What is Ghost Brothers of Darkland County? It’s a Southern gothic supernatural musical, according to Stephen King. King, John Mellencamp, and T Bone Burnett created the musical which features original music and lyrics plus “key dialog excerpts” from guest artists including Elvis Costello, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Neko Case, Taj Mahal, Ryan Bingham and Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey, Samantha Mathis and Meg Ryan.
The soundtrack’s set for release on March 19, 2013 by Hear Music/Concord Music Group in a variety of formats, including the standard edition with the complete soundtrack, dialog excerpts and digital libretto. The 2CD/1DVD Deluxe Edition has the soundtrack, deluxe art work, handwritten lyrics, specially printed libretto and the Making of Ghost Brothers mini-documentary DVD featuring in-depth interviews with King, Mellencamp and Burnett along with other bonus material.
The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County came about after Mellencamp told King a story about a murder on his Indiana land. Per King’s press release, “[…]two brothers had gotten in a fight over a girl; one brother accidentally killing the other, only to die along with the girl in a car crash a short time later.” A few days after hearing the story, King wrote an outline for a play. From there, it transformed into a full-length musical.
The official plot description: “Set in the tiny town of Lake Belle Reve, Mississippi, the Ghost Brothers’ story centers on two sets of brothers: the ghosts of Jack and Andy, dead in an apparent murder/suicide, and their nephews, the living Frank and Drake, who seem to be headed toward the same downward spiral as their uncles. Joe, younger brother of Jack and Andy, father of Frank and Drake, has decided it’s time to reveal his own terrible secret at the site of the tragedy, before it’s too late.”
Details on Ghost Brothers [Courtesy of Stephen King.com]:
“The superb blues ‘n’ roots music of Ghost Brothers reflects the wide range of styles and influences needed for a work that jumps back and forth across decades. Rather than use the songs to propel the play’s narrative, as in a conventional musical, Mellencamp chose to make them a way to reveal the emotions and inner workings of the characters—like Neko Case’s exquisite, unapologetic delivery of ‘That’s Who I Am;’ the intense passion of Kristofferson’s ‘How Many Days;’ or Costello’s cunning ‘That’s Me,’ which establishes the persona of ‘The Shape,’ the Puck-like devil figure at the heart of Ghost Brothers who floats between the worlds of the living and the spirits. Numerous other highlights include the thunderous, dramatic ensemble piece ‘Tear This Cabin Down’ and ‘Jukin,’ a grease-laden delta-rocker performed by Sheryl Crow. Mellencamp himself delivers the closing ‘Truth,’ a sublime meditation on the moral issues underpinning the action.
Though some of the songs were written without knowing where they would fit in the script, most were the result of specific assignments. ‘Steve would call me up and go, ‘We need a song like this to fill this place,” Mellencamp says. ‘To be able to go, ‘OK, now you’re a 10-year-old boy, what would he say? Now you’re a 19-year-old girl trying to attract the attention of a barroom of fellas’…that was just fun to do.’
Once a working show had been assembled, producer Burnett—acclaimed for his work on such albums as Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss and the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack—was brought in to help unify the flow and feel of the music on stage. Burnett would also prove crucial when it came time to cast and record the Ghost Brothers album.
He started with the voice of ‘The Shape’—’immediately, Elvis Costello came up,’ says Burnett, ‘who could be better playing the devil?’ Rosanne Cash struck the producer as a match for Monique, Joe’s troubled wife, as did Kris Kristofferson’s unmistakable scratchy baritone to play the patriarch himself.
As the story emerged, it became clear to the collaborators that Ghost Brothers had taken them into unfamiliar territory—and they liked it that way. ‘John can make rock & roll records and I can write books for the rest of our lives,’ says King, ‘but that’s the safe way to do it, and that’s no way to live if you want to stay creative. We were willing to be educated, and at our age, that’s an accomplishment.’
GHOST BROTHERS OF DARKLAND COUNTY Track List and Credits:
-Libretto by Stephen King
-Music & Lyrics by John Mellencamp
-Musical Direction by T Bone Burnett
-Featured cast: Kris Kristofferson, Meg Ryan, Matthew McConaughey, Samantha Mathis, Elvis Costello
-Featured musicians: Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Phil Alvin, Kris Kristofferson, Taj Mahal, Neko Case, Dave Alvin, Rosanne Cash, John Mellencamp
1. That’s Me | Elvis Costello
2. That’s Who I Am | Neko Case
3. So Goddamn Smart | Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin, Sheryl Crow
4. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong About Me | Elvis Costello
5. Brotherly Love – Ryan Bingham, Will Dailey
6. How Many Days | Kris Kristofferson
7. You Are Blind | Ryan Bingham
8. Home Again | Sheryl Crow, Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin, Taj Mahal
9. What’s Going On Here | Rosanne Cash
10. My Name Is Joe | Clyde Mulroney
11. Tear This Cabin Down | Taj Mahal
12. And Your Days Are Gone | Sheryl Crow, Dave Alvin, Phil Alvin
13. Jukin’ – Sheryl Crow
14. What Kind Of Man Am I | Kris Kristofferson, Phil Alvin, Sheryl Crow,
Dave Alvin, Taj Mahal
15. So Goddamn Good | Phil Alvin, Dave Alvin, Sheryl Crow
16. Away From This World – Sheryl Crow
17. Truth – John Mellencamp
Source: StephenKing.com
