Il Sogno Debuts at No 1
'Il Sogno' debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top Classical Albums chart, Costello's second #1 debut after last year's 'North' entered at number one on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2004
'THE DELIVERY MAN' AND 'IL SOGNO' RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 21 TO GREAT ACCLAIM
'IL SOGNO' DEBUTS AT #1 ON BILLBOARD CLASSICAL CHART
Two new albums by Elvis Costello were released on September 21 to critical acclaim: 'The Delivery Man' (Lost Highway), with his band the Imposters, and 'Il Sogno' (Deutsche Grammophon), his first classical orchestral composition. The "beautiful" (People) 'Il Sogno' debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top Classical Albums chart, Costello's second #1 debut after last year's 'North' (Deutsche Grammophon) entered at number one on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart. 'Il Sogno,' composed and orchestrated solely by Costello, was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Michael Tilson-Thomas. Meanwhile, 'The Delivery Man' makes a strong showing with a #40 debut on the Billboard 200 chart.
Here's what critics are saying about the simultaneous releases:
THE DELIVERY MAN
"The character-driven songs, several delivered by Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams, funnel rootsy textures into tautly soulful vignettes." Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY
"His most inspired album in years." Steve Hochman, LOS ANGELES TIMES
"'The Delivery Man' encapsulates the best aspects of Costello's past work without recycling... he retains the melodious audacity that hooked us back in '78." Mark Keresman, SAN FRANCISCO WEEKLY
"'The Delivery Man' simply delivers... Costello once again makes his genre hopping look effortless." Steve Morse, THE BOSTON GLOBE
"'The Delivery Man' is the kind of smart, literate rock his fans have come to expect from Costello... His singing has become so expert over the years that he fearlessly tackles daring passages as confidently as he whispers his way through the gentle parts." Joel Selvin, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
IL SOGNO
"Costello's sound is surprisingly fresh. His melodies are memorable. The sudden swings into jazz prove pure delight... [The performance is] bursting with life." Mark Swed, LOS ANGELES TIMES
"You'd have to go back to George Gershwin to find a composer-performer undertaking a project as ambitious as 'Il Sogno'... It is full of character and storytelling, and the orchestration is skillful, unusual, and colorful." Richard Dyer, THE BOSTON GLOBE
"Costello's score is a model of delicacy and restraint the jazzy, rhythmic inspirations of Igor Stravinsky, George Gershwin, and Leonard Bernstein are artfully woven into articulate buoyant vignettes." Mark Keresman, SAN FRANCISCO WEEKLY