The great bespectacled, post punk, bard has reinvented himself down the years as
a pop craftsman, country crooner, jazz purist and bluesy soulster, but his
Noughties incarnation as Elvis Costello And The Imposters took him back to his
rock roots. After collaborating with Burt Bacharach on the album The Sweetest
Punch (1998), Costello's trademark bristling, acerbic lyrics and angular pop
hooks were back in full force on the album When I Was Cruel (2002), a top twenty
hit in both the US and UK. He collaborated with Lucinda Williams and Emmylou
Harris and soaked up deep Americana in...