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Bringing a lockdown venture to vibrant life is also the basis for Elvis Costello's latest. His last album, January's The Boy Named If, was packed with noisy rock and roll tunes, although it suffered from being recorded remotely — via 'electrical wire' as he puts it — rather than by musicians together in a room.
He's since returned to the studio, this time face-to-face with backing band The Imposters, to revisit four tracks from The Boy Named If plus a handful of covers, a forgotten gem from 1983, and an unexpected, yet satisfying, collaboration with Japanese female rap duo Chelmico.
The project is billed as an 'alive' album as opposed to a live one made on the road. In binding together so many different strands, it's sometimes a hodgepodge, but there's also something raw and exciting about a band becoming reacquainted with one another after months apart. The original Boy Named If was last week shortlisted for best rock album at the Grammys, and the punchy remakes here echo its melodic strengths.
What If I Can't Give You Anything But Love? is played with greater heart and soul. Guest guitarist Charlie Sexton, a Dylan associate, adds muscle and invention to the wall of sound. The covers pay homage to the greats, with McCartney songs featuring twice. Costello's version of Wings' Let Me Roll It is over-sung, but his hushed Here, There And Everywhere is a joy.
Elsewhere, there's an excellent, Stax-style overhaul of 1983's Every Day I Write The Book... and that unlikely detour into J-pop. Elvis discovered Chelmico as he was watching an anime cartoon with one of his sons, and the Tokyo duo's remix of Magnificent Hurt adds lively, danceable layers to the original. He can still spring a surprise.
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