Record Rewind: Duncan Sheik - 'Phantom Moon'

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Record Rewind: Duncan Sheik - 'Phantom Moon'

Music Editor
On Feb 22, 2012

Duncan Sheik
Phantom Moon
Nonesuch Records (2001)

Several years before their Tony Award-winning work on Broadway's Spring Awakening, singer/songwriter Duncan "Barely Breathing" Sheik and playwright Steven Sater teamed up on the criminally overlooked lost classic Phantom Moon. A loose stylistic tribute to Nick Drake, the album is a lush, stark, powerfully moody collection of somber, densely poetic songs painted exclusively with acoustic instrumentation—guitars, pianos, drums, upright bass, and the London Session Orchestra make a bold emotional impact without ever making much of a racket. A gloriously warm song cycle that rewards repeat listens, Phantom Moon ranks high amongst the all-time best albums you've likely never heard.

Duncan Sheik Steven Sater
Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik

Using Spotify? Listen to Phantom Moon (2001) by Duncan Sheik right here.

"The Wilderness (Prelude)"

"The word is told now... the word is said," Sheik intones over a solemn, intimate and painfully brief piano/harmonium progression.

"Longing Town"

Gently finger-picked guitar rolls beautifully beneath Sheik's gray and foggy vocal delivery. The Nick Drake comparisons are especially apt once the understated string arrangement creeps unannounced into the mix.

"Mr. Chess"

Boasts a slightly brighter, more endearing melody—but the sonic palette is just as wondrously simple. Guest guitarist Gerry Leonard's plucky nylon string fills are especially fantastic upon close listen.

"The Winds That Blow"

Rolling waves of piano and guitar crest and bow gently beneath more of Sater's trademark imagery ("All the shadows blue, in the winter moon, the stars within the darkness..." etc.)

"Mouth On Fire"

My personal favorite—the LSO's sweeping string arrangement still gives me the shivers every time. Sheik's falsetto delivery on that "Where poetry? Where mystic harmonies?" outro is crippling.

"Sad Stephen's Song"

Worth the price of admission—Sater's rapturous poetry floats and envelops perfectly around an austere guitar/dulcimer arrangement augmented gloriously by the orchestra.

"Time And Good Fortune"

An almost boisterous mid-tempo acoustic waltz—the double bass and string arrangements are especially evocative. "My, don't we love?" Sheik ponders wryly over a plucky guitar/banjo break that segues back into the opening bounce fantastically.

"Far Away"

Features the distinct and indispensable electric guitar playing of Mr. Bill Frisell—the album's sole electric instrument. It hums and rolls wonderfully over a gentle stroll of a folk pop arrangement, augmented by Sheik's bold-faced approach to Sater's heartbroken lyrics.

"This Is How My Heart Heard"

"This is how my heart heard that little thing in tears they call the truth," Duncan sighs over a somber, funereal orchestral arrangement with gentle guitar plucks dancing around the perimeter.

"A Mirror In The Heart"

The album's sole bona fide uptempo, even uplifting number. "Some may pray to their mirrors, some may kneel before the sun," Sheik muses, "Me, I say there's a mirror in the heart of everyone." (The double-tracked vocals are welcome surprise for fans of his poppier, radio-friendlier work.)

"Lo And Behold"

A stark, spiritual set of lyrics set to an unsettling still piano/strings progression.

"Requiescat"

Gerry Leonard's dobro takes the center stage over warm, naval-sounding harmonium chords and Sheik's airy finger-picking.

"The Wilderness"

Reprises the album's opening with the same sober, elegiac intonation... this time with the warm blanket embrace of the Session Orchestra. Brings everything beautifully back full circle... the perfect end to a damn-near perfect record.

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