'THE RIVER IN REVERSE'

'THE RIVER IN REVERSE'
Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint
(Verve Forecast)
Grade: A-
It's tiring just trying to keep up with everything Elvis Costello's up to -- imagine how exhausting it must be to BE him. Of all the bespectacled Brit's various and sundry projects, however, "The River in Reverse" is one worth homing in on. It pools the resources of the prolific songwriter with the great Allen Toussaint, elegant New Orleans songwriter, piano man and producer, author of "Workin' in a Coal Mine," among many others. Recorded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and produced by Joe Henry, it's made up of six new songs and seven lesser-known Toussaint gems. The elder songsmith's compositions such as "Tears, Tears and More Tears" and "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further" sound freshly relevant, and new Costello lyrics like those to the title cut and "Broken Promise Land" are fittingly soulful and indignant. A mutually beneficial collaboration, if there ever was one.
-- Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer
'LET'S GET OUT OF THIS COUNTRY'
Camera Obscura (Merge)
Grade: B
Glasgow's Camera Obscura began under the spell of Belle and Sebastian, trafficking in pleasantly twee songs about schoolgirl crushes and other underachieving lovers. On "Let's Get Out of This Country, their third album, Tracyanne Campbell and her mates couch their nostalgia in gloriously anachronistic girl-group arrangements and sweetly soulful '60s ballads. "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" gallops along to a Motown bass line, swells of strings, and a twangy guitar. It's a response to Lloyd Cole's 1984 classic "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?" and one of this year's best bits of pure pop bliss. The similarly swinging "If Looks Could Kill" isn't far behind. Lilting ballads such as the tribute to singer-songwriter Dory Previn can't match the euphoria of clap-happy tracks like "I Need All the Friends I Can Get," but no matter: Heartbreak rarely sounds this enticing.
-- Steve Klinge, Philadelphia Inquirer
'BOLTON SINGS SINATRA'
Michael Bolton
(Passion/Concord)
Grade: B
Soft-rocker Michael Bolton has been borrowing for a long time. The changeable crooner, who lost a lawsuit for copying the Isley Brothers, makes an apparently unrefusable offer to sing the core of Frank Sinatra's "oeuvre."
This big-band recording with voluptuous arrangements dares to take on the chairman's biggest songs, sounding the same bluesy licks on the opening of "That's Life" and even aping the feel of the much-played "New York, New York."
Bolton doesn't sound half bad. But he's got this overheated ardency on just about every song, which gets irritating. Can he milk any more ache out of "My Funny Valentine" without involving a cow? And he sounds a lot like other people, including David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & amp; Tears.
It's possible to enjoy this CD, but not without guilt. It's as if Bolton channels Sinatra through a karaoke machine. Bolton resembles a politician who lifts lines from a competitor to win kudos. He rips off another performer's juju.
-- Karl Stark, Philadelphia Inquirer
'A LIVELY MIND'
Paul Oakenfold
(Maverick)
Grade: C
Oh, to be Paul Oakenfold, a globe-trotting superstar DJ who breaks the hot tracks and produces his own music with the aid of -- let's be honest here -- any other artist looking to increase their cool quotient. With that mix of success and connections, you might think Oakenfold's latest album, "A Lively Mind," can't miss.
Well, it's not a full swing and a miss, but the album suffers from a too-safe blend of electronic sounds that are slowly paced, overpolished and not very progressive.
There's lots of "feat." action here -- tracks featuring Brittany Murphy, Grandmaster Flash and Pharrell Williams -- yet only one golden track in the bunch.
Murphy helps Oakenfold's cause a bit on "Faster Kill Pussycat," as the Hollywood actress growls and coos through the standout dance track, proving she's no rookie on the microphone. But then comes the iffy stuff, such as Pharrell's assist on "Sex N' Money." Relentless, redundant, repetitive and uninspiring from two guys who ought to know better. Other tracks suffer from a similar pulse paralysis.
"A Lively Mind" is high on production value, but low on memorable beats. The Brittany Murphy track is the only one worth hearing twice.
Somewhere there's a 40-something guy driving around in his mid-life crisis Porsche with the top down playing this CD and trying to impress the cool club kids. Mr. Porsche is failing, and this time it's Paul's fault.
-- Ron Harris, Associated Press