I Was Very Good
Mr. Costello's PR folks wanted everybody to know...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 27, 2004
ELVIS COSTELLO’S THREE NIGHTS AT LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL A MAJOR SUCCESS
Elvis Costello delivered a trio of thrilling shows at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall July 13, 15 and 17, showcasing the breadth and scope of his diverse musical talents. The first show featured rearrangements of his songs performed with the Metropole Orkest, the 52-member jazz orchestra from the Netherlands. The latter two concerts served as previews of his twin September 21 releases, The Delivery Man (Lost Highway Records) with his band the Imposters and a classical work called “Il Sogno” (Deutsche Grammophon), performed on stage by the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Written and orchestrated entirely by Costello, the score exhibits yet another facet of his varied abilities.
Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote in a review of the three shows, “Mr. Costello is ceaselessly curious about music. He is inquisitive enough not just to listen widely, but to learn the makings of every idiom that moves him, from lieder to New Orleans rhythm and blues.”
The Washington Post’s Terry Teachout reviewed “Il Sogno,” saying that “Costello has channeled his thematic material into simple, formal structures that he uses in the disciplined manner of a bona fide classical composer. Am I surprised? Totally. But if any rocker could pull off such an improbable feat, it's Elvis Costello, whose musical curiosity has always been boundless.”
Variety’s David Sprague stated of “Il Sogno,” “For the duration of the three-movement, 70-minute piece, the musicians kept up a vigorous dialogue, hemming and hawing, then breaking into lustful roars… [It is] a surprisingly profound concert experience.”
Bradley Bambarger of The Newark Star-Ledger compared Costello to Stravinsky and wrote, “’Il Sogno’ was also unflaggingly melodious, rhythmically vital and -- most impressive -- orchestrated with kaleidoscopic vividness. Reading music is one thing; orchestration is quite another (with most rockers who compose orchestral works ceding that all-important job to trained experts). Costello seems to have taken to this new art with as much panache as he did Americana, torch songs or other genre offshoots from his initial vein of combustible, if highly literate, rock 'n' roll.”
The New York Daily News reviewed both the Imposters show and “Il Sogno.” Rock critic Isaac Guzman dubbed Costello a “Renaissance Man” and lauded his “blistering set” while Classical critic Howard Kissel called Costello’s work “full of delights, sometimes sounding like vintage jazz, other times like vintage Hollywood. Its most notable feature may be Costello’s understanding of the riches of a symphony orchestra. One can only look forward to his explorations of this great resource.”