Songs Of Elvis Costello: Bespoke Songs, Lost Dogs, Detours & Rendezvous
It's generally agreed that Costello's a terrific songwriter, so why doesn't he get covered as much as, say, Dylan? Partly because his songs are so distinctly his own: brainy, twisty, written for a wide vocal range. He's tried to work around that by tailoring songs for specific singers, andBespoke Songsincludes 21 of them. When he keeps things simple--a rewrite of "The Comedians" for Roy Orbison (who milks the dramatic leaps of the chorus), the gorgeous "Shipbuilding" for Robert Wyatt's slow-burn tenor, the abstracted strokes of "Deep Dead Blue" for Anuna--it's great. He gets tripped up, though, when he tries to put overintellectual phrases in Annie Ross or Christy Moore's mouth; songwriting collaborators, particularly Paul McCartney, keep him on the right path.--Douglas Wolk