Some basic rockers know followers solely need the “hits.”
You understand, the songs that made them well-known and gave rock radio fodder for many years.
Elvis Costello hasn’t stopped recording new music since he burst onto the scene within the late Seventies. He nonetheless acknowledged a starvation for his early work, and he obliged followers with this 12 months’s “Radio Soul” tour.
To a degree.
Radio Soul Tour kicks off subsequent week in Seattle,WA!
See all of the tour dates: https://t.co/ihKfb1bSXB pic.twitter.com/HUF6lNOePO
— Elvis Costello (@ElvisCostello) June 4, 2025
Costello visited Denver Sunday, bringing with him a scrumptious mix of hits (“Alison,” “Pump It Up”) and deep-cut gems (“Good Mistake,” “Watch Your Step”). The 70-year-old appeared in good spirits and sturdy well being, and his voice held up by means of many of the night time.
He nonetheless took a galling method to his again catalog on the Bellco Theatre, extending lyrics in a maddening show. The singer lagged behind on his greatest numbers, an method that rendered his melodies inert.
Think about a singer out of step along with his personal materials, and constantly so. Exasperating hardly describes it.
Even a ballad like “Alison,” hardly a foot-stomper, performed out in sluggish vogue.
Costello stays a musical innovator, so some rearrangements have been anticipated. He reconfigured “(The Angels Wanna Put on My) Pink Footwear” with a extra deliberate tempo, robbing the observe of its urgency.
The good “Clubland” snagged a salsa makeover, however the change proved surprisingly natural.
The majority of the set discovered Costello trailing his signature lyrics, and “Good Mistake” might have been essentially the most painful instance.
Costello largely stayed true to the tour’s promise, with just a few detours like a canopy Van Morrison’s “Domino.” The Rock ‘n’ Roll Corridor of Famer delivered a haunting tackle “Deportee,” an immigrant lament that tied into the night time’s different theme.
Trump. In fact. And it wasn’t the first time.
Costello didn’t name-check the forty seventh president, however including “Deportee” to the set record was no accident. Nor was a fast point out of two different classics that “predicted” Trump’s ascent – “Past Perception” and “Ready for the Finish of the World.”
“I hate it once I’m proper,” he cracked.
A extra correct selection? “Veronica,” the portrait of dementia to protest a sure ex-president.
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The Imposters backed Costello as credibly as any group would possibly. Acquainted faces like Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve of The Points of interest fame introduced many years of expertise to the gig. You’d be hard-pressed to search out fault with their handiwork, and their chemistry with Costello gave the present a nostalgic glint.
Costello has by no means been a first-class showman, however he is aware of easy methods to wind a tune down and ship some spit polish for the lots. All for the great, and he proved it anew in Denver.
What a disgrace that he refused to deal with his again catalog with the reverence it deserves.
One exception? The fiery encore discovered the singer-songwriter catching as much as his poppier tracks. “Pump It Up” felt uncooked and alive, as did “(What’s So Humorous ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” though by that time within the two-plus hour present Costello’s voice appeared to fade.
He had saved one of the best for final, however why did it take him so lengthy?