Suggestions for TJL reissue

sweetest punch · Post by **sweetest punch** » Thu May 05, 2005 4:28 am

The Juliet Letters reissue is planned for this fall. I know that there are rumours that The Gwendolyn Letters (the Wendy James Demo's) would be included.
But I would suggest that he would rerelease 'The Juliet Letters VHS' as a bonus DVD. And since a concert with the Brodsky Quartet in Dublin was filmed (but hardly anything was included on the VHS), maybe some more live tracks could be released.

millen · Post by **millen** » Thu May 05, 2005 5:03 am

Sounds great!

But how did you know about the re-release?

sweetest punch · Post by **sweetest punch** » Thu May 05, 2005 5:44 am

millen wrote:Sounds great!

But how did you know about the re-release?

On listserv. the great Mike Bodayle (from 'Beyond Belief' magazine) gave this scoop. Mike 'helps' Rhino with the reissues; he is always mentioned in the booklett.

millen · Post by **millen** » Thu May 05, 2005 6:39 am

Anyways... If the JL are to be re-released.
Does that mean that Painted from Memory is also to be expected?

ReadyToHearTheWorst · Post by **ReadyToHearTheWorst** » Thu May 05, 2005 7:16 am

Lost in the Stars - should be on a TJL bonus disk.

BTW - looking at the catalogue numbers of the UK reissues, there's a 'gap' :

MANUS101 - MAIT
MANUS102 - TYM
MANUS103 - AF
MANUS105 - GH

Are they leaving room for Live @ El Mocambo?

And, another thing, wot about the soundtracks? (The Courier, GBH, Town Called Big Nothing etc). This could run & run.

pophead2k · Post by **pophead2k** » Thu May 05, 2005 8:15 am

millen wrote:Anyways... If the JL are to be re-released.
Does that mean that Painted from Memory is also to be expected?

I believe the rights to Painted from Memory are owned by a different label than the rights to all the stuff preceding it.

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Thu May 05, 2005 9:33 am

I would assume the bonus on TJL would be mostly along the lines of the album...so maybe a version of Tom Thumb (which I have anyway thanks to a splendid board member), or the My Mood Swings which is on that Brodsky album I can't bring myself to pay £13 for!

The missing MANUS is intriguing...wasn't there talk of a live album yonks ago, maybe a 'then and now' type CD with El Mocambo and a modern concert?

This all begs the question....what about the 'new and expanded Taking Liberties'? I had assumed that the 2CD 'best of' was that...but maybe not.

anjabro · Post by **anjabro** » Thu May 05, 2005 2:15 pm

The live version of 'God Only Knows' is incredible...don't remember where I got it, or where it was recorded or anything....the final note is astounding, though...

Masterpiece? · Post by **Masterpiece?** » Fri May 06, 2005 3:38 am

^ Probably from the 4-track "Live from Town Hall" CD. I'd bet the farm that those tracks will be included.

Maybe they could remix some of the tracks from the A Case for Song video that included the Brodskys. They did "God Only Knows" then as well.

King Hoarse · Post by **King Hoarse** » Mon May 09, 2005 6:44 am

Good sound live Brodsky versions of Rocking Horse Road, Pills & Soap, New Lace Sleeves, and the More Than Rain (Tom Waits) cover would be nice too.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Mon May 09, 2005 7:22 am

I'd like to see EC & the I's with the Brodskys tackle a late setlist on DVD.

sweetest punch · Post by **sweetest punch** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:19 pm

According to this website, the TJL reissue is now for 2006:

http://www.geocities.com/ned3705/whatsnew.html

sweetest punch · Post by **sweetest punch** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 1:38 pm

This (usually well informed) site has a release date:

http://www.geocities.com/ned3705/whatsnew.html

Rhino's reissue of The Juliet Letters is scheduled for March 20 in the UK and March 21 in the US. Details will be coming soon.

johnfoyle · Post by **johnfoyle** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 3:47 pm

Maybe this re-issue will feature some BBC Radio recordings that Elvis did with the Brodsky's in 2002 -

Here's how I wrote about them for John E's site -

http://www.elviscostello.info/concert/0 ... 0124q.html

Review of radio show from 2002-01-24: with Brodsky Quartet; London, BBC Radio 3, "Morning Performance", 11:30
- John Foyle

Morning Performance with the Brodsky Quartet

On Thursday January 24 2002 new recordings by Elvis Costello and The Brodsky Quartet were aired on the BBC Radio 3, a (primarily) classical music channel. All week the 11.30AM 'Morning Performance' programme had been devoted to The Brodsky Quartet and their many , diverse recordings. This final edition featured Elvis.

