Stereo Review, May 1993: Difference between revisions

From The Elvis Costello Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
(fix biblio year)
(add text and remove Category:Article needed)
Line 4: Line 4:
{{:Magazine index}}
{{:Magazine index}}
{{Bibliography article header}}
{{Bibliography article header}}
<center><h3> The Juliet Letters </h3></center>
<center><h3> ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE BRODSKY QUARTET </h3></center>
<center>''' Elvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet </center>
<center>''' ''The Juliet Letters'' ''' </center>
<center>WARNER BROS. 45180 (53 min) </center>
<center>Performance: Huh? </center>
<center>Recording: Good</center>
----
----
<center> Ron Givens </center>
<center> Ron Givens </center>
----
----
{{Bibliography text}}
{{Bibliography text}}
You have to admire Elvis Costello's moxie. Or maybe you have to wonder at his foolishness. "''The Juliet Letters''" is a project as high-minded as it is loopy. First of all, Mr. C. performs all these songs--that is, the seventeen (out of twenty) in which he sings--with a string quartet. Second, the music here is supposed to be neither pop nor classical but some other species. Third, these songs are supposed to add up to a cycle of letters, some (but not all) to Juliet Capulet, as in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Doesn't all this sound like somebody has been thinking a little too hard? Well, the album sounds that way, too.
The best tunes here are the ones in which the letter-writer's personality comes shining through, musically as well as lyrically--the deeply suspicious wife of [[For Other Eyes]], for example, or the unrequited lover of [[The Letter Home]], who vents her bitterness after years of silence. Maybe because these songs are full of character, they seem like show tunes--or maybe I just like them better because they have some formal hooks. Most of the arrangements strike me as inconsistent blends of pop and classical, sometimes relying on a strong beat or following the vocal line closely, sometimes swooping independently of the vocals. Some may call "''The Juliet Letters''" a bold experiment. I mark a lot of it: "Return to Sender."


{{Article needed}}


{{cx}}
{{cx}}
Line 27: Line 32:


{{Bibliography images}}
{{Bibliography images}}
[[image:1993-05-00 Stereo Review page 83.jpg|x400px|border|page 75]]<br>
<br><small>Page scan.<small>


[[image:1993-05-00 Stereo Review cover.jpg|x120px]]
[[image:1993-05-00 Stereo Review cover.jpg|x120px]]
Line 45: Line 54:
[[Category:Album reviews]]
[[Category:Album reviews]]
[[Category:The Juliet Letters reviews]]
[[Category:The Juliet Letters reviews]]
[[Category:Article needed]]

Revision as of 14:55, 30 May 2017

... Bibliography ...
727677787980818283
848586878889909192
939495969798990001
020304050607080910
111213141516171819
202122232425 26 27 28


Stereo Review

Magazines
-

ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE BRODSKY QUARTET

The Juliet Letters
WARNER BROS. 45180 (53 min)
Performance: Huh?
Recording: Good

Ron Givens

You have to admire Elvis Costello's moxie. Or maybe you have to wonder at his foolishness. "The Juliet Letters" is a project as high-minded as it is loopy. First of all, Mr. C. performs all these songs--that is, the seventeen (out of twenty) in which he sings--with a string quartet. Second, the music here is supposed to be neither pop nor classical but some other species. Third, these songs are supposed to add up to a cycle of letters, some (but not all) to Juliet Capulet, as in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Doesn't all this sound like somebody has been thinking a little too hard? Well, the album sounds that way, too.

The best tunes here are the ones in which the letter-writer's personality comes shining through, musically as well as lyrically--the deeply suspicious wife of For Other Eyes, for example, or the unrequited lover of The Letter Home, who vents her bitterness after years of silence. Maybe because these songs are full of character, they seem like show tunes--or maybe I just like them better because they have some formal hooks. Most of the arrangements strike me as inconsistent blends of pop and classical, sometimes relying on a strong beat or following the vocal line closely, sometimes swooping independently of the vocals. Some may call "The Juliet Letters" a bold experiment. I mark a lot of it: "Return to Sender."


-
<< >>

Stereo Review, May 1993


Ron Givens reviews The Juliet Letters.

Images

page 75

Page scan.


1993-05-00 Stereo Review cover.jpg
Cover.

-



Back to top

External links