Elvis Costello is no stranger when it comes to collaborative efforts. His entire career for the most part has seen him share top billing on his albums with backing bands such as The Attractions or The Imposters, and he's also done joint work with a wide variety of musicians and singers alike such as The Broadsky Quartet, Burt Bacharach and Sophie Von Otter. No surprise then that Elvis Costello would want to work with one of the most influential and legendary New Orleans R&B men of all time, Mr. Allen Toussaint. What's unfortunate however is the situation that brought these two legends together; Hurricane Katrina, and the bumblings and fumblings by FEMA and the federal government.

After the wreckage that Katrina caused, Costello went to New Orleans to convince Toussaint that they should work together on album of Toussaint covers to help benefit the victims of the hurricane. What started off as just covers though ended up turning into a full-fledged partnership. The River In Reverse is the final product, and it consists of half covers and half new songs, all inspired by the city of New Orleans and its goings on at that time.

The cover songs here are spot on stupendous. You can't help but root to yourself when Costello belts out "Tears, Tears and More Tears" or when Toussaint takes lead for the only time here on "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further?" My favorite covers though are the slowed down bits such as "Nearer To You" and "All These Things." On these tunes Costello demonstrates an incredible vocal range that just gets better with age. When it comes to the original tunes, none are better or more scathing that the title track. Costello's frustrations by what he sees going on in the New Orleans area prompted him to write this tune in just one afternoon, and you can feel his indictments towards the higher-ups in the chorus: "Wake me up with a slap or a kiss, there must be something better than this. I don't see how it can get much worse. What do we have to do to send the river in reverse?" This album quite frankly could not have come at a better time. Just when the country starts to forget just how much work is left to be done in the great city of New Orleans, this album comes and slaps us on the back of our heads and reminds us. Thank you Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint for the wake up call.