http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/0 ... index.html
"North" is hardly the usual direction for Elvis
Costello.
In sharp contrast to his previous album, 2002's "When
I Was Cruel," Costello's Deutsche Grammophon set --
issued September 23 -- eschews rock instrumentation
and textures. Costello plays guitar on just one
number; the collection's 11 tracks -- all original
ballads -- are dominated by Steve Nieve's piano.
Costello says of his unusually naked new songs, "The
first song is taken by some as romantic loss, when
it's actually about bereavement. The rest of the songs
describe a transition from bewilderment into
acceptance. That is something I believe people will
recognize in degrees ... Hopefully, in time, different
songs will mean different things to individuals who
are listening."
Though intimate in content, the set is embellished on
several numbers by arrangements, written by Costello,
featuring a string and horn ensemble that sometimes
swells to 48 pieces. Soloists include jazz saxophonist
Lee Konitz, trumpeter Lew Soloff and vibraphonist Bill
Ware.
The introspective, bluntly honest and often wounded
songs were penned during Costello's 2002 American
tour.
He says, "I was seeking out pianos wherever I could --
backstage, in dressing rooms, sometimes in the wings
of theaters. And then I bought a cheap electronic
keyboard so that I could play late at night in a hotel
room. I could sketch things out on that. I was also on
the road, literally on the road, so I could sit at the
back of the bus with the keyboard and keep working.
"When I finished the tour, a second group of songs
appeared, which is the second half of the record.
Pretty much, they appear in the sequence in which they
were written."
Costello's pop-oriented recordings are released
through Island/Def Jam. But Universal Classics
chairman Chris Roberts offered Deutsche Grammophon as
a haven for "North." It will serve as a prelude to the
late-2004 release by the label of a Costello
orchestral album, recorded with Michael Tilson-Thomas
and the London Symphony Orchestra. That set showcases
a ballet score for "A Midsummer Night's Dream,"
commissioned by Italy's Aterballetto dance company.
"Roberts gave me the opportunity to make a ballad
album," Costello says, "and I had a whole other
repertoire of maybe 20 or more songs that I could have
recorded. Then the 'North' songs appeared, and the
imperative changed."
"We wanted to bridge the gap," Universal Classics
senior vice president and general manager Marc
Johnston says. "From "When I Was Cruel" into a
symphonic, sort of ballet album was a pretty radical
step, so this was the natural journey that Elvis was
taking. This album is one step further toward the
album next fall."
The CD package for "North" includes a PIN that allows
the consumer to download the title composition, which
Costello chose not to include on the album.
Costello begins an extensive tour of Japan and Europe
in early October.
"Then hopefully," he says, "in the late winter or
early spring of next year, we'll do a full-length
American tour, if all is well."
