I think there is nothing more boring than a string quartet (even Kronos Quartet, which I like). The only thing more boring that that is an Elvis Costello album with more than one ballad on it. There should be a law restricting Elvis to one ballad per L.P. The Juliet Letters combines both, so you’d probably be able to figure out what I think of it.
They started out with a reasonably cool idea; seas of hopeless romantics writing letters to Juliet (as in Romeo and) Capulet in Verona, baring their soul baggage to an imaginary person, seems to be the sort of hopeless, desperate act that would interest Elvis C. But I think it would be neater to use the actual letters than to write songs based on the concept. Working with the string quartet has obviously helped him expand himself musically, but to tell you the truth, I really couldn’t give a damn.
The EC fans probably think I’m being a dink by now, as do the classical fans, and you folks might get a real charge out of this. Frankly, it is fine music for doing the nasty, reading, or curing insomnia to. I just think it’s the king of self indulgent thing some lunkhead like Sting would do.
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