style, both songs originally written for Johnny Cash. “Hidden Shame” was indeed included on Cash’s album, Boom Chicka Boom.
