Price: £12.99
Format: CD
Artist: Judge Smith
CatNo: Master101
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Judge Smith Curlys Airships cd
Curly's Airships is an epic work of words and music about the R.101 airship disaster of 1930, written in a form of narrative Rock music Judge Smith calls 'songstory'.
 
The recording involves eighteen featured performers, including four members of Van der Graaf Generator (Peter Hammill, Hugh Banton, David Jackson and Judge himself), Arthur Brown, Pete Brown (Battered Ornaments/Piblokto), Paul Roberts (The Stranglers), John Ellis, (Peter Hammill/The Stranglers), plus a 1920's dance band, a classical Tenor, an Indian music ensemble and several cathedral organs.
 
Six years in the making and dating from 2000, Curly's Airships is another fine example of Judge Smith's eccentric offerings.
 
The package includes two forty page plus booklets featuring essays about the work and the libretto.
 
N.B. This is the original double CD and not a reissue.
CD 1:
 
Chapter One: Curly Comes Through
 
1) Voices From A Crystal Set
2) Walking Her Out
 
Chapter Two: Curly's Conducted Tour
 
3) Curly Takes Us Up
4) Drifting About Like a Bad Smell
 
Chapter Three: Curly In The Clouds
 
5) Curly In The Clouds
 
Chapter Four: Catastrophe
 
6) A Capital Idea
7) A Shrieking Of Aluminium
 
Chapter Five: Curly On Civvy Street
 
8) Curly On Civvy Street
 
Chapter Six: A Great British Compromise
 
9) That Imperial Airship Scheme
10) From The Sidelines
 
Chapter Seven: A Kindly Sort Of Cove
 
11) A Kindly Sort Of Cove
 
Chapter Eight: Curly At Cardington
 
12) Curly At Cardington
 
Chapter Nine: Lord Of A Continent
 
13) A Creature Of Grace
14) A Byronic Sort Of Blighter
 
CD 2:
 
Chapter Ten: Big Chief And Some Minor Bugs
 
1) Big Chief And Some Minor Bugs"
 
Chapter Eleven: Curly's Close Shave
 
2) The Canadian Run
3) Conan Doyle & The Flying Sieve
4) Horrors At Hendon
 
Chapter Twelve: Cutting The Lady In Half
 
5) As Safe As A House
6) A Ship Of Fools
 
Chapter Thirteen: Curly Gets The Creeps
 
7) The Night Before
8) The Morning After
 
Chapter Fourteen: Curly Cashes His Chips
 
9) Bedford To Hastings
10) Hastings To Beauvais
 
Chapter Fifteen: Carry On Curly
 
11) The Muffled Drum
12) The Final Taboo