Stereo Review, May 1993: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> | <center><h3> ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE BRODSKY QUARTET </h3></center> | ||
<center>''' | <center>''' ''The Juliet Letters'' ''' </center> | ||
<center>WARNER BROS. 45180 (53 min) </center> | |||
<center>Performance: Huh? </center> | |||
<center>Recording: Good</center> | |||
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<center> Ron Givens </center> | <center> Ron Givens </center> | ||
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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." | |||
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[[image:1993-05-00 Stereo Review page 83.jpg|x400px|border|page 75]]<br> | |||
<br><small>Page scan.<small> | |||
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[[Category:The Juliet Letters reviews]] | [[Category:The Juliet Letters reviews]] | ||
Revision as of 14:55, 30 May 2017
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