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. 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. 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). Andreas Vollenweider plays the harp on the track "Davy".

Promotion and reception

Simon made music videos for the songs "Like a River" and "Touched by the Sun". She performed "Touched by the Sun" on the Late Show with David Letterman on two occasions. Simon also embarked on a co-headlining tour with Hall & Oates in support of the album. 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." 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."

Awards

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

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. It was directed by English music video and film director Nigel Dick, and runs 60 minutes. It was released on VHS and LaserDisc latter the same year. For this special, Simon was nominated for two CableACE Award's, winning Best Original Song for "Touched by the Sun".

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)