Costello hardly less than zero

Elvis Costello's multi-decade career, simply put, has been an impulsive one. Governed by the moment, Costello has continuously reinvented his sound, from the anti-corporate anthems of 1978's punk classic This Years Model, to collaborations with jazz guitarist Bill Frisell on 1995's Deep Dead Blue. Costello's latest release, My Flame Burns Blue, captures the artist's continuing maturation live at the 2004 North Sea Jazz Festival. \nBacked by the dynamic 52-piece jazz orchestra Metropole Orkest, Costello delivers energetic renditions of works by jazz heavyweights such as Charles Mingus, as well as inspired re-arrangements of his own catalogue. As Costello so aptly states in the liner notes, "This record may explain what I've been doing during the last 12 years..." \nThe time spent perfecting these 14 arrangements becomes apparent the moment the big band locomotive leaves its station for the opening Mingus number, "Hora Decubitus." The lyrics, penned the days following Sept. 11, captures Costello's mood as he touts, "You can't fight / That you might / Not be smite / Life is a beautiful thing." Crisp orchestration by Mike Mossman highlights "Decubitus" as an explosive horn section aids the anxious Costello who bellows, "I hope I wake up in time." \nNext is the dark Costello ballad "Favorite Hour," which originally appeared on the album Brutal Youth. Pianist Steve Nieve handles the arrangement beautifully as he inserts an incredibly dramatic pause moments after Costello cries, "As we approach the favorite hour." \n"Upon a Veil of Midnight Blue" finds Costello cooing much like Frank Sinatra as he lulls the crowd with: "You look in her eyes as they close." Former Costello collaborator Bill Frisell arranged "Veil," offering some superbly crafted string arrangements that gracefully compliment the smooth Costello. \nSome of the album's finer, more ambitious moments come when Costello offers new arrangements of his more popular works. Digging into his extensive archive of greatest hits, Costello delivers a spirited Latin remake of his 1980 classic "Clubland." Costello and arranger Sy Johnson masterfully incorporate many of the defining instrumental figures from the original version, tastefully making use of the big band setting. \nThe most surprising arrangement on Blue, however, is Costello's complete revision of the 1977 hit "Watching the Detectives." Easily one of Costello's most recognizable tunes, "Detectives" has been stripped of its reggae roots in an attempt he describes as being "in the style of a 1950s television theme." Costello has a knack for arranging, evidenced by his clever word painting heard in the descending horn lines that complement the lyrics "shivers running down my spine." \nThroughout Blue shivers ran down my spine, reminding me that after nearly 30 years, Costello is still as hip as ever. Bravo.