Elvis Costello

Musical rover Costello heads south. Recorded in Mississippi and channeling Memphis soul, Costello's tales of two-timing lovers, desperate lives and unforgiven evils aptly mesh with his raw vocals and the dirty twang of his longtime band. Duets by country legends Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris add to the southern feel.

It seems that as Elvis Costello explores more elaborate musical styles -- an orchestral album,
Il Sogno, has just been released -- his rock & roll grows rawer and more impassioned. "Button
My Lip," the angular opening track on The Delivery Man, rolls in as if the listener had
intruded on a performance that was already under way. The Imposters play with that sort
of immediacy throughout. Even the ballads -- "Either Side of the Same Town," "No... More >

The Impostors sound even more pissed off than Elvis, who seems less embittered as a result ("Button My Lip," "There's a Story in Your Voice"). (Grade - ***)