Old dogs, old tricks.(Pop Notes)(three sound recordings)

"45," the leadoff track on Elvis Costello's new album, "When I Was Cruel" (Island), is the cleverest song Costello has written in years, and that's saying something. The title refers to 1945 and the birth of postwar Britain, but also to the 45-r.p.m. record: over a skidding riff, the lyrics sketch a short history of contemporary popular culture and its influence on impressionable young minds. After that, the album sags a bit. Though it reunites Costello with most of the Attractions, it doesn't take him far enough away from the deliberate eclecticism of the last decade: while there are a handful of terse guitar-driven rockers, Costello also samples Italian pop, introduces Middle Eastern horn arrangements, and employs all manner of keyboard effects. Taken in isolation, the innovations sparkle; taken together they drag; Costello comes off as an encyclopedia salesman, more interested in showing his wares than in making a strong impression.

On "Are You Passionate?" (Reprise), Neil Young takes a break from his two most common modes (dreamy folk rock, lumbering proto-grunge) to cut a soul record with members of the legendary Stax combo Booker T. and the MGs. The pairing is vaguely laughable, with Young's scarecrow voice wavering over familiar bass lines. But underneath the retro outfit it's the same ...