North

'North' is very much a story, following the sequence of the tracks is essential to getting the feel of the whole piece. Its the story of losing love and finding someone new and for me captures the subtle stages we all go through brilliantly. The pain of separation, the uncertainty of new partners, the admiration of lovers and the overwhelming optimism being with someone give you. The whole rollercoaster in fact. The titles of the tracks almost give away how the tale unfolds, but it is only in listening to the lyrics that you get the full effect of Costellos mastery of songwriting.

The musical settings for these songs is a obviously influenced by his works with Bacharach, but they have been given the quirky chord changes that make them stand out as original and wonderful Costello. Piano and strings dominate the music, and at times almost have an air of Noel Coward about them. Not that the album is perfect. I found the opening 3 songs a little uninspiring even though the lyrics are well crafted. In particular the second song 'Someone Took The Words Away' is the best description of being tongue tied and uncertain I've ever heard. Tracks 5 to 8 are most definitely the strongest musically, but then we are beginning to fall back in love along with the narrator so the music reflects this. 'Still' is quite simply breathtaking, sounding wonderful yet written with such beautiful phrases that it is humbling to hear. 'Let Me Tell You about Her' is funny and far too close to the truth. For anyone who has bored their friends to tears talking about their latest amour they will love this song.

In short the album is the best piece of lyricism I've heard for a long time. A true and simple depiction of falling out of and into love. Whether the musical setting is to everyones tastes I'm unsure. If you enjoyed the work Costello did with Bacharrach or the Brodsky Quartet then musically you will love this. It has much more in common with 'The Juliet Letters' than 'When I Was Cruel' or 'Armed Forces'. But then who wants to stand still? Elvis Costello more than any living 'pop' artist continually tries to explore and develop his abilities. This album is a breath of fresh air and in my opinion is a quite beautiful and brilliant piece of work. Again Costello has developed as a writer and I can only hope this continues for a long, long time.

Much has been made of the bemused Costello fan - expecting punk and getting country, looking for electric guitars and finding string quartets. Attractions become Imposters. And any fan confused by this journey will be none the wiser for heading North, but maybe all the richer. The CD is full of surprises: yes, that's Elvis at the piano, yes, these are quiet, low key melodies. But more than that, Elvis is in love. After years of spittle-spattered anger, this is a CD of gentle tenderness, though still with a truth that hits you right between the eyes.

All these songs are complex melodies, shades of Brodsky's (who make an appearance on one track), shades of Bacharach, even hints of Berlin and Gershwin. Steve Nieve is almost ever-present but there are no multi-octave fireworks, no Abba-esque contortions. Just a quiet backdrop, the lightest touch. If this list of references is enough to turn you off, I understand, but I recommend you buy this CD anyway - after a few listens the beauty of the melodies takes hold of even the most narrow-minded of rockers, and won't let go. When It Sings and Still immediately stand out, perhaps more accessible than the rest, but every track grows on you at different speeds and no doubt the rest will follow. Can You Be True? Elvis asks of his lover towards the end of the CD. Before now, we've always suspected the answer was No, now we know it's Yes.

Elvis' army have often felt short-changed by these disparate episodes of song, but the truth is we've had more than we bargained for. Since when was that a bad thing?

My only criticism is that all the songs are very samey and only one or two actually stand out by themselves. So if you don't like this style of music it won't get any better for you as you move through the album.

A good one for the collection.