FOX Loves Elvis
Of course, Elvis probably doesn't love FOX news.
(FoxNews) Grammy Solution: Elvis CostelloI did write last Friday about the dearth of choices this year in the Best Album category at the Grammy Awards. At that point I hadn't heard Elvis Costello's "The Delivery Man," which hits stores today.
Some 27 years after his first album, Costello continues to be underappreciated by the recording academy. Maybe "The Delivery Man" will change all that.
Like Bob Dylan's Grammy-winning "Time Out of Mind," this Costello release is an unexpected revelation well into a long and celebrated career.
There are splendid cameos by Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris, as well as complex and gorgeous music composed by Costello and executed by his partner in crime, Steve Nieve. The album sports witty rockers like "Button My Lip" and "Monkey to the Man," as well as moving ballads.
"The Delivery Man" was recorded in Mississippi and divides its genres between country and soul — Costello's two fascinations. (Two past albums, "Almost Blue" and "Get Happy," reflect those interests.)
Long gone is the "angry young man" Costello who first appeared on 1977's "My Aim Is True." He started his pop life as a punk singer, but as every rabid Costello fan knows, the artist who has grown up over almost three decades is a work in progress who digs all genres of music and is something of a hook-writing genius.
If the Grammys want to show their sophistication, this is the year to honor Costello with the big-category nomination. More than ever. "The Delivery Man" deserves it.
I hate to say it, but Costello really delivers this time. I can't get the song "Country Darkness" out of my head. Neither will you.