CostelloNews.com

Other Elvis comes full circle on DVD
CONCERT REVIEW

By Bill Ellis

September 19, 2004

Memphis history in the making extended beyond Usher
christening FedExForum on Friday. There also was some
high fidelity at the Hi-Tone, where Elvis Costello
recorded his first-ever concert DVD.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer returned to the
Midtown venue - the site of four sold-out shows by him
in April - to celebrate the release of his latest
album, The Delivery Man.

Recorded largely in Oxford, Miss., with producer
Dennis Herring, Costello's debut for the Lost Highway
label is the British musician's finest effort in well
over a decade, a collection of mythically haunting
tunes that draw inspiration from Southern R&B, soul
and country.

And while it was something of a surprise that he
picked the Delta to make the record, the total stunner
found him back in our area filming a concert
companion, as high profile a recording date locally as
when those U2 chaps famously holed up at Sun.

"Tonight, you're all going to be movie stars," yelled
Costello to uproarious approval.

Some 350 fans per set packed the sweaty club, crammed
even tighter due to the film crew and cameras. A DVD
release date hasn't been decided, according to a Lost
Highway spokesperson, though the label can count on
700 satisfied customers up front.

Dressed in a stylish purple suit, Costello looked and
sounded every bit the classic performer. With his band
the Imposters - keyboard demon Steve Nieve, bassist
Davey Faragher and drummer Pete Thomas - the
singer/guitarist spotlighted new compositions,
reflected on a decades-long career and threw plenty of
Memphis and the Mid-South into the mix, a bounty of
more than 30 songs spread out over a combined
three-plus hours of playing.

Most of The Delivery Man got a proper premier,
including several selections with guest singer Emmylou
Harris. The tradition-informed duo also dropped in a
cornucopia of country standards, including the Johnny
Cash staple "I Still Miss Someone" and the Louvin
Brothers nugget "My Baby's Gone" (with Costello on
skiffle-strumming mandolin). A cover of the Flying
Burrito Brothers song "Wheels" confirmed an unspoken
nod as well to Gram Parsons.

Bluesier highlights ventured from an explosive reading
of the Willie Dixon-penned Howlin' Wolf number "Hidden
Charms" to an unexpected take on Dave Bartholomew's
"The Monkey Speaks His Mind," which Costello paired
with his inspired update, The Delivery Man single
"Monkey to Man."

Costello gave the crowd a sprinkling of Bluff City
moments, including the Sam & Dave Stax tune "I Can't
Stand Up for Falling Down," a big hit for Costello in
the U.K. that benefited live from swift Otis
Redding-worthy energy.

Then there was a hip appropriation of "Suspicious
Minds" by that other Elvis on "Alison" (not to mention
the custom-built "Flying Mojo" guitar designed by
local musician Robert Johnson).

Longtime followers also got plenty of "Pump It Up"
back catalog, from "Radio, Radio" and "Mystery Dance"
in the first set to "High Fidelity" in the second.

Costello told The Commercial Appeal that he intended
to "frame" the new material with key older numbers;
indeed, one could easily connect the thematic dots on
something like the R&B-rich "Blame It on Cain" (from
Costello's 1977 debut My Aim is True) straight to The
Delivery Man.

Friday's shows were as round ed a portrait of Costello
as he's given, a full-circle journey that finds the
one-time angry young man at 50 still creatively
engaged and sharp as ever. "Elvis: Live from Memphis"
is about to take on a whole new meaning.