Review of Concert at Radio City Music Hall, NYC on 1998-10-13
Wall Of Sound, 1998-10-14
- Jeff Schwager 

October 14, 1998 
Costello and Bacharach Make Beautiful
Music Together
NEW YORK, Oct. 13—Elvis Costello has long made a point of 
collaborating with musicians whose work he appreciates, a roster 
of artists that ranges from Madness and the Specials to Paul McCartney
and Roy Orbison to the Brodsky Quartet and Tony Bennett. Looked at in 
that light, his decision to work with easy listening guru Burt Bacharach 
doesn't seem all that strange. What does seem odd, though, is the passion
Costello clearly feels for Bacharach's pop stylings. As the duo
opened their brief mini-tour at Manhattan's famed Radio City Music
Hall, Costello repeatedly paid tribute to the 70-year-old Bacharach,
opening the show by serenading him with "Baby It's You" from
behind closed curtains, and repeatedly leading the audience in
standing ovations for the elder statesman of musical kitsch. 

The pair's two-hour show consisted of four 30-minute sets. After
jointly playing material from their new album, Painted From
Memory, Costello left Bacharach to lead his orchestra in a medley of
his hit movie songs, including "Raindrops Keep Falling on My
Head" and "Alfie," as well as several well-known songs he wrote for
'60s pop artists. When Costello returned to the stage, he and his
long-time keyboard player Steve Nieve reprised a few selections
from their recent tour, with orchestral backing. Finally, Burt rejoined
Elvis for a few more cuts from the new album and some Costello-
sung versions of Bacharach classics. Technically, the show was near
perfect, with the orchestra performing sensitive accompaniment
throughout, and the slick but soulful background singers offering a
graceful contrast to Costello's rough, vibrato-heavy version of a
crooner's baritone. If the audience—largely consisting of 30-
something Costello fans—was anything but enthralled by
Bacharach's oldies set, you couldn't tell by the reception they gave
him, and the Costello-Nieve performances also resulted in rapturous
applause. 

Certainly, the evening was entertaining, and it was a pleasure to
see the tuxedo-clad Costello fronting an orchestra, an environment
far different from those on his tours with the Attractions or Nieve.
Still, the show could've been better. If Elvis had stuck around to sing
on all of the Bacharach numbers rather than yielding the stage, we
might've had more moments as riveting as his rendition of "I Just
Don't Know What To Do With Myself" near the beginning of the
show and the encores "Make It Easy on Yourself" and "Anyone Who
Had a Heart." Costello's voice may not be perfect, but he's a great
pop vocalist, and there's a startling tension between his dramatic
vocals and Bacharach's slick song craft. Costello's own songs could
have benefited from some better-integrated arrangements: In this
setting, "Accidents Will Happen" sounded unconvincingly baroque,
while the "Eleanor Rigby"-like string intro to "Alison" seemed tacked
on, as though Costello felt the need to make use of the orchestra
Bacharach lent him. 

But in the show's best moments, such minor gripes were easily
forgotten. During the final encore, Costello stepped up to the mic to
sing a stunning version of "God Give Me Strength"—the first song
he and Bacharach co-wrote, for the film Grace of My Heart. His
performance was a reminder of how powerful the sound of a human
voice sung against a full orchestra can be. For that alone, he and
Bacharach deserved the crowd's final, thunderous ovation. —Jeff
Schwager