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Music CD - The River in Reverse
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Music CD: The River in Reverse
List Price: $18.98
Our Price: $6.94
Your Save: $ 12.04 ( 63% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Verve Forecast
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Tracks:
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1. On The Way Down
2. Nearer To You
3. Who's Gonna Help A Brother
4. Sharpest Thorn
5. Tears
6. River In Reverse
7. Freedom For The Stallion
8. Broken Promise Land
9. Ascension Day
10. International Echo
11. All These Things
12. Wonder Woman
13. Six Fingered Man
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0602498560570
Label: Verve Forecast
Manufacturer: Verve Forecast
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Verve Forecast
Release Date: 2006-06-06
Studio: Verve Forecast
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: An interesting pairing, but it's just not what it could have been.
Comment:
An interesting labor of love, THE RIVER IN REVERSE turns out to be a solid collaboration of styles without any significant surprises. Playing to the strengths of both artists, this collection of songs from both Costello and Toussaint has all the requisite sounds: slow haunting horns, jazz and blues tempos throughout, and heartfelt vocals from Costello making for a pretty, but ultimately, forgettable effort. After listening to this a number of times, I've yet to find a song that sticks with me after I walk away. The true collaborations between the two, like "International Echo" and "Six-Fingered Man" add some spice to the mix, but the overall effect is just, "This is OK," and I guess my high expectations for this going in didn't help. I was hoping this would meeting would bring out the best in both, but there is no sense of challenge here, just mutual respect, and that doesn't necessarily lead to the most exciting mixture of styles. THE RIVER IN REVERSE is a worthy effort, but not one that will get a lot of play on my system in the future.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't Overlook The CD/DVD Combo
Comment: Yes indeed! So you're thinking about getting this great collaboration that came out in 2006 on CD, which is a wonderful thing to be thinking about, as most of the other reviewers here will attest to. But hey, please don't forget to look in the next bin at THE EXACT SAME TITLE IN THE CD/DVD COMBO PACKAGE (ASIN: B000FBH476) AND IT'S FOR THE *EXACT SAME PRICE*!! What was that? Well SOMEBODY you know must have a DVD player, and they can invite you over for dinner! It's worth it on so many levels, just to see them starting the project in LA, see them at Sunset Sound breaking out the ever-so-soulful song "What Do You Want The Girl To Do" (not on the CD), see them talking about actually going to The Big Easy soon after Katrina and debating whether it's a good idea or not since it could be seriously discouraged by the authorities, not to mention real upsetting for Allen Toussaint (having just lost his house and possessions there), see them flying coach from LA to NO, and then see them pick up the sessions again at a studio right there in the Crescent City! The material from the CD comes to life ten-fold, and the city by (and still in) the river welcomes them with open arms! As Toussaint says at one point "There will always be a New Orleans, and now.. there will be a Very New Orleans!" It's a joy to watch.
So to re-cap: the CD's great, 4 stars. But don't forget to look one shelf over at the CD/DVD combo, an easy 5 star package. And at zero extra dollars, it's a no-brainer!
Customer Rating:
Summary: More than easy listening from the Big Easy!
Comment: Elvis Costello teams up with legendary New Orleans jazz pianist Alain Toussant for a collection of beautiful songs with a quiet dignity beneath the riffs. A portion of the profits go to help New Orleans musicians who were Hurricane Katrina victims. But I never knew Big Easy jass could be so thoughtful and sophisticated.
Customer Rating:
Summary: 4 1/2 stars.
Comment: my, mr costello is certainly prolific in the recording studio. yet another album. and hooray, i say. the man rarely, rarely lets one down. this time out he is paired with new orleans great allen toussaint. together they have crafted an extremely fun recording. rock, blues, and funky soul ring out here. mr toussaint's piano playing is filled with infectious enthusiasm and mr costello's vocals are filled with emotion. that costello voice, to me, is stunning. it's ablility to express different moods and a variety of emotions can hardly be bettered in rock music. his songwriting has always gotten attention, but i feel his singing has not recieved the full appreciation from critics that it deserves. anyway, this is a fantastic piece of work. selected by "no depression" magazine as the 4th best album of 2006, don't miss it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: real music...real songs
Comment: very refreshing. Real songs and real musicians. Great live feeling. Great horns, keys, drums arrangement.
Thank god Costello is around to keep it high and real!
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Editorial Reviews:
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Some inspired music has arrived in the wake of Hurricane Katrina (mainly on New Orleans-themed benefit albums), but nothing as audaciously ambitious as this cross-generational collaboration between Crescent City mainstay Allen Toussaint and former British upstart turned adventurously eclectic veteran Elvis Costello. As a songwriter, producer, and arranger, Toussaint has been responsible for hits from artists ranging from Irma Thomas, Ernie K-Doe, and Lee Dorsey to the Pointer Sisters and Labelle. Costello, long a huge fan of Toussaint's music, sings relatively familiar fare such as "On Your Way Down" and "Freedom for the Stallion" from Toussaint's extensive songbook along with obscurities mainly recorded by Dorsey. Toussaint supplies his distinctive piano and horn arrangements--as well as lead vocals on "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further?"--with Costello's Imposters serving as the rhythm section. Yet the real revelation comes from the new material, including the title track (a searing Costello composition in the Toussaint soul-spiritual mode) and five new Costello/Toussaint compositions that spotlight Toussaint's signature sound without diminishing Costello's creative contributions. What could have been a curiosity is instead a hallmark in the catalog of each artist. --Don McLeese
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