CNN Article
Our Man's ear must hurt from all these phone interviews. This time it is CNN.
Excerpt: "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."
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LOS ANGELES, California (Billboard) -- "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."