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The Stage, The Book And The Silver Screen
 
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The Stage, The Book And The Silver Screen [Box set]

Duke Special (Artist) | Format: Audio CD
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
Price: £17.93 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Audio CD (8 Mar 2010)
  • Number of Discs: 2
  • Format: Box set
  • Label: Reel To Reel
  • ASIN: B0036V0W4O
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 13,596 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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Disc: 1
1. Prelude
2. Mother Courage
3. Eilif (Song About The Soldier And His Wife)
4. Yvette (Song Of Fraternization)
5. Song Of The Hours
6. Great Capitulation, The
See all 12 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. Hearth And Home
2. Wanda Darling Of The Jockey Club
3. Jumping Jacks
4. Mister Nobody
5. Tango Tangle
6. You'll Be Detective
See all 12 tracks on this disc
Disc: 3
1. River Chanty
2. Come In Mornin'
3. Apple Jack
4. This Time Next Year
5. Catfish Song

Product Description

BBC Review

There aren’t too many artists who would attempt interpretations of two obscure solo projects by the legendary musical theatre duo Brecht and Weill and a Paul Auster-inspired concept album over the course of an entire career. But Northern Ireland-based singer-songwriter Peter Wilson, better known as Duke Special, has not only taken on this daunting triple challenge, but has also opted to release all three discs simultaneously.

Sumptuously packaged under the collective title of The Stage, a Book and the Silver Screen, what we get here is essentially a further development of Wilson’s established quirky but polished vaudeville template.

First up is Mother Courage and Her Children, featuring studio versions of the live performances he provided to accompany a recent National Theatre production of Bertolt Brecht’s 1941 anti-war play. Wilson’s compositions, using Brecht’s original words, aren’t individually that memorable but they deliver enough dramatic flourishes and intricate arrangements to make this a convincing exercise.

Huckleberry Finn, a five-track EP, is a lighter affair that neatly contrasts the first disc by covering songs from an unfinished musical by Kurt Weill. Based on Mark Twain’s masterpiece, it feels somewhat slight and only on the playful final track Catfish Song do we get any sense of the era and place.

The strongest, most cohesive of the trio of projects is The Silent World of Hector Mann. Mann was an obscure silent film actor who appears in Auster’s 2002 novel The Book of Illusions, and Wilson sent a copy of the book with the title of a Mann film to 11 fellow musicians, inviting them to pen a track inspired by what they had received.

The subsequent song cycle, although performed by Duke Special throughout, certainly benefits from using a variety of writers. The catchiest number is Neil Hannon’s Wanda, Darling of the Jockey Club, crooned by the occasionally over-earnest Wilson with typical Divine Comedy silliness, and Ed Harcourt and Matt Hales also contribute. Yet some of the best moments here are from the less-heralded names, in particular Phil Wilkinson, whose Double Or Nothing successfully recreates the wonderful Old West melancholy of Burt Bacharach’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid soundtrack.

Judged as a complete package, The Stage… is a mixed bag, but both existing Duke Special fans and those of kindred spirits like Rufus Wainwright and The Magnetic Fields will not be disappointed by this ambitious and impeccably produced music. --Chris White

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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Stage, A Book & The Silver Screen, 2 Mar 2010
By B. Wright (Gloucester, UK) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Stage, The Book And The Silver Screen (Audio CD)
This box set is the culmination of 3 very ambitious recording projects undertaken by Duke Special in the past few years. Each has its own sound and feel so the set works as 3 individual records rather than a cohesive three disc collection with a theme that runs throughout.

The Huckleberry Finn EP contains songs from an unfinished musical by Kurt Weill, recorded and released for the very first time here. The songs are full of whimsy, creating an intimate atmosphere, calm and comforting. With the exception of the first track, each song is quite short, meaning that the EP breezes past quite quickly but this only adds to the ethereal feeling. It also contains some of his strongest vocal performances, with 'Come In, Mornin'' one that stands out particularly. 'Apple Jack' and 'Catfish Song' show off very theatrical performances - further examples of which are seen on the Mother Courage album - that is reminiscent of a live show.

Duke Special Presents: The Songs Of Mother Courage & Her Children is made up of the songs that were written for the recent production at the National Theatre. It is surprising how well these tracks stand up away from the stage; the orchestration is excellent, creating shifting dynamics and adding to the atmosphere of the record, and giving much needed body to the songs. It is quite a dark album, dealing with the theme of war and death. It is a very theatrical and dynamic record, with jarring strings and military drums that makes listening an uncomfortable task at times, as heard on each of the Mother Courage songs. These are counterbalanced by touching ballads of love like 'Yvette (Song of Fraternization)' or lighter drinking songs. It is a very cohesive record, following the story of the play well. This is occasionally problematic as some knowledge of the play may be required to understand the narrative that is being told. It is something of a grower and takes time to appreciate all of the nuances on the album, perhaps best listened to on headphones.

