The Juliet Letters

The Juliet Letters is a studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello.[5][6] It was released on compact disc as Warner Brothers 45180. The instrumental backing is provided by the Brodsky Quartet.[7][8] Costello described the album as "a song sequence for string quartet and voice and it has a title. It's a little bit different. It's not a rock opera. It's a new thing." It peaked at No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart, and at No. 125 on the Billboard 200.

The Juliet Letters
Studio album by
Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet
Released19 January 1993
GenreClassical
Length62.55
LabelWarner Bros.
Rhino (21 March 2006 Reissue)
ProducerBrodsky Quartet, Elvis Costello and Kevin Killen
Elvis Costello chronology
G.B.H.
(1991)		 The Juliet Letters
(1993)		 2½ Years
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert Christgau[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Rolling Stone[4]

Content

Costello first encountered the Brodsky Quartet in 1989, a performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall of the entire cycle of string quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich.[9] They met for the first time in November 1991, to begin work on the concept and execution of this album project. Costello viewed this album as neither his first stab at classical music, nor the Brodsky's first attempt at rock and roll.[10]

With a concept of imaginary letters being sent to an imaginary recipient, Juliet Capulet, all five musicians contributed to the writing of the lyrics as well as the music.[11] No overdubs were made, the album recorded in its entirety live in the studio.[12] One single was actually released from the album, the track "Jacksons, Monk, and Rowe," although it did not chart in either the United States or the UK.

Release history

The album was released initially on compact disc in 1993. As part of the Rhino Records reissue campaign for Costello's back catalogue from Demon/Columbia and Warners, it was re-released in 2006 with 18 additional tracks on a bonus disc. The bonus disc included additional musicians to Costello and the Brodsky Quartet, with some tracks recorded live at the 1995 Meltdown Festival.[13] This reissue is out of print; the album was reissued again by Universal Music Group after its acquisition of Costello's complete catalogue in 2006.

Recordings and performances by other artists

Several artists have either recorded or mounted productions of the song cycle. It was recorded by Canadian singer Kerry-Anne Kutz and the Abysse String Quartet in February 2006. In September 2006, husband-and-wife duo Michelle and David Murray released a new version arranged for voice and piano by David Murray. In 2008, Jake Endres and the Theatrical Musical Company produced the first fully staged theatrical performance of The Juliet Letters, complete with two additional original songs. The production opened in September 2008 in Minneapolis at the Southern Theater. In 2009, a Polish singer-actress Katarzyna Groniec translated the whole Juliet Letters material into Polish, recorded and released it as Listy Julii with a band of trombone, saxophone, clarinet, French horn, tuba, flute, keyboards, bass guitar, and drums. In 2016, The Sacconi Quartet and Jon Boden (former lead singer of the folk group Bellowhead) performed The Juliet Letters in St Martin's Church, Colchester, as part of the Roman River Festival.[14] In 2016 the Norwegian singer Charlott-Renee Clasén and Østfold string quartet also performed the concert piece. Voice department faculty of the Berklee College of Music performed the music with a student string quartet in a recital on April 18, 2019.[15]

Track listing

All songs written by Declan MacManus, except where noted; track timings taken from Rhino 2006 reissue.

  1. "Deliver Us" – 0:49
  2. "For Other Eyes" (MacManus, Paul Cassidy, Marina Thomas) – 2:55
  3. "Swine" (MacManus, Cassidy) – 2:08
  4. "Expert Rites" – 2:23
  5. "Dead Letter" (Cassidy) – 2:18
  6. "I Almost Had a Weakness" (MacManus, Michael Thomas) – 3:53
  7. "Why?" (MacManus, Ian Belton) – 1:26
  8. "Who Do You Think You Are?" (MacManus, Ma. Thomas, Mi. Thomas) – 3:28
  9. "Taking My Life in Your Hands" (MacManus, Jaqueline Thomas, Ma. Thomas, Cassidy) – 3:20
  10. "This Offer Is Unrepeatable" (MacManus, Cassidy, Belton, J. Thomas, Mi. Thomas) – 3:12
  11. "Dear Sweet Filthy World" (MacManus, Belton, Ma. Thomas) – 4:17
  12. "The Letter Home" (MacManus, Belton, Cassidy) – 3:10
  13. "Jacksons, Monk and Rowe" (MacManus, J. Thomas, Mi. Thomas) – 3:43
  14. "This Sad Burlesque" (MacManus, Cassidy) – 2:47
  15. "Romeo's Seance" (MacManus, Ma. Thomas, Mi. Thomas) – 3:32
  16. "I Thought I'd Write to Juliet" – 4:07
  17. "Last Post" (Mi. Thomas, traditional) – 2:24
  18. "The First to Leave" – 4:59
  19. "Damnation's Cellar" – 3:25
  20. "The Birds Will Still Be Singing" – 4:27

2006 bonus disc

Tracks 2–4, 10, 11 and 17 are previously unissued.

