Letters Never Sent

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Letters Never Sent
Letters Never Sent.jpg
Studio album by
Carly Simon
ReleasedNovember 1, 1994
Recorded1994
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
Length52:07
Label Arista
Producer Frank Filipetti and Carly Simon
Carly Simon chronology
Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera
(1993)		Letters Never Sent
(1994)		 Clouds in My Coffee
(1995)

Letters Never Sent is the 16th studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Arista Records, on November 1, 1994.

Contents

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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
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

YearAwardCategoryWork/RecipientResultRef.
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.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro"Instrumental0:18
2."Letters Never Sent"
4:45
3."Lost in Your Love"Simon4:52
4."Like a River"Simon6:03
5."Time Works on All the Wild Young Men"
  • Simon
  • Ben Taylor
0:44
6."Touched by the Sun"Simon5:28
7."Davy"Simon3:41
8."Halfway 'Round the World"Simon4:33
9."What About a Holiday"Simon0:32
10."The Reason"
5:29
11."Private"Simon4:37
12."Catch It Like a Fever"Simon0:23
13."Born To Break My Heart"Simon5:00
14."I'd Rather It Was You"Simon5:42
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

Chart (1994)Peak
position
US Billboard 200 [14] 129

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Letters Never Sent". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Timeline 90's". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. "Letters Never Sent". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
  4. 1 2 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.
  5. ↑ "Carly Simon - Like A River". YouTube. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Carly Simon - Touched By The Sun". YouTube. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ↑ "Touched By The Sun on Late Night". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ "Boston Music Awards 1995". Boston Music Awards. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  10. ↑ Letters Never Sent (booklet). Carly Simon. Arista. 1994.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. 1 2 "Live At Grand Central". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Carly Simon – Live at Grand Central". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  13. ↑ "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.
  14. ↑ "Carly Simon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
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