I love screwball collaborations. Not collabs that don't work, like Metallica and Lou Reed's effort that could generously be called a failed experiment and accurate the vicious murder of all things that audiophiles hold dear. What I'm talking about is work produced by artists that you never would have thought to combine in a million years. The 2010 effort Broken Bells fronted by the bizarre-yet-winning combination of hip-hop producer Danger Mouse and Shins rocker James Mercer. Or the unlikely duo of St. Vincent and David Byrne that produced one of last year's best records, Love This Giant.
It was that vein I was hoping for when I first heard that Elvis Costello was teaming up with the Roots. Costello is a living legend, and one of my all time favorite artists besides. And the Roots, while best being known as Jimmy Fallon's house band, are a proven jazz-rap group responsible for over a half dozen terrific records in their own right. I couldn't imagine the two pairing up well, but the talent was there and the first single, "Walk Us Uptown" was good enough to seriously heighten my expectations.
So how did it live up?
At first, phenomenally. Costello's wry humor and distinctive vocal delivery were a perfect match for the odd, funking grooves that the Roots are famous for. The two seem a match made for one another. Costello is as prickly as ever, writing songs about government surveillance, environmental degradation and the world just generally going to hell. This urgency is balanced by the cynical levity with which he treats many of his issues, creating a record that on one track will beg you to care about an issue of relevance, only for Costello to throw up his arms and say , "Fuck it" on the next. It's a wonderful balance.
All of that is typical Costello. Where this record surprises is the way his shrill, uneven crooning matches perfectly the eccentric jives of the band. In being the singer, it may seem that Costello is the star on the record. But the reality is that the Roots rules the stage here as much as he does. This album is packed to the brim with the slickest funk-jazz beats since the 70s heyday of the genre. There's an effortless ebb and flow on the record. Tracks like "Walk Us Uptown", "Sugar Won't Work" and "Wake Me Up" provide a funky, streetwise swagger, while others such as "Refused to be Saved" and "Come the Meantime" teem with an apocalyptic urgency. All of it works beautifully, and the artists maintain a wonderful creative sync while still maintaining a sharp. stylistic contrast.
All of that makes the second half of the record that much more disappointing. The first sign that all of this might go wrong is, perhaps fittingly, "Tripwire". It middles around as an early Costello "Allison"-esque ballad that lacks neither the grooves of the Roots nor the charm of the Attractions. In fact, it just kind of middles about, not going anywhere in particular. The model is unfortunately followed by the tracks "Viceroy's Row", "If I Could Believe" and the album's title track. And while the Latin infused "Cinco Minutos Vos" could have been a good slowdown track in between the catchier, funkier numbers, its existence alongside the others just contributes to the sense that the group ran out of ideas and started winding things down halfway through.
It's extremely disappointing, because if Wise Up Ghosts had maintained its initial momentum, I have every confidence that it would be my record of the year. As it stands, though, all the bad that comes with the good renders it a mediocre album. If you can pick it up, I still recommend it, because there is serious greatness here. I'd love to see another collaboration between these artists where they, y'know...finish the job. But I'm not holding my breath on that one.
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