Three songs were featured . All were credited as having been recorded in the BBC's Maida Vale, London studios 'last month'( Dec.2001). Interspersed with the songs were brief interviews with Elvis and Ian Bolton ( Second Violin with the Quartet). These comments dealt with the circumstances of their meeting in the late 1980's and the recording of The Juliet Letters. Elvis spoke of his prior assumption that classical musicians were 'all sons of Dukes' and how the Brodsky's corrected that impression . He further spoke about how the recording industry initially presumed they would be doing an 'Eleanor Rigby' but that was never his intention.

The three songs performed started with 'Who do you think you are' from The Juliet Letters. Elvis' voice sounded fantastic , much warmer than the recorded version. The lyric of the song was not changed in anyway. This was not so in the final two songs performed.

Pills And Soap came up next. It seemed like a brand new song. Besides a perfectly pitched vocal line the use of stringed instruments as opposed to the electronic elements of the recorded version seemed to give a greater humanity to the songs stark message. The song also featured some mysterious new lyrics. The original version's second verse includes the lines

'Some folk have all the luck/And all we get are pictures of lord and lady muck/They come from lovely people with a hard line in hypocrisy/There are ashtrays of emotion/For the fag ends of the aristocracy' .

This version went

' Some folks have all the might/And majesty will run on Bombay Gin and German spite/They come from lovely people with a hard line in hypocrisy/There are tears of mediocrity/For the fag ends of the aristocrisy'.

- so it's a good old dig at the Empire, the reported heavy drinking habits of certain royal family members (one of whom has recently shuffled off this mortal coil and another of whom is surely just about to) and, of course, the true origins of the family "Windsor"! The "tears of mediocrity" bit alludes to the "outpouring of grief" at Diana's funeral, I presume. The phrase isn't very well constructed, in my opinion. Can tears be meaningfully described as "mediocre"?

However , judging from the rather sedate types who appear to take part in the Radio 3 web site feedback forums , fair dues to Elvis for even doing the song in the first place.

The final song was Brutal Youth's Rocking Horse Road. Yet again an adventurous choice , considering the song's basic inspiration. This tribute to escaping from provincialism is particularly ironic in the context of this type of show. Elvis's gives the songs a sad delivery , the Quartet's strings dipping and rising to give the song an engaging sound. The freshness of this new take on the song compares well with the recorded version. A lyric change occurs again. The final verse originally included the lines

'And the eyes in the curtain/Follow you like a smirking ghost'.

This time Elvis sings

'And the face in the window/ Follows..etc.'

That was the total of Elvis' involvement with the show. The excellence of his vocal delivery bodes well for his new recording. The perceived contrariness of his overall contribution also tell's another story - this is the Elvis we know and like, ready as always to mess with your head.

wardo68 · Post by **wardo68** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 4:41 pm

As much as I'd love to have a nice clean copy of the Wendy James demos, I still think that the TJL bonus disc would be better suited for things like the 2002 Brodsky recordings Mr. Foyle mentions, along with any of the other Brodsky collaborations, like "Lost In The Stars" and "She Moved Through The Fair" (the Town Hall 'encores' stuff being a given). Also any of the artier sounding one-offs that didn't make it onto the Kojak bonus disc, like "Weird Nightmare" (or is that on the Kojak bonus? I don't have it handy).

The Wendy James things would be perfect for a mopping-up disc as discussed on the "Taking Liberties" thread.

I check the "EC on Rhino" Geocities site hourly for updates.

johnfoyle · Post by **johnfoyle** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 8:40 am

Peter posts to listserv -

Barnes and Noble has both MFFB and the TJL re-release for $15.18 (less
10%
if you're a member, like moi).

http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/ ... x=33023101

http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/ ... x=33023101

The Juliet Letters

Elvis Costello

ALBUM DETAILS:

Release Date: Mar 21 2006
Original Release Date: 1993
Total Running time: 1:02:55
Label: RHINO / WEA
Catalog No.: 73363
UPC: 81227336325

However, the track listing for TJL doesn't list any additional songs
(or
mention a bonus disk),
although it's clearly described as the Rhino re-release available for
pre-order.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EB ... nce&n=5174

Juliet Letters
Elvis Costello

Audio CD (March 21, 2006)
Label: Rhino / Wea
ASIN: B000EBGEMI

wardo68 · Post by **wardo68** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 8:58 am

Hopefully B&N is just using the old info for the time being. Releasing TJL without a bonus disc would be, well, cruel.

And No Coffee Table · Tue Jan 31, 2006 12:13 pm

The track listing for the bonus disc has been revealed.

wardo68 · Post by **wardo68** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 12:18 pm

And No Coffee Table wrote:The track listing for the bonus disc has been revealed.

Bless you!

invisible Pole · Post by **invisible Pole** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 1:09 pm

Finally !!
Great news, although they could have included all four songs from Live At Town Hall ( I haven't got it

)

verbal gymnastics · Post by **verbal gymnastics** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:35 am

Thanks ANCT.

