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His voice is far less suited to musical genres demanding greater subtlety, but that didn't stop him from album-length attempts at soul (Get Happy!!, 1980), country (Almost Blue, 1981), romance ballads (Imperial Bedroom, 1982) and even chamber music (The Juliet Letters, 1993). And each of these works, while flawed, are essential additions to any Costello collection, because his enthusiasm for the music exceeds his grasp of it.
The same might be said of Kojak Variety (out Tuesday), a collection of favorite cover tunes that Costello has been talking about for years, yet which arrives at a time when the pop market is glutted with cover treatments by well-known stars. (The charge of opportunism can be levelled only at the inclusion of "Leave My Kitten Alone," the Little Willie John song that Beatle wannabe Costello surely knows the Fab Four will soon be releasing as part of their long-awaited anthology. But Costello is no match for John Lennon's screaming vocals.)
The 15 tracks, recorded in Barbados in a two-week sprint with such Costello regulars as bassist Jerry Scheff, keyboard man Larry Knechtel, guitarist Marc Ribot and Attractions drummer Pete Thomas, otherwise serve as a sampler of Costello's many moods and voices.
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