"FOR THE STARS".(Review)

Anne Sofie von Otter and Elvis Costello [] "FOR THE STARS" Songs by Costello et al. Costello, Fleshquartet, the Ensemble. No texts. Deutsche Grammophon 469 530 2

This combined effort from Anne Sofie yon Otter and pop singer/songwriter Elvis Costello is astonishingly good. Of the eighteen cuts here, Costello wrote words and music to three of them, and lyrics alone to four others. The non-Costello songs include contributions by such pop luminaries as Burt Bacharach, Tom Waits, Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys), and Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (of ABBA). The songs, mostly soulful ballads, are unfailingly pleasant, even in their melancholy; some are downright exquisite. The catchiest is whichever one you heard last. The arrangements, mostly by Costello and "the Ensemble," are tasteful combinations of electric and acoustic instruments, the best of which evoke the more classically-influenced Beatles songs (think "Eleanor Rigby" or "She's Leaving Home"). There is, in fact, an actual Beatles tune on the disc, "For No One." (This novel and graceful rendition is accompanied and arranged by the electric-acoustic string group Fleshquartet, whose members also wrote the music for three of the albums best and most unusual numbers.) Costello joins yon Otter on vocals in six of the songs.

Von Otter is magnificent. Her English is superb, her delivery natural, understated and intimate. She comes ...