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Casual fans might think Elvis Costello is jumping on the Katrina bandwagon with his new collaboration with the legendary Allen Toussaint on an album recorded in New Orleans in the wake of the hurricane's destruction.
But Costello has worked with producer-pianist Toussaint for more than 20 years, with Toussaint producing Punch the Clock in '83 and Costello playing songs such as "Tears, Tears and More Tears" onstage with The Attractions a year later. So it's fitting that that particular song is the first single off of The River In Reverse, a for-the-most-part- seamless collaboration of two musical greats.
Some of Costello's side projects and collaborations are an acquired taste; many fans still can't take the great Juliet Letters, recorded with the Brodsky Quartet. This isn't an acquired taste but an instant delight. It helps that Costello is joined by his backing band The Imposters for most songs, and the band is perfectly suited to work with Toussaint as well.
Consisting of remakes of Toussaint classics combined with new co-compositions by the pair, The River In Reverse is an earnest, authentic romp through New Orleans' musical heritage (heavy on the horns) with some biting social commentary.
Maybe it's aural comfort food. Like Bruce Springsteen's recent foray into traditional music with We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, Costello casts a modern voice back into our shared musical past — a reminder that the best music may have been made decades ago.
It's worth revisiting, even in the brand-new songs. "International Echo," a co-write by Costello and Toussaint, perfectly encompasses both men's musical strengths — classic Costello given a zesty New Orleans blast from Toussaint.
The title cut, however, is the standout. "The River In Reverse" asks, "How long does a promise last? / How long can a lie be told? / What would I take in exchange for my soul? / Would I notice when it was sold?" A song of abandonment, lost faith and despair, it has New Orleans and Katrina written all over it. It dovetails neatly with another song on the disc, "Broken Promise Land," where raucous verses suddenly go silent while Costello's voice plaintively sings, "It didn't turn out the way we planned / now I'm living in broken promise land."
Costello's voice occasionally gets overwrought on some of the slower numbers, such as Toussaint's "Nearer To You," but that's a small quibble. The River In Reverse is a high point in both artist's careers.
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