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I love Elvis Costello, but he's a songwriter, and I hardly rank him as a premier interpreter of others' material.
But that's what he's doing on The Kojak Variety, a collection of his favorite obscure tunes from songwriters such as Ray Davies, Willie Dixon, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Mose Allison and Randy Newman.
The record's been on the shelf for five years and, while it's not godawful, it's not very good. The best part is the liner notes, which reveal Elvis to be an astute pop-music historian who probably has one hell of a record collection.
But does Costello's take on Little Richard's "Bama Lama Bama Loo" in any way illuminate the song or either artist? Uh, no.
Elvis surrounded himself with excellent musicians — guitarists Marc Ribot and James Burton, drummer Jim Keltner, keyboardist Larry Knetchel, all of whom toss in some great solos — but this still sounds like what rich musicians do for fun on their own time.
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