Review of When I Was Cruel
Province, 2002-04-30
- Elysa Gardner
'Nerdy' Elvis still evolving
Elysa Gardner
The Province
Tuesday, April 30, 2002
ELVIS COSTELLO: new CD closest to rock
NEW YORK -- Years ago, former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth speculated
that rock critics must love Elvis Costello because most look like him
-- presumably meaning nerdy, bespectacled and unlikely to appear in
videos featuring women in bikinis or cages.
Costello, now 47, still appears much the same as he did back in 1977,
when his debut album established the singer-songwriter as a critics'
favourite. But in truth, some have never forgiven Costello for maturing
-- that is, evolving beyond his punk-pop roots and applying his talents
to a wide array of projects and styles.
Over the past decade, he has collaborated with artists ranging from
progressive classical outfit the Brodsky Quartet to the Jazz Passengers
and gospel group the Fairfield Four. His more recent recordings include
the Grammy-winning Painted From Memory, for which he co-wrote songs
with Burt Bacharach, and a CD Costello produced for the Swedish mezzo-soprano
Anne Sofie von Otter. Poll any group of pop pundits, though, and at
least one or two will say they pine for the raw energy that defined
his late-'70s oeuvre.
"What they don't understand," Costello muses of these skeptics,
"is that even the 'rawest' kinds of music they point to were usually
not done as mindlessly as they would like to believe. They're musical
conservatives, really, because they're scared of any idea of music beyond
their understanding."
Ironically, such conservatives may enjoy Costello's new CD, When I
Was Cruel, as much as more open-minded fans. Full of bracing tunes and
taut, rugged arrangements, Cruel, which came out last week, may be the
closest thing to a rock 'n' roll album Costello has released in years
.
In addition to kicking off a U.S. tour on May 18 (he plays Seattle's
Paramount Theater May 19; there's no Vancouver date), he is planning
to record his first orchestral score, Il Sogno, which was originally
commissioned by an Italian dance company and will be performed at UCLA
in July. Costello also co-wrote a song with his wife, Cait O'Riordan,
for seminal soul man Solomon Burke's upcoming album.
The review of Costello's album is on B13.
© Copyright 2002 The Province