Tuesday, May 27, 2025

The Sharpest Thorn - Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint

The Sharpest Thorn - Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint
4:16
The River In Reverse, 2006
Written by Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint

A slowburn piano ballad.  Playing on "Auld Lang Syne" ("We raise our glasses and we cheer / Should old acquaintance disappear") and invoking religious imagery ("Archangel Michael will lead the way / Archangel Gabriel is ready to play / Although we know we must repent / We hit the scene and look for sins that haven't even been invented"), Costello sings a dullard's plea earnestly over Toussaint's piano.  As the song builds to a close, drums, organ and sax strike up a New Orleans ragtime tune, bringing a bit of needed liveliness into it.

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The Sharpest Thorn - Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint

The Sharpest Thorn - Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint 4:16 The River In Reverse , 2006 Written by Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint A ...