Lou Reed and Julian Schnabel

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... fuses the best elements of talk and music television and invites viewers to enjoy an intimate conversation between host Costello and his guests, punctuated by rare musical performances by Costello, his guests and a wide variety of musicians. Among the guests for the 13-part series are Sir Elton John, Tony Bennett, Lou Reed, artist-director Julian Schnabel and President Bill Clinton.

The normally guarded Lou Reed - widely regarded since his Velvet Underground days as music's Prince of Darkness - opens up with Elvis Costello, revealing himself to be a witty and literate raconteur. He speaks movingly, and funnily, about his love of R&B, New York, art and the mysteries of writing and creativity. Lou's close friend and collaborator (on the film "Berlin"), Julian Schnabel, joins the fray mid-show, to both heartbreaking and hilarious effect, contributing some disarmingly candid and personal remarks, as well as a riveting - and totally spontaneous - spoken-word performance. Lou breaks down one of his classic compositions on guitar, and then joins Elvis for two amazing performances.