The Roots, Elvis Costello Album: Legends Team Up For 'Wise Up Ghost'

The Roots and Elvis Costello have announced that they will be releasing a collaborative album titled Wise Up Ghost on September 17.

Costello described the album as "the shortest distance between here and there" and claims the album contains "both rhythm and what is read" (whatever the hell that means).

For his part, Questlove of the Roots was more accommodating in describing Wise Up Ghost.

It's a moody, brooding affair, cathartic rhythms and dissonant lullabies. I went stark and dark on the music, Elvis went HAM on some ole Ezra Pound shit."

(You should note, this is probably the only time Elvis Costello and HAM will be used in the same sentence).

The album between the New Wave and Hip-hop/soul legends came to be after Costello played a set on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. The Roots are Fallon's house band.

"It was really love at first sight," Questlove told  Billboard. "The second time he came on, we surpassed the first one. So by the third time, he was like, 'Let's stop messing around and do something together.'"

The press release claims that most of the songs were recorded surreptitiously at Feliz Habitat Studios (which may or may not actually exist).

Also, there is word going around that the Elvis Costello/ Roots collaboration was released on Record Store Day on unmarked discs, meaning that the album may already be out there somewhere (Check out SPIN's investigation).

What do you think of the news that The Roots and Elvis Costello's album Wise Up Ghost will be dropping this year?