Letters Never Sent
Letters Never Sent | ||||
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Studio album by Carly Simon | ||||
Released | November 1, 1994 | |||
Recorded | 1994 | |||
Studio | Right Track Recording, The Hit Factory, Edison Studios and Sound On Sound (New York City); Cadiloon Sound (Pawling, New York); Room with a View Studio (Hamburg, Germany) | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 52:07 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Producer | Frank Filipetti and Carly Simon | |||
Carly Simon chronology | ||||
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Letters Never Sent is the 16th studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Arista Records, on November 1, 1994.
Simon has stated the inspiration for the album came when she found an old box of letters that she'd written, but never mailed.[1] She wrote "Like a River" in honor of her mother, Andrea Simon, and "Touched by the Sun" for her dear friend, Jackie Onassis, both of whom died from cancer in 1994.[2]
The album features backing vocals by Marc Cohn and Simon's son Ben Taylor (who also appears as vocalist on "Time Works on All the Wild Young Men", the bridge song between the fourth and sixth tracks).[1] Andreas Vollenweider plays the harp on the track "Davy".[1]
Promotion and reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[4] |
Simon made music videos for the songs "Like a River"[5] and "Touched by the Sun".[6] She performed "Touched by the Sun" on the Late Show with David Letterman on two occasions.[7] Simon also embarked on a co-headlining tour with Hall & Oates in support of the album.[8]
Entertainment Weekly graded the album B+, and wrote "Simon dug up her old, unsent letters — to people unnamed, but not necessarily unidentifiable — and set them to music. The results are funky, fascinating, and sumptuous. A daring move that pays off."[4] AllMusic wrote that the album "represents a fresh start" and that "Simon has returned to passion as her main subject matter, confessing, "I can never be in love, I can only be in heat." She gives off that heat in many of the album's songs" and concluded "It's an unusually coquettish performance for a woman of 49, and practically weightless."[3]
Awards
Year | Award | Category | Work/Recipient | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | Boston Music Awards | Outstanding Song/Songwriter | "Like a River" | Won | [9] |
Outstanding Female Vocalist | Carly Simon | Won |
Track listing
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[10]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | Instrumental | 0:18 |
2. | "Letters Never Sent" | 4:45 | |
3. | "Lost in Your Love" | Simon | 4:52 |
4. | "Like a River" | Simon | 6:03 |
5. | "Time Works on All the Wild Young Men" |
| 0:44 |
6. | "Touched by the Sun" | Simon | 5:28 |
7. | "Davy" | Simon | 3:41 |
8. | "Halfway 'Round the World" | Simon | 4:33 |
9. | "What About a Holiday" | Simon | 0:32 |
10. | "The Reason" |
| 5:29 |
11. | "Private" | Simon | 4:37 |
12. | "Catch It Like a Fever" | Simon | 0:23 |
13. | "Born To Break My Heart" | Simon | 5:00 |
14. | "I'd Rather It Was You" | Simon | 5:42 |
Total length: | 52:07 |
Live at Grand Central
Live at Grand Central is a 1995 concert special that aired on Lifetime Television. Performed in the middle of New York City's Grand Central Terminal, the surprise concert was a prelude to Simon's first concert tour in 14 years.[11] It was directed by English music video and film director Nigel Dick, and runs 60 minutes.[12] It was released on VHS and LaserDisc latter the same year.[11]
For this special, Simon was nominated for two CableACE Award's, winning Best Original Song for "Touched by the Sun".[13]
Personnel
Musicians
- Carly Simon – lead vocals, acoustic guitar (3, 6, 7, 11, 14), acoustic piano (4), electric piano (4), drum programming (4, 10, 13), keyboards (10, 13), strings (13)
- Teese Gohl – keyboards (2, 10, 14), string arrangements and conductor (2, 5–14), synthesizers (3, 6, 8, 11), orchestral arrangements (4), acoustic piano (4), sailor (8), strings (13)
- Mick Rossi – acoustic piano (3, 6, 11)
- Carlos Alomar – electric guitar (2), guitar (13)
- Jimmy Ryan – electric guitar (3), dobro (14), hammered dulcimer (14)
- Ben Taylor – acoustic guitar (5), lead vocals (5), backing vocals (6, 8), sailor (8)
- Peter Calo – acoustic guitar (6, 8, 11), guitar (13)
- Dirk Ziff – lead guitar (6)
- Dave Stewart – acoustic guitar (8), electric guitar (8)
- Danny Kortchmar – acoustic guitar (10), electric guitar (10), slide guitar (10)
- Doug Wimbish – bass (2, 13)
- T-Bone Wolk – bass (3, 13)
- Pino Palladino – bass (4, 6, 10)
- Gregory Jones – bass (6, 11)
- Sammy Merendino – drums (2, 14)
- Andy Newmark – drums (3)
- Robin Gould – drums (4)
- Rick Marotta – drums (6, 11)
- Walter Keiser – drums (7)
- Paul Samwell-Smith – Grand Cassa bass drum (8), tambourine (8), sailor (8)
- Steve Ferrone – drums (10)
- Jimmy Bralower – additional drum programming (13)
- Andy Snitzer – tenor sax solo (3), tenor saxophone (11)
- Emile Charlap – string contractor (2, 4–14)
- Arif Mardin – arrangements and conductor (3)
- Joe Mardin – arrangements and conductor (3)
- Gene Orloff – string contractor (3)
- Jeffrey Halpern – orchestra conductor (4)
- Andreas Vollenweider – electric harp (7), lead vocals (7)
- Taj Mahal – harmonica (8), backing vocals (8)
- Beth Miller – fiddle (8)
- Jerry Barnes – backing vocals (2)
- Katreese Barnes – backing vocals (2)
- Curtis King – backing vocals (2)
- Dexter Redding – backing vocals (3)
- Otis Redding III – backing vocals (3)
- Luretta Bybee – backing vocals (4)
- Jeff Hariston – backing vocals (4)
- Wendy Hill – backing vocals (4)
- Marc Cohn – backing vocals (6)
- Gregory Keller – sailor (8)
- Julia Simon – backing vocals (10)
- Sally Taylor – backing vocals (10)
- Rosanne Cash – backing vocals (13)
Production
- Producers – Carly Simon and Frank Filipetti (Tracks 1, 3–7 & 11–14); Teese Gohl (Track 2); Paul Samwell-Smith (Track 8); Danny Kortchmar (Track 10).
