- Purchase a product from the Music Store sold by Amazon.co.uk and receive £1 to use on an album download in our MP3 Store. Here's how (terms and conditions apply)
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
|
Product Description
Review
Duke Special - Peter Wilson to his wife and children - is a Belfast-based singer-songwriter who enjoys a good deal of popularity in his native Ireland without yet having quite won over an international audience. This album (his third) was released in his homeland last year, but now it's crossed the Irish sea in search of approval from UK audiences. It's a close run thing as to whether his blend of oddball pop will find a place in our hearts.
Wilson sings and plays piano and incorporates a strong sense of vaudeville into his material - the vaudeville element comes through in a jaunty sense of music making, a willingness to play up the absurd and goofy, choruses that encourage audience singalongs and a very visual and quite ridiculous quality to it. All of which is good - the last thing the world needs is another po-faced singer-songwriter - and Duke Special conveys a real sense of entertainment across this CD.
But . . . but who is this album aimed at? Several listens don't suggest Duke Special is very certain himself. There's the influence of Rufus Wainwright - the archness and camp playfulness - yet Wainwright is a much more distinctive talent. And while Duke Special can create a big, rolling chorus (actually, many of the songs appear to consist of little other than big, rolling choruses) that does not make for much more than a pub singalong. The more personal songs - such as Why Does Anybody Love? - recall Elton John's 1980s work. Yet they lack the voice, melodic gift and lyrical tautness of the best Elton material. This is big statement stuff but there's not yet enough concentration in the craft to guarantee the hits that he so obviously craves.
Duke Special's an odd one; mainstream yet offbeat. Perhaps what we have here is the Irish Meatloaf. --Garth Cartwright
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Now That's what I call music ....,
By RJW (Derbyshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: I Never Thought This Day Would Come (Audio CD)
I bought Songs From The Deep Forest on the basis of a 4-star review in Q. Leafing through the various music magazines this past few weeks, I have yet to read a single review of his new album. Needless to say there are plenty of reviews of the new Girls Aloud album etc etc, but you'd think there would be room to review an album as outstanding as this. This is another 4-star album. The first time I heard it I thought it was way inferior to Deep Forest. Now after 5 listens, it stands comparison easily. Brilliant melodies, funny lyrics, great playing. Duke Special is hugely talented - but I get the impression that he will never be anything more than a cult artist. Shame, the guy is better than 99% of the stuff in the charts.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome - another great album from Duke Special,
By
This review is from: I Never Thought This Day Would Come (Audio CD)
Great melodies, intelligent lyrics and a couple of real stand-out songs that you can't help but sing along to! (Especially 'Why does anybody love' and 'Let me go')
No more to say really: if you're a fan of the Duke and enjoyed his last album then picking this up is a no-brainer. If you've stumbled across this album in some other way, get it anyway - it's an absolute gem.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great album from the Duke,
This review is from: I Never Thought This Day Would Come (Audio CD)
More wonderful music from Duke Special. Just gets better every time I hear it. This is one hard working guy and he has sure come up trumps with this one. It's an amazing album to hear live too! Duke is hugely talented and original, he's comfortable doing what he likes best and you can tell when you hear the wonderful lyrics, music and humour coming through, he really deserves to be highly successful.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