The Silent World Of Hector Mann is a pastiche of (or perhaps an homage to) 1920s music, recorded in a pre-rock style. Based upon Paul Auster's silent film star of the same name (from The Book of Illusions), Duke Special gave several musicians a title of one of Mann's films and asked them to write a song about it. This means that the album is united by theme rather than sound, but it is the most successful of the three projects, full of energy and wit. Each song is a vignette, telling its own story. There are humorous moments such as 'Prop Man' or 'Wanda...' but also touching and emotional songs like 'Mister Nobody'. It is a strong body of work with some excellent moments from the supporting musicians, my favourite being Ben Castle's solo on 'Hearth And Home'.

Overall it is an excellent collection, and beautifully presented too, with each album coming in a cardboard sleeve complete with liner notes. My only complaint was that the holding box that contains all three is slightly flimsy. The songs themselves are all brilliant and highlight several different sides to Duke Special, from the whimsy or downcast ballads to the more theatrical tracks on 'Mother Courage'. He has a knack of drawing the listener into these worlds and telling them a story. It is hard not to be moved by the story as Hector Mann struggles against the world in 'Mister Nobody' or the tale of Mother Courage as she battles through the war. Buy it, you won't regret it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Silver Screen and a Golden Voice, 4 Mar 2010
By M. Watts (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Stage, The Book And The Silver Screen (Audio CD)
The first Amazon reviewer Mr B.Wright has summarised the three artistic projects that make up this superb album collection extremely well. However it is perhaps worth making a few comments about Duke Special for those not familiar with the artist. He doesn't fit into any popular genre and has been called "vaudevillian" but the range of subjects and emotion he covers goes way beyond this and he is simply unique. The beautiful tone of his voice, soft Belfast accent, incredibly clear diction and the passion he brings to each song makes each one a self-contained story within each theme.

Having seen Duke Special in the Mother Courage Play at the National Theatre it was wonderful to hear the songs again but I take the point that they may take more time to appreciate in isolation. Everyone knows Huck Finn of course, and all of these songs are easily accessible and a delight.

The remarkable aspect of "The Silent World of Hector Mann" as the first reviewer has noted, is how the songs of twelve talented and diverse songwriters have somehow come together as a remarkably unified theme when sung by Duke. All twelve songs are gems and it's one of those albums where your "favourites" will change regularly. At the moment for me it's between Ben Castle's hilarious dance instructor Hector in "Tango Tangle" and Ed Harcourt's salesman Hector in "Jumping Jacks" but it will be different next week!

You will be richly rewarded by immersing yourself in the music and lyrics of each song and have a treasured and unique album set to add to your music collection.

Pure genius
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, 4 Mar 2010
By S. Atkins "atkygal" (uk) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Stage, The Book And The Silver Screen (Audio CD)
Having been a fab of Duke Special for only a short (ish) time, I was curious to see how this culmination of three works would take shape.
Well I have seen, I have heard and I have loved!!
Huckleberry Finnis simple, sweet and shows off duke's wistful singing voice to perfection. Hector Mann conveys all the humour and drama you expect from any Duke Special record and the accompanying music is beautiful.
Mother Courage transports me back to the theatre, with all the gritty drama interspersed with pointiency and sadness as well as humour.
All 3 cds stand alone as great pieces of work, and together they form a masterpiece.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Triple Special Treat!
Duke Special is not an artist to stand still and always seems to be striving for new paths and projects - these are essentially three concept records (two albums and one EP) with... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Scarlett

5.0 out of 5 stars Duke Special
As usual, Duke Special is just that - different in a quirky way, modern in an old-fashioned way and above all a very talented songster
Published 5 months ago by Terence Mcsweeney

5.0 out of 5 stars Special, So Duke-ing Special !!!!!!!!
Ireland's most versatile and underrated musician excels with a trilogy of albums influenced by books, stage, and screen, covering a wide range of music genres that he masters with... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mick Lynch

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Incredibly charming and impossibly beautiful.

The lone issue I have with this product is NOT in regards to the music, but rather the condition it arrived in. Read more
Published 5 months ago by E. Mohler

5.0 out of 5 stars Best live
The Duke is most awesome live. It really is a spectacular event every time and this May I'll clock up my third gig.

If you like his music, you'll love his live shows.
Published 5 months ago by Mr. W. J. Turner

4.0 out of 5 stars picture yourself on a boat in a river
picture yourself in a boat on a river and you would be taking yourself back your childhood and the tails of huckleberry finn. Read more
Published 5 months ago by L. M. Baldock

5.0 out of 5 stars A hat trick
Duke Special is not afraid to do something different. And so it is with these three albums.
The first,'The Stage' is the music he wrote for 'Mother Courage', a Brecht play... Read more
Published 6 months ago by H. Moat

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