Elvis Costello & The Imposters – Live In Memphis (DTS)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B     Extras: B-     Concert: B

 

 

Elvis Costello likes to subtly provoke.  He has glasses like no one since Buddy Holly or Elton John, takes Elvis Presley’s name as his own and recently took a sort of fill-in position when he paired with Burt Bachrach doing Hal David’s role of lyricist in a series of recordings.  Live In Memphis is a new two-hour concert in the smaller-than-usual Hi Tone Café, which has a mere 200-person capacity.

 

The set covers all eras of Costello’s career as follows:

 

1)     Waiting For The End Of The World

2)     Radio Radio

3)     Mystery Dance

4)     Blue Chair

5)     Bedlam

6)     Country Darkness

7)     Blame It On Cain

8)     Either Side Of The Same Town

9)     High Fidelity

10)  The Judgment

11)  Monkey To Man

12)  The Monkey

13)  I Still Miss Someone (duet with Emmylou Harris)

14)  Heart Shaped Bruise (duet with Emmylou Harris)

15)  Wheels (duet with Emmylou Harris)

16)  The Delivery Man

17)  Hidden Charms

18)  Alison/Suspicious Minds

19)  Peace, Love & Understanding

20)  Pump It Up

 

 

Bonus tracks include My Baby’s Gone (duet with Emmylou Harris), There’s A Story In Your Voice, Button My Lip and Sleepless Night (duet with Emmylou Harris).  Seeing Costello here, not held back by a sort of pretension with Bachrach, being trapped in an old New Wave Music Video or just hearing about how great he is instead of actually listening to the man at his Rockin’ best makes a huge difference in perception.

 

Perhaps Costello has not had the best exposure and chance for more consistent mainstream success.  Is he too individualistic for today’s increasingly conformist society?  Do certain people in the media simply not want to take him seriously because they think all he is about is pastiche and saying the same things that have already been said?  That would be inaccurate, though perhaps he has not gone all out in the personal expression department or the time has come for him to try again.  Could too many people still remember his bizarre Goodbye Cruel World album and still hold it against him?  Maybe, but that would not be enough to stop larger success.  The only odd moment in the set is trying to graft Elvis Presley’s comeback classic Suspicious Minds onto Allison, which almost fits, but is inconsistent with the power of the rest of the set.  The main concert lasts just over 80 minutes.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 16 X 9/1.78 X 1 image looks good and is one of the better digital HD concert tapings we have seen to date.  Lighting is better than usual, which is a plus since the lighting has been a bit off on many such production.  Even stronger is the sound, here in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with Pro Logic surrounds, better Dolby 5.1 and especially good DTS 5.1, which are very clean and clear.  Some of this veers into a Country Rock direction, with Harris’ voice particularly impressive.  She should do a long DTS-optioned concert DVD of her own.  For Costello, the detail of the empathy and depth in his voice shines in DTS more than just about any time I have ever heard him to date.  Together, Harris & Costello, picture and sound, this is one of the top performing concert DVDs we have experienced to date.

 

Extras include the bonus tracks noted above, with more Harris singing a plus.  Off The Beaten Path is a Costello riding around Memphis discussing the history and especially music history of the key music town (also anamorphic 16 X 9) and includes more interesting info on Stax Records.  They visit the museum and its too bad that alone did not go on for a few hours.  It turns out Willie Mitchell’s Royal Recording Studio was also a former movie theater, which they drive by.  It has been covered on other DVDs on Stax, believe it or not.  Then they go to Arkansas, doing more sight seeking as they go to a radio station appointment.  In this case, it is the home of the legendary King Biscuit Time series.  Then it is off to Mississippi to Sweet Tea Recording Studio, with more interesting stories of the places and town in the process.  This includes some recording.  The program runs about an hour.  Radio & The Fans has to do with the announcement of the concert on this disc, which leads to the fans forming quiet a line for tickets.  It’s a fun piece that runs just over four minutes.

 

When all is said and done, anyone who loves music will walk away with a new respect and admiration for Costello.  Those with home theater systems can consider this a state-of-the-art music disc and will want it for their collection.  Live In Memphis is another winner from Eagle Vision.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo