Philadelphia Inquirer review of North

Pretty self-explanatory
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johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Philadelphia Inquirer review of North

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/ente ... 932791.htm

Posted on Sun, Oct. 05, 2003

Record reviews

Pop

Elvis Costello
North
(Deutsche Grammophon ***1/2)

North is another of Elvis Costello's periodic detours
from rock, but rather than a pretentious diversion
(such as The Juliet Letters, 1993's venture with the
Brodsky Quartet) or an intermittently brilliant
experiment (Painted From Memory, 1998's collaboration
with Burt Bacharach), it is a uniform success.

On North, Costello croons like Chet Baker through 11
quiet, piano-based ballads. They constitute a song
cycle about love lost and found, journeying from the
confused dismay of "You Left Me in the Dark" to the
breathless joy of "I'm in the Mood Again." For the
most part, Costello eschews his trademark irony and
wordplay. In their place, he's written direct, concise
lyrics appropriate for the somber settings.

Likewise, pianist Steve Nieve is a model of restraint,
playing slowly and softly, accompanied by a small
rhythm section and occasional swells of strings and
horns (including solos from jazz greats Lee Konitz and
Lew Soloff).

North may not rock, but it's an impressive, rewarding
achievement.

- Steve Klinge
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Jackson Doofster
Posts: 531
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 4:25 pm
Location: Some far flung Canadian Club

Post by Jackson Doofster »

I'm beginning to understand why Elvis prefers to live over the water.
"But they can't hold a candle to the reciprical war crimes which have plagued our policy of foriegn affairs."
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tokyo vogue
Posts: 146
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 8:05 pm
Location: philadelphia

Post by tokyo vogue »

that's three and a half stars out of four, btw.


i occasionally want to set the inquirer on fire, but this was a nice review.
if we can rock together, why can't we walk together?
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