Melody Maker, May 27, 1995

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Melody Maker

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Who loves ya, baby?


Andrew Mueller

In 1995, cover version LPs are putrefying the body of rock. But apparently it's all right when Elvis 'Kermit Voice' Costello is rockin' the Savalas.

Elvis Costello
Kojak Variety

Albums of covers are at best stop-gaps issued to distract from a dearth of new material, at worst ghastly indulgences that inescapably call to mind the image of a bitter, bloated middle-aged drunk seeking to force themselves on the nubile, vibrant objects of their desires. For illustration of the truth of this, look no further than the fiascos wrought this year by Annie Lennox and Duran Duran — the former is stodgy gruel even by Lennox's grim standards, the latter is simply one of the most hysterically awful records ever made, numbering Costello's "Watching The Detectives" among its more grotesquely disfigured victims.

Nothing so entertainingly undignified was ever likely to come from Elvis Costello, whose fierce intelligence and basic good sense have rarely failed him in one of the most consistently brilliant careers in rock. Kojak Variety was recorded in 1991 with a formidable ensemble that included Attractions drummer Pete Thomas, former Tom Waits guitarist Marc Ribot and Jerry Scheff (bass) and James Burton (guitar), who'd previously made names for themselves behind the other Elvis. The songs chosen here are largely obscurities; the impression is almost of random excerpts leaping from the pages of Costello's famously encyclopaedic knowledge of music.

The quality, of material and performances, is variable. Costello's previous covers album, Almost Blue was great because his then less-educated vocal and The Attractions' amphetamined virtuosity blew the porch dust off the country standards tackled and made them sound as young and angry as the performers. Kojak Variety is a rather more restrained and tasteful exercise.

This works well on the lovely, subtly reproachful take on Dylan's "I Threw It All Away," on Mose Allison's "Everybody's Crying Mercy" and Bacharach/David's exquisite "Please Stay," all of which Costello sings with due impassioned tremble. Volleys of bouquets should also be directed at the readings of the lost Holland/Dozier/Holland gem "Remove This Doubt," Nat King Cole's "The Very Thought Of You" (echoes here of his peerless version of "My Funny Valentine") and James Carr's "Pouring Water On A Drowning Man." Yes, there's a sense that there's an exercise in crusading one-upmanship afoot, but it's hardly the place of people who do it for a living to upbraid someone else for banging obsessively on about records no one but them ever bought.

When Kojak Variety falls flat, it does so when Costello allows his pub-rock past to come back and haunt us, as on the tedious Little Richard rave-up "Bama Lama Bama Loo," and Jesse Winchester's "Payday," or when he tries to inhabit the songs used to rather more intimidating presences — there's not a lot of point in trying to follow Screamin' Jay Hawkins ("Strange") or Howlin' Wolf ("Hidden Charms"). The only copper-bottomed duffer is the version of The Kinks' timelessly beautiful "Days." Seeking to rearrange it as a work of high-tensile savagery along the lines of his own "Broken," he succeeds only in turning a once spritely, tear-stained lament into a grinding dirge.

For the most part, however, Kojak Variety is an engaging detour. It takes a gigantic ego to even consider making records like this, and yet larger talent to make records like this that work. In both areas, Elvis Costello has been in a league of one for a mighty long time.


Tags: Kojak VarietyPete ThomasMarc RibotJerry ScheffJames BurtonAlmost BlueBob DylanI Threw It All AwayMose AllisonEverybody's Crying MercyBurt Bacharach Hal DavidPlease StayHolland-Dozier-HollandRemove This DoubtNat King ColeThe Very Thought Of YouMy Funny ValentineJames CarrPouring Water On A Drowning ManLittle RichardBama Lama Bama LooJesse WinchesterPaydayScreamin' Jay HawkinsStrangeHowlin' WolfHidden CharmsThe KinksDaysBrokenElvis PresleyTom WaitsAnnie LennoxDuran DuranDuran Duran: Thank YouWatching The DetectivesThe Attractions

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Melody Maker, May 27, 1995


Andrew Mueller reviews Kojak Variety.

Images

Page 38 clipping.
Clipping.

Cover and page scan.
1995-05-27 Melody Maker cover.jpg Page 38.

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