Name: Heaven & Hell
Brand: Sony Music Distribution (USA)
SKU: 303460
Price: 86.56 USD
Availability: InStock

Performer Notes

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
Personnel: Joe Jackson (vocals, various instruments); Joy Askew, Brad Roberts, Jane Siberry, Suzanne Vega, Dawn Upshaw (vocals); Mary Rowell (violin, viola); Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Laura Seaton, Sandra Park, Joyce Hammann, Todd Reynolds, Mark Feldman, Naomi Katz, Cenovia Cummins, James Tsao (violin); Juliet Haffner, Allison Cornell, David Blinn, Katherine Beeson (viola); Erik Friedlander, Stephanie Cummins, Richard Locker (cello); Judy Leclaire (bassoon); William Sloat (acoustic bass); Dan Hickey, Kenny Aronoff (drums); Sue Hadjopoulos (congas, bongos); Jared Crawford (plastic buckets); Radio Croatia, The Avitar Rainbow Coalition (background vocals).
Recorded at Avatar, New York, New York between 1996 and 1997.
All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.
The ever-ambitious Joe Jackson delivers a complex, sophisticated work that crosses musical borders on HEAVEN AND HELL. The album is a conceptual piece, with each track representing one of the Seven Deadly Sins (pride, gluttony, etc.). Jackson combines pop, electronica, classical music and more, but stylistic experimentation is nothing new for him; he's released albums of everything from big-band swing to orchestrated instrumentals, with equal aplomb.
Most of the tunes feature guest vocalists, each presumably selected to best represent their respective sin. Crash Test Dummies vocalist Brad Roberts is the ignorant layabout on "A Bud And A Slice," the gluttony entry. Suzanne Vega delivers a taunting, coolly detached performance as the voice of lust on "Angel." Jackson takes his own vocal turn, and his quirky, reedy delivery is as endearing as ever. HEAVEN AND HELL is an intriguing, decidedly uncommercial entry from an artist more concerned with keeping an eye on the muse than on the bottom line.

Professional Reviews

Musician (11/97, p.85) - "...merges pop, rock, jazz, classical, and electronica into a daunting but largely compelling package....Jackson's most involving album in years...proving that classical crossover is indeed a viable career option. Roll over, Costello, and tell McCartney the news!"

Album: Heaven & Hell
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Prelude
2)	Fugue 1 / More Is More (Gluttony)
3)	Angel (Lust)
4)	Tuzla (Avarice)
5)	Passacaglia / A Bud And A Slice (Sloth)
6)	Right (Anger)
7)	Bridge, The (Envy)
8)	Fugue 2 / Song Of Daedalus (Pride)

Album: Heaven & Hell
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Prelude
2)	Fugue 1 / More Is More (Gluttony)
3)	Angel (Lust)
4)	Tuzla (Avarice)
5)	Passacaglia / A Bud And A Slice (Sloth)
6)	Right (Anger)
7)	Bridge, The (Envy)
8)	Fugue 2 / Song Of Daedalus (Pride)