  1. "She Moved Through the Fair" (traditional) – 4:46 released on Lament by the Brodsky Quartet June 1994
  2. "Pills and Soap" – 4:37 live at the Meltdown Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 28 June 1995
  3. "King of the Unknown Sea" (M. Thomas) – 3:51 live at the Meltdown Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 28 June 1995
  4. "Skeleton" (M. Thomas) – 4:54 live at the Meltdown Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 28 June 1995
  5. "More Than Rain" (Tom Waits) – 3:25 released on Live at New York Town Hall September 1993
  6. "God Only Knows" (Brian Wilson) – 4:00 released on Live at New York Town Hall September 1993
  7. "They Didn't Believe Me" (Jerome Kern) – 4:01 released on Live at New York Town Hall September 1993
  8. "O Mistress Mine" (with John Harle) (Harle) – 4:03 released on Terror & Magnificence by John Harle May 1997
  9. "Come Away, Death" (with John Harle) (Harle) – 4:30 released on Terror & Magnificence by John Harle May 1997
  10. "Put Away Forbidden Playthings" (with Fretwork) – 4:12 live at the Meltdown Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 1 July 1995
  11. "Can She Excuse My Wrongs" (with Fretwork and The Composers Ensemble) (John Dowland) – 4:05 live at the Meltdown Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 28 June 1995
  12. "Fire Suite 1" (with Roy Nathanson and Cyrus Chestnut) (Roy Nathanson) – 5:29 released on Fire at Keaton's Bar & Grill March 2000
  13. "Fire Suite 3" (with Roy Nathanson) (Nathanson) – 3:19 released on Fire at Keaton's Bar & Grill March 2000
  14. "Fire Suite Reprise" (with Roy Nathanson) (Nathanson) – 2:39 released on Fire at Keaton's Bar & Grill March 2000
  15. "Gigi" (with Bill Frisell) (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) – 4:14 live at the Meltdown Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 25 June 1995, and released on Deep Dead Blue
  16. "Deep Dead Blue" (with Bill Frisell) (Bill Frisell) – 3:45 live at the Meltdown Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 25 June 1995, and released on Deep Dead Blue
  17. "Upon a Veil of Midnight Blue" (with the Punishing Kiss Band) – 4:36 live at the Meltdown Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 28 June 1995
  18. "Lost in the Stars" (Kurt Weill) – 3:56 released on September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill August 1997

Personnel

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1993 UK Albums Chart 18
1993 The Billboard 200 125

References
  1. "The Juliet Letters - Elvis Costello, The Brodsky Quartet | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  2. "Robert Christgau: CG: Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet". www.robertchristgau.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  3. Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958 – via Google Books.
  4. Gardner, Elysa (18 March 1993). "The Juliet Letters". Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  5. "POP MUSIC : Greetings From Elvis : To support the adventurous 'Juliet Letters' collaboration, Elvis Costello prepares to tour with London's Brodsky Quartet--but the singer-songwriter hasn't hung up his rock 'n' roll shoes". Los Angeles Times. 14 February 1993. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  6. "Elvis Costello". Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  7. Holden, Stephen (31 January 1993). "RECORDINGS VIEW; Elvis Costello Laces Punk With Grand Ambitions". Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020 – via NYTimes.com.
  8. Critic, ROGER CATLIN; Courant Rock. "ELVIS COSTELLO'S POP FLIRTS WELL WITH CLASSICAL". courant.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  9. Costello, Elvis (2006). The Juliet Letters (liner notes). Rhino Records. p. 3.
  10. Costello 2006, pp. 3–4
  11. Costello 2006, p. 26
  12. Costello 2006, p. 7
  13. Costello 2006, pp. 26–27
  15. "The Juliet Letters: A Tribute Concert of Songs by Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet". Berklee.edu. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
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