Whilst The Juliet Letters is not one of my favourites, there are some great bonuses on the reissue.

strangerinthehouse · Post by **strangerinthehouse** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:42 pm

That Bonus disc looks great, i've been waiting to hear more from EC and The brodsky quartet. One thing I'm not too keen about is the two songs from Deep Dead Blue, I can't help but think that other songs with the brodskys could have been included instead of those. A better example would be their recent collaboration on My Mood Swings.

johnfoyle · Post by **johnfoyle** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:04 pm

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/art ... 1001957307

Rhino Revisits Costello's 'Juliet Letters'

February 03, 2006, 4:00 PM ET
Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.

Continuing its Elvis Costello catalog reissue campaign, Rhino has revamped the artist's collaboration with string ensemble the Brodsky Quartet, "The Juliet Letters." Originally released in 1993, the collection was composed by Costello and can be considered a pre-cursor of sorts to "Il Sogno," his inaugural full-length orchestral work, commissioned in 2000 by Italian dance company Aterbaletto.

The two-disc reissue is due March 21 in the United States, with a U.K. release arriving a day earlier. The first disc is a remastered version of the original album. As with each previous Costello Rhino reissue, the second disc consists of rare and previously unreleased material -- perhaps the most eclectic yet. Costello offers track-by-track commentary in the package's liner notes.

Live appearances in support of "The Juliet Letters" were scant, so the inclusion here of such recordings is especially apt. But rather than repeat with concert versions of the album tracks, Costello and Rhino add other songs from those performances, including renditions of Tom Waits' "More Than Rain," the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" and the Jerome Kern/Herbert Reynolds song "They Didn't Believe Me" recorded at New York's Town Hall. These tracks previously appeared on a promo-only disc that has made the rounds among fans and collectors, but were not commercially released.

Also included are a pair of collaborations with the Quartet's Michael Thomas -- "King of the Unknown Sea" and "Skeleton" -- and a rendition of his own "Pills and Soap" (from 1983's "Punch the Clock"), recorded during the 1995 Meltdown festival in London. These have been previously unavailable in any form.

Other bonus tracks are a version of the Irish traditional "She Moved Through the Fair" that appeared on the Brodsky Quartet's 1994 release, "Lament" and their collaboration on "Lost in the Stars" for the 1994 film "September Songs -- The Music of Kurt Weill." The expansion of the Brodsky Quartet with seven additional musicians became the one-off Punishing Kiss Band, which joined Costello for a performance during the Meltdown festival, and is here represented by "Upon a Veil of Midnight Blue."

As Costello was extremely busy during the 1995 Meltdown festival, the multi-night event yields several additional non-Brodsky-related tracks. There are two collaborations with guitarist Bill Frisell ("Gigi," "Deep Dead Blue"), both of which previously appeared on the Meltdown live album "Deep Dead Blue." An appearance with Fretwork adds the previously unreleased "Put Away Forbidden Playthings" (Costello) and "Can She Excuse My Wrongs," written in the 16th century by John Dowland.

Shakespeare is the source of "O Mistress Mine" and "Come Away Death," both of which appear on John Harle's "Terror and Magnificence," his interpretation of the Bard's "Twelfth Night" that featured Costello singing these two songs and another not included here.

Lastly, the bonus disc sports Costello's contributions to Jazz Passengers saxophonist Roy Nathanson's 2000 concept album "Fire at Keaton's Bar & Grill," one of which includes jazz pianist Cyrus Chesnut.

As previously reported, Costello will launch a 10-date U.S. tour next month that will find he and frequent collaborator Steve Nieve backed by local orchestras. They will perform a suite from "Il Sogno" and material Costello played with the Metropole Orkest at the Netherlands' North Sea Jazz Festival in 2004. That performance will be released Feb. 28 via Deutche Grammophon as "My Flame Burns Blue," along with a bonus "Il Sogno" Suite disc as recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra in 2002.

vriesman99 · Post by **vriesman99** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 1:02 pm

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EB ... oding=UTF8

Amazon lists 19 tracks for the first disc, leaving Expert Rites off. I assume that's a mistake from Amazon?

The imposter · Post by **The imposter** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 1:35 pm

I know it's late for suggestions but I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed looking at the selections for TJL bonus disc. While the tracks selected are all valid in their own right, I would've thought that there was ample Brodsky Quartet material out there to fill the bonus disc. What about Real Emotional Girl or You'll Never Walk Alone or some other selections from Meltdown etc? I feel the disc is somewhat diluted with the Jazz Passengers and Frissell selections and what about "When That I Was And A Little Tiny Boy" for me the best of the 3 John Harle collaborations. I expect this will now be omitted from the re-issue programme.

At least the magnificent "Skeleton" makes it's debut CD appearance. Guess the problem with Costello is there's just too much to choose from.