[7][8] Intending to explore his capabilities as a performer of cover versions, he recorded acoustic demos of several popular songs, including "Gloomy Sunday" (1933) and Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" (1930).

Maybe I could just get away from my own self for a while, and throw the light on the emotional side of what I do.While touring Trust in early 1981, Costello and his backing band the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas (no relation)—conducted a session at Nashville's CBS Studio B with Sherrill producing and Pete Drake on pedal steel that foreshadowed Almost Blue; the session yielded covers of Hank Cochran's "He's Got You" (1962) and Bobby Bland's "I'll Take Care of You" (1959).

[4][7][2] Songs Costello chose for the project included tracks recorded by Jones, Stonewall Jackson, Janis Martin, Webb Pierce, Conway Twitty and Charlie Rich.

[3] Alongside the Attractions, Doobie Brothers member John McFee was invited to contribute pedal steel and additional guitar overdubs to add an authentic country sound.

Costello himself was in poor health: he looked pale, was overweight and constantly drinking, which led to the recording of Haggard's "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" (1966) and Rich's "Sittin' and Thinkin'".

[f][7] In the final days, Sherrill identified the recordings of Jones's "Good Year for the Roses" (1970) and Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams" (1955) as potential hits, adding strings by Tommy Millar and backing vocals by Nashville Edition.

[11][12][13] In his review for Melody Maker, Allan Jones stated that the tracks are divided between "driving, shitkicking honky tonk tunes and exquisitely poignant ballads".

[14] Costello's troubled personal life, including his failing marriage and alcoholism, were reflected in the song choices, particularly "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down", "Sittin' and Thinkin'" and George Jones's "Brown to Blue".

The band recorded the Johnny Mullins-penned Loretta Lynn number "Success" (1962) at the insistence of Nieve, who recalled: "We must have gone through hundreds of albums, trying to find that one song that we could make our own.

[4][5][15] Photographed by Keith Morris, the image depicts Costello with his glasses removed and face covered with one hand – a ring on his middle finger – appearing as though he is hiding tears.

[4] The original LP came with a removable sticker reading "Warning: This album contains country & western music and may produce radical reaction in narrow minded people".

Country and western stations, they probably think I'm a punk still ...[10] "Good Year for the Roses" was issued as the lead single, backed by a cover of Jack Ripley's "Your Angel Steps Out of Heaven", in September 1981.

[11] In a five-star review, Record Mirror's Mike Nicholls proclaimed that taken on its own terms, "it's as flawless an LP as has been released all year", although he felt Costello's fans would be disappointed due to the lack of originals.

[j] In Rolling Stone, Martha Hume argued that "a truly great country singer" possesses both control of their own voice, the ability to broadcast a character and—ideally—is able to convey their own personality onto the listener.

[12] More positively, Cash Box argued that the singer's "distinctive vocals fit perfectly into the country framework" and the songs are "rendered with conviction and emotion".

Worse, [because] Costello has invaded the trusting soul of country music and made a mean-spirited mess of it, I don't expect him to have shame about this; I just want him to go home.

[27] More negatively, Hilburn deemed it a "major disappointment" that would serve as an intriguing piece for hardcore fans, but provide little enjoyment to everyone else, exhibiting "little of Costello's usual vision".

[28] Additionally, several noted the continued absence of Costello's angry persona featured prominently in his earlier works,[23][27][26] while some gave positive mentions to the performances of the Attractions.

[20][22][26] In The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau positively compared Almost Blue to other covers albums such as David Bowie's Pin Ups (1973) and John Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll (1975), records that "also seemed 'important' when they appeared".

[8] After recording Imperial Bedroom in November 1981, Costello and the Attractions underwent the Almost Blue Tour from December to January 1982, playing major cities in the US and the UK.

[3] Hodge further acknowledges the artist's collaborative records with the Roots (Wise Up Ghost, 2013), Burt Bacharach (Painted from Memory, 1998) and Allen Toussaint (The River in Reverse, 2006).

In 1994, Q magazine's David Cavanagh acknowledged that "its exact point eluded most of us, although it arguably turned many others on to the genre from which it drew", further remarking that its first expanded reissue presented it as "a little too good to class as a career blip".

[39] Senior AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine agreed, arguing that Almost Blue stands as "one of the most entertaining cover records in rock & roll" due to the enthusiasm behind the project.

[33] Reporting on the 2004 reissue, Uncut magazine's Chris Roberts argued that the album has aged well despite its divisive reception on its initial release, highlighting "Sweet Dreams", "Good Year for the Roses" and "I'm Your Toy" as tracks that sound "as warm and nasty as ever".

[43] In 2022, Chris Ingalls of PopMatters named Almost Blue one of Costello's ten most under-appreciated albums, finding the artist's embracement of the genre and the Attractions' fine performances make for a "worthwhile listen" and a "charming change of pace".

[5] St. Michael commends the performances and overall good execution, further stating that Costello had already displayed "his command of the country lyric idiom" on tracks such as "Stranger in the House" and Trust's "Different Finger".

They highlighted the album as a showcase for Costello's growth as a singer, particularly on "Good Year for the Roses", ultimately dubbing Almost Blue "a tentative dry run" for the artist's reach into more experimental territories.

[32] A year later, Al Shipley of Spin magazine, placed it at number 17 (out of 31), calling it "a fascinating early fusion of Costello's personal vision and his aspirations to master a wide variety of genres.

[49] The author Brian Hinton finds this reissue "more satisfying" than the original album, particularly highlighting the live performances in Aberdeen as "possessing a snap and crackle" lacking on the studio recordings.

He also lists the Royal Albert Hall performance of "I'm Your Toy" as "pull[ing] dimensions out of Costello's voice barely hinted at in the studio version: urgency, passion and danger.