And with his latest release, North, Costello turns back to the classical pop standards he last did with Burt Bacharach on 1998’s Painted from Memory. This time, though, Costello produced, arranged, composed and performed all the songs himself. And while North may prove that Costello has talent in this field, the subtelties and cohesiveness missing from the album indicate a ways to go for Costello.

The hardest part of listening to the album is hearing Costello’s inability to find his groove early on. While Bacharach was able to provide varied and indivualistic arrangements, Costello is much more elementary in his classical wares.

“You Left Me in the Dark” and “Someone Took the Words Away,” the album’s first two tracks, are both well-written, reflective songs but are nearly indistinguishable in sound.

Not until “When Did I Start Dreaming?” does the former Angry Young Man find a bit of a change of pace by playing around with some voice affectations and string arrangements.

Another trap Costello falls into is over-sentementality. The pop standard lends itself well to saccharine, but Costello has always excelled in sracastic and acidic songwriting. Hearing the old fire such as “That I thought would flatter me/What the hell was the matter with me” on “When Green Eyes Turn Blue” are moments much to rare on North. Lines such as “There are no words that I’m afraid to hear/Unless they are ‘Goodbye, my dear'” from “Still” are more par-for-the-course and feel like they are being forced to fit with the melancholy arrangments.

North finally finds a groove at the end with “Can You Be True?” and “When Green Eyes Turn Blue.” The former has the album’s best arrangement with a violent and ominous string opening that is carried out through the rest of the song. And “When Green Eyes Turn Blue” is the playful and witty Costello that gets supressed for most of the album.

There are moments of promise on North but the main disappointments come from knowing the wasted potential of the album.

Costello’s previous album, 2002’s When I Was Cruel, was an energetic and promising effort that showcased improved studio production to complement Costello’s still razor-sharp songwriting. But North loses that edge. The promise of Costello being able to maintain his sarcasm, bitterness and masterful songwriting goes unfulfilled on this album, with only hints of how Costello is progressing as a non-classical songwriter.

Also disappointing is the use of Steve Nieve, the only member of The Impostors, Costello’s backing band, used on the album. Nieve is one of the most brilliant and bombastic keyboardists in rock ‘n’ roll, as evidenced in songs such as “Radio, Radio” and “Spooky Girlfriend.” But on North, Nieve is reduced to a non-descript piano sideman to Costello’s torch singer. Just because he’s playing classical, doesn’t mean Nieve can’t be expiremental, but Costello’s arrangements just seem to handcuff him.

While it tops 1993’s failed classical expirement The Juliet Letters, North falls short of Painted From Memory by not being able to match Bacharach’s luscious arrangements or a song as perfect as “God Give Me the Strength.”

Whether the album is an attempt by Costello to prove he can handle all the aspects of classical pop or a result of the influence of his jazz-pop fiancee Diana Krall, North feels like a very personal project for Costello that just doesn’t translate as well to those outside of his mind. Costello can handle this style, but it seems to serve more as a reminder of what Costello misses out on while staying classical.

Grade: C,”Matthew T. Olson”

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