Palm Beach Post, May 28, 2009

From The Elvis Costello Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
... Bibliography ...
727677787980818283
848586878889909192
939495969798990001
020304050607080910
111213141516171819
202122232425 26 27 28


Palm Beach Post

Florida publications

Newspapers

University publications

Magazines and alt. weeklies


US publications by state
  • ALAKARAZCA
  • COCTDCDEFL
  • GAHI   IA      ID      IL
  • IN   KSKYLA   MA
  • MDME   MIMNMO
  • MSMTNC  ND  NE
  • NHNJNMNVNY
  • OHOKORPARI
  • SCSDTNTXUT
  • VAVTWAWIWY

-

Savor Elvis Costello's sophisticated bluegrass


Larry Aydlette

Grade: A-

Working again with producer T Bone Burnett and a team of top bluegrass musicians, Costello has crafted a low-key acoustic disc that should be country, but isn't classifiable at all. It's a merging of Burnett's rootsy sensibility with Costello's pop-rock operatics. The album was recorded in three days in Nashville, and is a grab bag of Costello's wide-ranging interests: songs from an opera about Hans Christian Andersen, a breakup ballad co-written with Loretta Lynn, a swaggering Dixieland collaboration with Burnett, a gently rockin' remake of "Complicated Shadows," even an old Bing Crosby tune. The playing is warm and understated, with marvelous harmonies from Jim Lauderdale and Emmylou Harris.

Again, you could call it country. But all the songs boast Costello's recognizable architecture — the dense, bruised-romantic wordplay, the rushing, rising choruses, the emotional delivery. It's an album that seems slight at first, but repeated listens plunge you deeper and deeper into its musically complex shadows. (The album comes out Tuesday.)

Download: "Sulphur To Sugarcane," "Complicated Shadows," "My All Time Doll," "The Crooked Line."


Tags: Secret, Profane & SugarcaneT Bone BurnettLoretta LynnJim LauderdaleEmmylou HarrisComplicated ShadowsChanging PartnersBing CrosbyHans Christian AndersenThe Secret Songs

-

Palm Beach Post, May 28, 2009


Larry Aydlette reviews Secret, Profane & Sugarcane

Images

Secret Profane & Sugarcane album cover.jpg

-



Back to top

External links