The long running joke about Elvis Costello is that whenever he releases a new album, record stores never know which genre to file it under. In the past decade alone, Costello has released a roots-rock song cycle, a collaboration with opera singer Anne Sofie von Otter, another with R&B legend Allen Toussaint, a couple albums of jazzy ballads, an orchestral suite and several discs with the latest incarnation of his New Wave-era band The Attractions, now christened The Imposters.
Though his late-period prolificacy sometimes suggests a stodgy savant churning out whatever he feels like with scant regard for popular cultureand indeed, that may be the caseCostello nonetheless has remained deeply relevant. A televised 2006 concert paired him with a small sampling of some of his more famous devotees, Fiona Apple, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard. He’s done several collaborations with Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis, and provided a show-stopping cameo on the most recent Fall Out Boy album. He plays with roots icons like Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch whenever he gets the chance. He touches on many genres, but all of them are richer for his contributions.
Those fearing Costello might break out an opera at his return appearance at Summerfest this year shouldn’t be too worried. Costello’s concerts with his Imposters are rooted firmly in the rock ’n’ roll that first made him famous in the late ’70 and early ’80s, so expect a comfortable (and usually very generous) mix of old standards and fresh-from-the-oven new material.
