Album; Ghost on Ghost
Label; 4AD
Track list
- Caught in the Briars
- The Desert Babbler
- Joy
- Low Light Buddy of Mine
- Grace for Saints and Ramblers
- Grass Widows
- Singers and the Endless Song
- Sundown (Back in the Briars)
- Winter Prayers
- New Mexico's No Breeze
- Lover's Revolution
- Baby Center Stage
Overview
Sam Beam (The one man act that comprises Iron and Wine... I assume there are other musicians involved but I'm damned if I know who they are) has come an AWFUL long way since The Creek Drank the Cradle back in 2002 in a number of ways. Where Creek Drank The Cradle was basically just Sam and his guitar and a four track cassette recorder, every album since has built on this in terms of complexity and in general polish - to the point where, if not for his pretty distinctive voice - I don't think you would ever believe CDTC and Ghost on Ghost were made by the same person.; Sam has eschewed his Guy & Guitar (or, occasionally, Boy & Banjo) roots for a larger richer sound, and in a lot of ways this works for him. Ghost on Ghost, even more so than his last album, Kiss Each Other Clean and the one before that, The Shepherds Dog, seems to incorporate a lot more by way of blues, jazz and gospel elements, such as horn sections, choral work and honky-tonk style piano. It's easy to understand why he would have such affinity for these things, being as he was born and raised south of the Mason-Dixon line, but for me personally, I'm not sure it always works. Because these elements are used less than sparingly the whole way through the album, there is very little to distinguish one track from the next.
I have been listening and listening and listening to this album, not because it has particularly captured my attention, but because I really, desperately, want it to impress me the same way The Shepard's Dog and our Endless Numbered Days did. It hasn't though. All of the things I love about those earlier albums are still there; Sam Beam's unique vocal style - soft, narrative and comforting; his wonderfully understanding guitar playing (never overpowering, always sympathetic to the tone of the piece), his grasp of lyric and expression... But there is nothing stand-out across the whole album. There is something soulless and repetetive about the production across the album, which I think is as a result of Sam Beam making a conscious effort not to make the same album again and again - and bravo to him for recognizing this possibility and striving for new sounds - but which results in a general missing of the mark, with little textural variation across the dozen tracks on offer here.
(In a slightly nit-picky aside - I'd also like to express disappointment with the album artwork... But that's not really a reason to buy/not buy it)
I have been listening and listening and listening to this album, not because it has particularly captured my attention, but because I really, desperately, want it to impress me the same way The Shepard's Dog and our Endless Numbered Days did. It hasn't though. All of the things I love about those earlier albums are still there; Sam Beam's unique vocal style - soft, narrative and comforting; his wonderfully understanding guitar playing (never overpowering, always sympathetic to the tone of the piece), his grasp of lyric and expression... But there is nothing stand-out across the whole album. There is something soulless and repetetive about the production across the album, which I think is as a result of Sam Beam making a conscious effort not to make the same album again and again - and bravo to him for recognizing this possibility and striving for new sounds - but which results in a general missing of the mark, with little textural variation across the dozen tracks on offer here.
(In a slightly nit-picky aside - I'd also like to express disappointment with the album artwork... But that's not really a reason to buy/not buy it)
Favourite Tracks
I'd like to stress again that I didn't hate this album, and there are some real high-points - Caught in the Briars is a great start to the album and made me hopeful for another stonking release from Iron and Wine. Starting with some distant "percussion" and sustained Hammond organs before jumping in with a rich, deep guitar lick which forms the basis of the song, with a lot of the classic Sam Beam chorus-effect backing vocals and some lush chord changes around the chorus. The other stand out track for me is Lovers' Revolution, I think because it has such a wonderful build up in texture and a punchy farty sax line - it passes as a sort of Art Blakey-era jazz/blues piece. Sam Beam's expression reaches a pitch on this album around the two minute mark in this track, and the shouted chorus lines work nicely - very work-song.
Least Favourite Track
I struggled to write this section for the last review I did (Blackbeard's Tea Party - Whip Jamboree) because I struggled to find a track I didn't like, but I do actually have a least favourite track here... "Joy". Dull, overly saccharine in nature, highly forgettable. Next please.
Closing Comments
I so desperately wanted to love this album and I feel a little bit cheated by the whole thing, truth be told. The album is largely flat and uninteresting save for a few moments. I don't think that it is, in and of itself, a bad album, but I think it is tempered by my relatively high expectations of Iron and Wine. By all means check it out, especially if you're generally a fan of Americana, and folk tempered by blues and jazz, but if you come to it expecting something of the rich variety seen in Shepherd's Dog, think again.
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