Rather, the album arose from impromptu jams when he performed with the Roots on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” During their early meetings, bandleader ?uestlove asked Costello if he’d be interested in “remixing” some of his older songs. It turns out that this isn’t Costello’s attempt to redefine himself. Furthermore, Wise Up Ghost has a dystopian tension running through it and a yin-yang balance of bitter and sweet lyrical themes that place it squarely in the median of Costello’s discography, even if the production and music favors the Roots’ aesthetic approach. Rather than trying to play rapper, Costello steps in and takes advantage of the space, letting his phrases wander across the beat the way he always has, whether the genre of the moment is new wave or country. Although their MC, Black Thought, is not present, ?uestlove’s steady syncopation and the band’s sparse arrangements create a hip hop vibe that is designed to support and exhibit the vocals. The Roots’ deep dedication to a centering groove is honored across all these songs. Instead, the album captures the best elements of its collaborators. They already know that he’s not a Frank Zappa, constantly stealing from himself to create a web of contextual references, so there’s been some concern about his creative direction on this project.īut none of that distress is justified.
None of Costello’s fans want to think of him tossing integrity to the wind, finding a young group of hipsters to harness and then rearranging old songs in a desperate plea for relevance. This concept, though, is worrying on the surface. Sometimes this teases out new meanings but for the most part, it just shows how relevant his words remain. Instead, the album resurrects a collection of specters from Costello’s songbook, recasting lyrics and melodic references in an updated setting. Who exactly is the Ghost on this project? Both Elvis Costello and the Roots have done their own background fades while collaborating with other artists and styles, but neither side hides their light on Wise Up Ghost.
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