Ever since releasing his 1980 homage to ’60s R&B, Get Happy, Elvis Costello’s career has been that of a tireless musicologist proving both his righteous love and vast knowledge of genres including New Orleans R&B, jazz, chamber pop and classical, with the occasional pop/rock offering thrown in to keep the hounds at bay. However, not since 1986’s King of America has Costello indulged his infatuation with country music. Establishing a recent trend in Costello’s approach, his latest offering Secret, Profane and Sugarcane—like its stellar predecessor Momofuku—was spontaneously recorded with breakneck speed (a mere three days). For his return to country, Costello enlists longtime confidante T-Bone Burnett as producer and veteran bluegrass luminaries Stuart Duncan, Jerry Douglas, Dennis Crouch and Jim Lauderdale as his main attractions (dubbed the Sugarcanes) in adding yet another loving genre tribute to his cannon. Given the A-list musicians on board and the fact that (like wine) Costello’s voice only seems to get better with age, the results are sure to please general fans of both Costello and the genre alike.
Tue., June 16, 7:30 p.m., 2009
