North [LIMITED EDITION]

Elvis Costello

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 23, 2003)
• Original Release Date: September 23, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Limited Edition
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B0000AN7KV
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,097 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Cabaret singing is one of the most venerable of pop idioms, yet one fraught with some paradoxical pitfalls: betraying emotional candor, yet not the studied artifice of the singer. And while Elvis Costello has a long and successful flirtation with the style, he's seldom delivered it with the consistently stripped-down directness he's mustered here. Costello claims the alum's songs bubbled forth nearly fully-formed over the winter of ‘02-‘03, and indeed they often ebb and flow with an unpredictable fluidity that seems to reflect the songwriter's subconscious mind (to the point of occasionally conjuring fleeting, almost spectral melodic references from his beloved pop standards) at its most creatively naked. For an artist who's long prided himself on the willful literacy and challenging symbolism of his lyrics, the transparency of his romantic musings here is often startling. Likely inspired by an arc of emotional change in his own life (Costello hints that the bittersweet "You Left Me in the Dark" and hopefulness "I'm in the Mood Again" don't bookend the album by coincidence), a subtext of difficult romantic communication also surfaces repeatedly on tracks like the dramatic "Someone Took the Words Away" and lovely "When it Sings," while the neo-classicism of "Still" reunites Costello with the Brodsky Quartet in arguably the album's most traditional, sophisticated moment. Backed by Steve Nieve's spare, haunting piano (the instrument the songwriter composed the songs at; it's the most guitar-free album of his career), the drums of Peter Erskine, and double-bass of Mike Formanek, with only the most economic of orchestral flourishes, the mood is decidedly autumnal, Costello's gently quavering voice pushed into the spotlight as never before, a musical tightrope walk whose sublime execution seldom belies its conceptual audacity. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description
UK special limited edition of 2003 album features 12 tracks including 1 bonus track, 'Impatience', plus a bonus DVD featuring an interview with Elvis plus three promotional videos, 'Fallen', 'North', & 'Still'. Universal. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing piece of work, September 24, 2003

By	Roger A. Mccoy (Stockton, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've just finished listening to North for the first time. I wasn't sure what to expect coming in. When I first purchased the album, I didn't know what to expect from a musical chameleon like Costello. Glancing over the liner notes, I noticed the complex arrangements, some noting as many as fourteen different players, along with a mention of a 34-piece string section at the end (I assume this must be for "Fallen"). Then, noticing the Deutsch Grammophon logo on the CD, I realized this would be something heavily influenced by classical. Although I'm familiar a fair amount of Costello's works, I still have not heard his chamber-pop works such as "The Juliet Letters" with the Brodsky Quartet (who make an appearance in "Still" on this album), but I had been given the impression that such experiments had led to mixed results.

I'm happy to say that the results here are anything but mixed. Most will not find "North" as immediately captivating as "Painted from Memory", and will be disappointed if they expect a sequel to "When I Was Cruel". Although the rocker Costello is gone, at least for the moment, the works here feel more honest, heartfelt, and uncompromising than any of the albums mentioned above. If you give yourself over to the music, it is captivating and compelling, and I have the feeling that, over time, this will remain one of my favorite Costello albums. Sure, I'll still be popping in the pop/rock hits and classics, but this album acts as a subtle emotional roller coaster, if such a thing is possible. It takes you on a journey of a desperation and hope going through it's 11 tracks. Definitely not for everyone, but more than worth your precious time.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars give it time...., September 29, 2003

By	wordnat "wordnat" (boise, idaho United States) - See all my reviews

....and you'll love it. i'm a huge EC fan, but this album kind of annoyed me at first. just too mellow. the only tunes that jumped out at me initially were "still" (an absolute stunner) and "someone took the words away" (even better), and i had to send out search parties to find the melody in (seemingly) dirge-like numbers like "when did i stop dreaming" or "fallen". but, after about a week or so of listening, the intricate beauty -- and, yes, sturdy melodies -- of these fragile songs bloomed into full flower. head "north", folks -- it's a great trip.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Going the other way..., October 11, 2003

By	Michael Clark (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

During a recent interview Elvis was asked about the title to his latest album, "NORTH". He replied that most songs and records written about love are all about a relationship "going South", "well, this is just the opposite of that.." I thought this was a brilliant statement on the body of work that Elvis has brought to us with this effort. So sit back, be quiet, and listen to a man start from loneliness, move to hope, and onto unbridled love all within one record. Elvis's exploration of the intimate rooms of male emotion that he walks into with this record is to be admired and taken in deeply, as most artists in Elvis's position would not be so brave to pursue so completely. His full commitment pays off with the nakedness and very intimate and quiet setting and leaves us feeling as if we are hearing him for the first time. If you wish to hear an artist that not only challenges himself, but his fans continuously, and then go on this journey and discover something most of us never take the time to admit to ourselves.