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ELVIS COSTELLO
"North," Deutsche Grammophon. Reviewed by Richard
Cromelin, The Los Angeles Times
Well, it was fun while it lasted, but you can put away
the dancing shoes. Elvis has left the ballroom.
Last year's "When I Was Cruel" was Elvis Costello's
return to the sound and spirit of the snarling young
rocker, but since his career is an adventure in
genre-hopping, it's no surprise to see him pirouette
180 degrees. American saloon song meets European art
song in "North," which recounts a romantic meltdown
and reawakening in the vernacular of pre-rock torch
music and jazz-dappled pop standards.
Tempos range from near-stillness to measured, the
emotional pitch is rigorously restrained, the
modulations of mood are sometimes all but
imperceptible. A meditative tone emerges from spare
settings -- some songs are formed by just piano, bass
and voice, while others introduce strings and horns --
and from a focus on the specifics of this singer's
story. Costello's phrasing is conversational but
idiosyncratic, and his register is a clear, intimate
baritone.
Lyrically, the noted wordsmith seems determined to
avoid knee-jerk signifiers and easy slogans, big-sell
choruses and clever couplets. That keeps him well
clear of cliches, but the bargain leaves his
introspections on the dry side, sometimes to the point
of austerity. That "North" remains so consistently
moving testifies to the music's power to animate the
scenarios