Search - Elvis Costello, The Brodsky Quartet :: Elvis Costello: The Juliet Letters

Elvis Costello: The Juliet Letters
Elvis Costello, The Brodsky Quartet
Elvis Costello: The Juliet Letters
Genres: Alternative Rock, Folk, Pop, Rock, Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (20) - Disc #1

Good on Elvis for risking the ridicule of a blinkered pop world with this unprecedented (for him, certainly, and most anyone short of Kurt Weill) and quite lovely album of bitchy, wise, and funny art songs accompanied by s...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Elvis Costello, The Brodsky Quartet
Title: Elvis Costello: The Juliet Letters
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Warner Bros
Original Release Date: 1/1/1993
Re-Release Date: 1/19/1993
Album Type: Import
Genres: Alternative Rock, Folk, Pop, Rock, Classical
Styles: Singer-Songwriters, Indie & Lo-Fi, Singer-Songwriters, Oldies, Vocal Pop, Adult Alternative, Chamber Music
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 093624518020, 093624518044

Synopsis

Amazon.com
Good on Elvis for risking the ridicule of a blinkered pop world with this unprecedented (for him, certainly, and most anyone short of Kurt Weill) and quite lovely album of bitchy, wise, and funny art songs accompanied by strings. His freshest, most evolved work in years. --Jeff Bateman

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CD Reviews

Magical...
Todd Gillette | KC, Missouri United States | 02/21/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)

"What an irony : one of my favorite recordings EVER, but I can't think of one person to recommend it to. My rocker friends wouldn't last 10 minutes into this as they await the drums to kick in, and my friends of the classical persuasion would give Elvis' "unclassically trained voice" even less audition time. My ongoing "desert island" top ten rotates over time, but Juliet Letters is a permanent fixture on that list. Now, if they'd just release the 1-hour PBS concert/documentary on DVD ..."
I know Elvis...
P. Wilson | Teaneck, NJ United States | 12/04/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a great admirer of Elvis Costello. Like many of us, I like it better when he is with the Attractions, rocking out than when he is with Burt Bacharach getting self conscious and arty. I am also a classical musician, deeply skeptical of "crossover" albums. In fact, I don't think I can name one crossover album I like. Except this one. And I love it. I think this record has several of Costello's best lyrics AND melodies. "Taking my life in your hands" would make Lennon, McCartney, and Mahler all equally proud. It defies genre and comes scarily close to what I am tempted to call "pure expression." Of course, that's a ridiculous notion, but this song is such an emotional and aesthetic slam dunk that I am awed. Also I love "Damnation's Cellar" and "Who do you think you are?" There are some duds here, and I'd have to say the first two tracks will scare a lot of people off. Hang in there. It was a year or two after this album was released that I learned to love it, and time after time, it holds up better for me than any other Costello release."
Makes my "desert island" list
Elliott Delman | Evanston, IL USA | 08/08/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Juliet Letters definitely makes my "desert island" list. If ever stranded on a desert island (with CD player and a lifetime supply of batteries, of course) this is one of a handful of recordings I would choose. Costello's sense of melody, honest theatrics and storytelling is a rare and welcome gift. And accompanied by the Brodsky String Quartet, well...Tension, release, complexity, simplicity, the beautiful, the raffish. And ah, the melodies that strike the heart and live there long after the music ends. Each time I listen to this CD I am filled with gratitude and awe."