The Juliet Letters is a stunning accomplishment — as much for what it isn't as for what it is.
The album is not a synthesis or fusion of rock and classical music, or a highfalutin display of ego or eclecticism or just a novelty.
It is a song cycle of remarkable intelligence and power, which breaks through the barriers separating rock and classical styles. It is a seamless whole, the kind that hasn't been heard since the Beatles combined the two styles in the '60s.
Basing their songs on reports about a Veronese academic who replied to letters sent to that city and addressed to Shakespeare's Juliet Capulet, Costello and the Brodsky Quartet have created provocative lyrics dealing with a range of personal issues, from love and loss to bitterness, doubt and redemption.
It is the music, however, which is truly inspired. Costello's melodic signature — edgy and flowing — is scrawled across the songs (with help from various members of the quartet), and he brings to the project an expansive and singular creative vision.
"Swine," for example, comes with the bite of Kurt Weill; "I Almost Had a Weakness" blends the wistfulness of Paul McCartney with the lithe dissonance of Schoenberg. All together, the songs combine the straightforwardness of rock with the complexity of classical music. The result is fresh and original.
Costello's vocals, adorned only by the quartet strings, are similarly expansive. Songs such as "For Other Eyes" have his familiar pop ring, while others assume new guises ranging from an operatic fervor to an almost Mahler-like drama.
None of this is done gratuitously. Instead, Costello and the Brodsky Quartet have created music that transcends the rock and classical tags, enriching both genres in the process.
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