Say what you will about the creative successes or failures of Elvis Costello's career. One fact remains certain: he's constantly challenging himself and his audience. In the eight years since his first release on Warner Brothers (1989's "Spike"), he's recorded an album with a string quartet, "The Juliet Letters"; a cover album of songs that have inspired him, "Kojak Variety"; collaborations with Brian Eno, Burt Bacharach, and Paul McCartney; and has even sung orchestral settings of Shakespeare lyrics on John Harle's "Terror and Magnificence." The only constant in his artistic output is frequent change. He's a musical chameleon, with each genre he tackles seeming to fit him as well as his adopted "home" of pop and rock music.

As Costello bids farewell to Warner Brothers in a parting not entirely amicable, it's time for one last challenge before closing out this chapter of his career. His recently released WB "Very Best of. . ." disc "Extreme Honey" opens with the only new track on the CD, "The Bridge I Burned." For most listeners familiar with Costello's mainstream work, the immediate reaction to "Bridge" may be revulsion. Allegedly assembled from original material as well as pieces of a rejected cover of Prince's "PopLife," on first listen "Bridge" seems plodding and inorganic, crammed with samples and closing with what may seem like the longest 45 seconds or so ever recorded.

Fortunately, like most of Costello's previous musical challenges, "The Bridge I Burned" does improve over repeated listens as the textures in the layered production come to life and the gorgeous melody locks itself into the brain for days on end. Once over "The Bridge," the CD launches immediately into Costello's biggest recent hit, the pop masterpiece "Veronica." The foot starts tapping, and from there it's all smooth sailing.

Costello chooses to keep things fairly light and accessible throughout "Extreme Honey." According to his extensive liner notes (which are nearly worth the price of the CD itself for their humor and insight), the "Very Best of..." as a collection comprises "the songs that I would like to present to the listener once again." By that standard, it's a curious sampling. Two releases are completely unrepresented ("Kojak Variety" and his 1996 limited-release live EP boxed set, "Costello & Nieve") while another is nearly ignored ("The Juilet Letters," represented only by "The Birds Will Still Be Singing"). On the other hand, two hit singles are present ("Veronica" and "The Other Side of Summer") and a few other single releases are included ("13 Steps Lead Down" and "So Like Candy" among others).

In the end, it's a middle-of-the-road package; it's not exactly "music to listen to while you vacuum," to paraphrase Bruce Springsteen's comments on his 1995 greatest hits release, but it's also not a thorough examination of Costello's wide-reaching efforts while at Warner Brothers. For die-hard fans, it's a chance to capture one new song and one soundtrack song ("My Dark Life," from the "X Files" soundtrack album "Songs in the Key of X") on the same disc. For casual fans, it's a chance to capture "Veronica" and "The Other Side of Summer" on the same disc as well as other "highlights" of Costello's Warner Brothers career without having to purchase seven CD's. Like many savvy "greatest hits" and "best of. . ." discs these days, it favors the casual fan but also tosses in a few irresistible enticements for the grumbling die-hard fan unhappy but willing to shell out $15 for just one new song. It's both a value and a rip-off at the same time.

More stimulating that the surprisingly predictable song choices on "Extreme Honey" is the sequencing of the disc, revealing for its flow from energetic pop to the more ballad-centered work of Costello's last WB albums. At the same time, the collection maintains a dual tone of sweet nostalgic twinge and fierce, quiet anger throughout. Its most revealing songs begin and end the CD. On "The Bridge I Burned," Costello may be singing about his second break-up with the Attractions, or his experiences with Warner Brothers, or more likely the state of his career at this moment. The lyrics feature classic Costello beauty and obscurity, like staring at a gorgeous painting through a dirty window. "All the Rage," the CD closer, is far more direct, a vicious swipe at those critics intent on pigeonholing Costello into the "angry young man" persona he occupied and cultivated during the earliest years of his pop music career. It sends the final message of "Extreme Honey," and the ideal summation of Costello's years at Warner Brothers: you may praise or condemn Elvis Costello's work all you like, but never attempt to limit his far- reaching interests in new musical expression. The moment you do, you fail the implicit challenge in his work.