Elvis Costello seems willing to try anything once: write songs with
Paul McCartney, cut an album with a string quartet, sing a duet with
Tony Bennett. But Kojak Variety, his 16th studio album, marks the
second time he's offered a full set of cover songs to showcase his
idiosyncratic taste as a reflection of his artistic vision.
  While Kojak Variety will stand as one of Costello's least cerebral
albums, it's also one of his slightest. Originally recorded as a follow-
up to Mighty Like A Rose, Kojak Variety's 15 covers range from
Bob Dylan's "I Threw It All Away" to a Screamin' Jay Hawkins B-side,
"Strange." The emphasis is on the obscure, and the overall mood
combines rhythm & blues/soul with pop.
  These days, Costello is a better balladeer than a rocker. He falls
flat when a tune cries out for reckless abandon like Little Richard's
"Bama Lama Bama Loo" or "Leave My Kitten Alone," one of the
best-known bootlegged Beatles tunes. But he shines on moody,
slow-burn songs such as "Remove This Doubt," culled from a 
Supremes album, or the Louvin Brothers' "Must You Throw Dirt
in My Face."
  While diehard fans devoutly greet every Costello album as a 
return to form, the more casual listener has probably had trouble
paying attention to Elvis since 1982's Imperial Bedroom. It's not
that he doesn't still make compelling, challenging music - The
Juliet Letters stands out - but he's prolific to the point of exhaustion.
  Notably, the weakest album of Costello's absurdly fecund career
remains Almost Blue, a collection of country covers honoring such
idols as George Jones and Gram Parsons. While Kojak Variety is
stronger, it doesn't outclass the bulk of his original material.
Costello is such a strong individual stylist that his own rewrites
of classic genres often sound better than his attempts to cover
favorite tunes. He can appropriate better than he can interpret.
While Kojak Variety offers a half-dozen strong performances, the
net addition to the Costello canon is only slightly more than zero.
(Burl Gilyard)