- Production Coordination – Jill Dell'Abate
- Engineered and Mixed by Frank Filipetti
- Second Engineer – Jay Militscher
- Assistant Engineers – Jim Caruana, Matt Curry, Carl Glanville, Al Theurer and Yvonne Yedibalian.
- Additional Engineers – Gary Chester and Jay Militscher
- Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
- Art Direction and Front Cover Collage – Carly Simon
- Design – Jim Lebadd and Susan Mendola
- Photography – Bob Gothard and Richard L. Simon
- Hand Tinting – Amy Finkle
- Collage Research – Tamera Weiss
Charts
Album – Billboard (United States)[14]
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1994 | Billboard 200 | 129 |
References
- ^ a b c "Letters Never Sent". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ "Timeline 90's". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
- ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Letters Never Sent". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
- ^ a b Schwartz, Robin J. (November 11, 1994). "Album Review: 'Letters Never Sent'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ "Carly Simon - Like A River". YouTube. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
- ^ "Carly Simon - Touched By The Sun". YouTube. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
- ^ "Touched By The Sun on Late Night". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ Catlin, Rodger. "Carly Simon Comfortable On Tour With Hall And Oates". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
- ^ "Boston Music Awards 1995". Boston Music Awards. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ^ Letters Never Sent (booklet). Carly Simon. Arista. 1994.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b "Live At Grand Central". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ "Carly Simon – Live at Grand Central". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- ^ "HBO and Garry Shandling's 'Larry Sanders Show' Lead CableACE Awards". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- ^ "Carly Simon – Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
External links
- Carly Simon's Official Website
- v
- t
- e
- Carly Simon
- Anticipation
- No Secrets
- Hotcakes
- Playing Possum
- Another Passenger
- Boys in the Trees
- Spy
- Come Upstairs
- Torch
- Hello Big Man
- Spoiled Girl
- Coming Around Again
- My Romance
- Have You Seen Me Lately
- Letters Never Sent
- Film Noir
- The Bedroom Tapes
- Moonlight Serenade
- Into White
- This Kind of Love
- Never Been Gone
- The Best of Carly Simon
- Clouds in My Coffee
- The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better
- Anthology
- Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits
- Carly Simon Collector's Edition
- Original Album Series
- Playlist: The Very Best of Carly Simon
- Songs from the Trees (A Musical Memoir Collection)
- These Are the Good Old Days: The Carly Simon and Jac Holzman Story
- Greatest Hits Live
- Live at Grand Central
- Working Girl
- This Is My Life (Music from the Motion Picture)
- Piglet's Big Movie (soundtrack)
- The Best of Pooh and Heffalumps, Too
- No Nukes: The Muse Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future
- In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record
- In Harmony 2
- Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera
- Live from Martha's Vineyard
- Carly in Concert – My Romance
- Live at Grand Central
- A Moonlight Serenade on the Queen Mary 2
- "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be"
- "Anticipation"
- "Legend in Your Own Time"
- "You're So Vain"
- "The Right Thing to Do"
- "Mockingbird"
- "Haven't Got Time for the Pain"
- "Attitude Dancing"
- "Waterfall"
- "It Keeps You Runnin'"
- "Half a Chance"
- "Nobody Does It Better"
- "You Belong to Me"
- "Devoted to You"
- "Vengeance"
- "Jesse"
- "Hurt"
- "Why"
- "Kissing with Confidence"
- "You Know What to Do"
- "Tired of Being Blonde"
- "My New Boyfriend"
- "Coming Around Again"
- "Give Me All Night"
- "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of"
- "All I Want Is You"
- "Let the River Run"
- "Better Not Tell Her"
- "Love of My Life"
- "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)"
- "Let It Snow"
- "Angel from Montgomery"
- "We Have No Secrets"
- "Night Owl"
- "You Can Close Your Eyes"
- "When Manhattan Was a Maiden"
- Meet the Simon Sisters
- Cuddlebug
- The Simon Sisters Sing the Lobster Quadrille and Other Songs for Children
- Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod: The Kapp Recordings
- Boys in the Trees: A Memoir
- Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie
- Richard Simon (father)
- Andrea Heinemann Simon (mother)
- George Simon (uncle)
- Joanna Simon (sister)
- Lucy Simon (sister)
- James Taylor (ex-husband)
- Sally Taylor (daughter)