"North" (09/23/2003) Rock & Pop Costello, Elvis, DG Deutsche Grammophon (USA)Personnel: Elvis Costello (vocals, piano); Pamela Sklar (alto flute); John Moses (clarinet); Roger Rosenberg (bass clarinet); Dave Mann, Lee Konitz (alto saxophone); Andy Snitzer (tenor saxophone); Lew Soloff (flugelhorn); Bobby Routch, Bob Carlisle (French horn); Conrad Herwig, Dave Tahlor (trombone); Steve Nieve (piano, celeste); Bill Ware (vibraphone); Michael Formanek, Brad Jones (bass); Peter Erskine (drums); Brodsky Quartet. Recorded at Nola Studios, Avatar Studios, New York, New York and Air Studios, London, England. NORTH was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Composer: Elvis Costello. Personnel: Elvis Costello (guitar, piano); Stacy Shames (harp, strings); Maura Giannini, Yana Goichman, Marti Sweet, Cenovia Cummins, Joyce Hammann, Paul Peabody, Richard Sortomme, Carol Webb, Peter Winograd, Avril Brown, Cecelia Hobbs Gardner, Ann Leathers, Jan Mullen, Yuri Vodovoz, Jonathan Dinklage (violin, strings); Elena Barere, Ian Belton, Andrew Haveron, Regis Iandiorio (violin); Sue Pray, Crystal Garner, Rebecca Young, Maxine Roach, Sarah Adams, Karen Dreyfus (viola, strings); Paul Cassidy (viola); Diane Barere, Ellen Westerman, Jeanne LeBlanc, Richard Locker, Frederick Zlotkin (cello, strings); Jacqueline Thomas (cello); Timothy Cobb, Jacqui Danilow (strings); Pamela Sklar (alto flute); John Moses (clarinet); Roger Rosenberg (bass clarinet); Dave Mann , Lee Konitz (alto saxophone); Andy Snitzer (tenor saxophone); Lew Soloff (flugelhorn); Bob Carlisle, Bobby Routch (French horn); Conrad Herwig (tenor trombone); Steve Nieve (piano, celesta, electric piano); Peter Erskine (drums). Audio Mixer: Kevin Killen. Recording information: Air Studios, London, England; Avatar Studios, New York, NY; Nola Studios, New York, NY. Photographer: Mark Seliger. Arrangers: Steve Nieve; Elvis Costello. Few artists in pop history have displayed as many different musical sides as Elvis Costello. Over the years, he's ventured in new wave, country, jazz, R&B, and more, and collaborated with everyone from Burt Bacharach to opera star Anne Sofie Von Otter. So those who've followed his twists and turns shouldn't be taken aback by EC following his excellent, groove-based rock album WHEN I WAS CRUEL with a disc full of gently orchestrated piano ballads. This is Costello's debut release on the classical Deutsche Grammaphon label, and though he's ventured into the classical world on such projects as his JULIET LETTERS album with the Brodsky Quartet, this is a different beast. With a muted backing that splits the difference between jazzy combo and modern orchestra, NORTH finds Costello aiming for a modern variation on the classic standard format. Using traditional structures, he spices things up by adding seemingly Schubert-inspired art song-like harmonies and melodic intervals. The lyrics follow a man on the path from romantic disillusionment to the sparks of a new love, mirroring the songwriter's personal journey at the time of the recording. The only question at the end is--where to next?
