Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint - Hot As A Pistol, Keen As A Blade

Brewing up a storm of their own making

For a partnership forged at Hurricane Katrina benefit shows in 2005, the Costello-Toussaint hook-up has proved to be a durable one. This concert, filmed in Montreal last summer, cherrypicks the highlights of the album The River In Reverse, but Toussaint has also been let loose on the Costello back catalogue.

Toussaint’s melodically funereal horn arrangements of Costello oldies such as (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea and Tears Before Bedtime (the latter played live here for the first time ever) tap into hitherto undiscovered pockets of the songs, in some instances forcing the listener to re-evaluate the original lyric. The piano man himself takes centre stage on New Orleans standards (Brickyard Blues, Fortune Teller), and the result is one big two-hour party vibe.

Costello’s own Imposters mesh perfectly with The Crescent City Horns, to the point where it’s almost a mini-orchestra ripping into Watching The Detectives, yet subtle and subdued on a heartbreaking rendition of Alison. A great mix of the old and the new, where everyone is having a blast.

Hip-O Select | B 0008022

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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