On the one hand, a music monster in general; one of the forerunners of the British pub rock scene, with good influence in the London punk explosion of the 70s, with an enviable ability to reinvent itself every decade - none other than Elvis Costello. Giving you support, a group that, in its niche, it has no less significant that the English singer. On the contrary, on the top of its ten discs, they are real monsters from Hip Hop and Neo Soul, besides being famous for musically accompany the sketches from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - nothing less than The Roots. A shock of giants generates great expectation, and much of it has been met: Wise Up Ghost and Other Songs is a very fun album, very nice and even a little innovative.
Costello has always been known for its easily audible alternative rock, and most relevant new wave portion of their work, and this style little affinity reveals the powerful bases of the roots. So, on some tracks, we see clearly Costello distancing from your comfort zone to face one of the main virtues of the group: Neo-Soul. This can be verified, for example, in the calm and romantic Tripwire, which features passionate vocals; or even better record range, the enigmatic Five Minutes Con Vos, which adds elements such as duplicate languages, engaging chronic and sensational arrangements, trampling to the status of addictive at the first hearing.
Although the biggest disk successes reside indeed in Rock mix with Soul and Funk, there are some tracks that resemble rather those who drove the singer in his early career, with the most ripped, carefree vocals, and the facet rock was stamping more clearly. Although also nice, they do not add much luster to drive, but collaborate on rounding a partnership that undoubtedly worked.
The reality is that, although there is no great deal of innovation, just the fact of the junction from two great names in music in a unique collaborative work already makes the disc worth paying attention. With a closer look hearsay, therefore, we can get more work done with a heart, which is not new, nor in the career of The Roots, or the Elvis Costello.
