The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • 62

The News Observer Friday February 12 1993 No classical gaseousness 111 Costello's album is no embarrassment KING and QUEEN SPECIAL sl NU 't1P By DAVID MENCONI Staff writer (VAc $ttll' k0qC 41 11A ktrlitN Ntifr ba CPI eqh 0 0 4t :::70 1: ----4- (1--) -441 illh 'v 4 i -4 i 9 "c' i 444 :1 71' AN i 1 1 4 ''7''r 4-q'yy 4 1 cl q-04 ::7 i I tS ''1 i tgilt I I '''Lieu--- 7t-7-7-: 4 8 oz Ribeye 5 oz Sirloin PLUS All-You-Care-To-Eat Soup Salad and Fruit Bar v't: 611011EYS America's Dinner Table Rateigh Durham Chapel Hill 4 ary 16'rMS4 MENEM leokredmi The Brodsky Quartet played on Elvis Costello's chamber album 40 tk Ap1 11 UN ME BEAT: p-' 17: Ni rrr km 4 A 141 4 il 11 I A 1 A A o' t147s 'i'f 'Y xi0 A al -44ft- Irs- A-- 9-44 i 41 9 '4 'V oievoss- rk A -k 4 A-4 --0 4 t4 ttA I I kow41 lk-kk 4 A it) 1 i 4A -'4 ti A 'i 'i 4 43- d' i 9 i :7 1 1 Pill 1 itijitS tVi iltlik0)M il '4461 1 Etv )V41(1)'4f III Whenever I hear about a rock star performing classical music I'm reminded of that scene in "This Is Spinal Tap" in which David St Hubbins (Michael McKean) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) are talking about all the side projects they want to do after their band breaks up There's "Saucy Jack" a musical based on the life of Jack the Ripper and acoustic versions of Spinal Tap songs with the London Philharmonic Imagine orchestrated versions of "Sex Farm" "Hell Hole" or "Big Buns" Then again they couldn't be much worse than a lot of rock-star classical albums that have seen the light of day Consider David Byrne's "The Forest" Joe Jackson's "Will Power" or Jethro Tull's "A Classic Case" pretentious stink bombs that were seemingly released just to antagonize fans and record companies More often than not rock stars dabble in classical music out of boredom desperation or arrogance The results seldom sound like a product of organic musical evolution or a genuine collaboration But Elvis Costello has managed to wrest a "classical" album that is both organic and genuine out of his boredom desperation and arrogance: "The Juliet Letters" (Warner Bros Records) recorded with the Brodsky Quartet Costello takes pains to downplay the crossover angle in the album's liner notes declaring "This is no more my stab at 'classical music' than it is the Brodsky Quartet's first rock and roll album" But that's precisely how most listeners will regard it and not without justification Actually this latest tangent shouldn't surprise anyone who has kept up with Costello He has been showing up in lots of peculiar places of late contributing "Ship of Fools" to the 1990 Grateful Dead tribute album "Deadicated" for example and recording "Weird Nightmare" the title track on last year's Hal Willnerproduced tribute to jazz player Charles Mingus His own recent records also have been wildly uneven 1989's "Spike" was pleasant but unfocused a flaw that was magnified on 1991's unlistenable "Mighty Like a Rose" Forthcoming are two more Costello albums "Kojack Variety" (said to be a collection of his "favorite and "Idiophone" Throw in Costello's musical drama (set to open this fall) and cynics might sneer that he's going the complete-entertainer route But "The Juliet Letters" is successful enough to indicare that he just might pull off all his projects Blue Raincoat" (another song aboutwriting to a one-time romantic rival) It starts out chatty but edgy apologizing for "the lack of news" before coming to the point in the concluding verse: "Oh by the way how's that girl that you wedil hated you then but I'm over the worst of it" Good as it is it's still difficult to say who this album was made for which means I have no idea who Costello's audience is anymore Costello himself probably doesn't either But he's doing pretty well just indulging his own whims gi) CAREER MOVES: It has often been difficult to identify any tangible benefits that bands have gained by playing the annual NC Music Showcase Not this year Two of the 1992 showcase's 15 bands have signed record deals: Raleigh's Cry of Love with Sony which will release the band's John Custer-produced "Brother" in April and Chapel Hill's Queen Sarah Saturday with Thirsty EarSony A third showcase act Char lotte's Thurn Taxis is on the brink of signing with Liberty Records one of several labels courting the band So while a showcase slot doesn't guarantee a record deal it obviously doesn't hurt The fifth edition of the NC Music Showcase will be June 3 to 5 at Wilmington's Mad Monk nightclub and the entry deadline is approaching Artists have until March 31 to submit the following: a cassette with three original songs a brief biography a black-and-white photo an itinerary of forthcoming live performances and a $5 money order payable to NCMS Submitting a live videotape is encouraged but not required Entrants must include an address and phone number Send entries to NC Music Showcase PO Box 18962 Raleigh NC 27619-8962 For more details call the showcase hotline at 549-6889 SUITE-HEART WEEKEND Deluxe two-room suite Refrigerator Sk wet bar 'Three TVs Coffee in suite Full breakfast buffet '79 Musically the new album's stripped-down chamber pop arrangements are a relief after the harsh impenetrable density of "Mighty Like a Rose" Except for the occasional ballad it has been years since Costello's voice stood out this clearly The baroque vibe extends to the lyrics as well giving the album a quaint old-timey feel The album's 17 songs are based on letters confessionals suicide notes love letters rants even junk mail and and who the heck writes letters anymore? Costello got the idea for recording an epistolary album after reading about an Italian professor who had taken it upon himself to answer letters addressed to "Juliet Capulet" in Verona This forces Costello perhaps unintentionally into using unusually plainspoken language Apart from the junk mail ode "This Offer Is Unrepeatable" Costello's punishingly clever wordplay is nowhere to be found He crafts several masterpieces of economy particularly "Why?" the note a child would scrawl after watching his parents fight It's ironic that one of Costello's most theatrical albums would also be one of his most honest The solemn string arrangements and naked lyrics give "The Juliet Letters" a haunted claustrophobic air starting with the opening line: "I don't know what I would do if this letter should fall intoOther hands than it should pass through for other eyes" Hearing that it's difficult not to feel like a voyeur "The Juliet Letters" hits its high point when Costello flashes a bit of his fabled vitriol on "The Letter Home" which owes a large debt to Leonard Cohen's "Famous Were celebrating Valentine's Day all month long Enjoy: Scenic Lake with Paddle Boats Tennis Court Exercise Facilities Heated IndoorOutdoor Pool Jogging Trail Whirlpool (3 Sauna 'In-room movies VicromA's SECRET VALEmrLNE Our Suite-HeartWeekend with Champagne St Turn-down service plus a $35-value Victoria's Secret gift: a heart-shaped gift box with Tranquil Breezes Cologne Scented Body Lotion 9 Lapel Pin Shower Cst Bath Gel and Scented Body Bar ROMANTIC RENDEZVOUS Our Victoria's Secret Valentine plus: Dinner for two in our Piney 13 9 Point Grille ta Seafood Bar (Dinner in suite: $149) GuEST kZUARTERS6 SUITE HOTEL 919-361-4660 800-424-2900 2515 Meridian Parkway (exit 278 offl-40) Durham NC Per couple per night plus tax Gratuities included Subject to availability Si change Regularly available Fri Sat 6t Sun thm 2128193 Reservations required Not available to groups 829 4600 CaH In Classifie Ton tree in orth FMB IT 1400-662-6'J40.