North (Rest Of World)

Costello's umpteenth studio album follows 2002's 'When I Was Cruel'. Stepping outside the confines of rock 'n' roll, as he did on 1993's 'The Juliet Letters', this album is rooted in chamber music and jazz. With every track a ballad, written for piano and sung in a baritone voice, this is a sombre, yet tender and intimate collection. Features contributions from the Brodsky Quartet, jazzers Lee Konitz and Marc Ribot, and a 48-piece ensemble which includes Jazz Passengers and the Mingus Big Band.

Rolling Stone (10/16/03, p.88)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...The album is filled with haunted, piano-centered ballads and elegant string and horn arrangements that tease out subtleties in the songs' already understated melodies..."

Mojo (10/03, p.104-5)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...The most remarkable thing about NORTH is the slightly concussed air of the man singing on it....NORTH radiates a humanity..."

Entertainment Weekly (9/26/03, p.93)
- "...With Costello somewhat in let's-be-Frank mode, it's as if Capitol reissued the despairing SINATRA SINGS FOR ONLY THE LONELY and the ebullient SONGS FOR SWINGIN' LOVERS! on one disc..." - Rating: A

Q Magazine (10/03, p.103)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...Fans of Costello's Burt Bacharach collaborations will revel in the elegant melodic gearshifts of 'You Turned To Me', while champions of his classical dalliances will welcome the return of the Brodsky Quartet on the poignant 'Still'..."