Ghosts

by The Strawbs

Overview

Ghosts was the last album by the Strawbs to appear while the band was on its upward curve of commercial success; a more lyrical follow-up to Hero and Heroine, it was the group's last thrust at wide-audience appeal, with a hoped for-hit ("Lemon Pie") that didn't materialize. The group's mix of acoustic guitars, electric lead and bass, and Rod Coombes' heavy drumming was very compelling on this, their smoothest album. The title track introduction, mixing multiple overdubbed harpsichords, acoustic guitars, and church bells was a gorgeous beginning, and the melodies only got better further into the album. The hauntingly beautiful "Starshine/Angel Wine" was a magnificent successor to "Lay Down" off of Bursting at the Seams, with a moment of Led Zeppelin-like flash from Dave Lambert's playing in the break, while "The Life Auction" was a bigger, bolder follow-up to "The Hangman and the Papist." The original finale, "Grace Darling," is probably the prettiest tune Dave Cousins ever wrote. Alas, Ghosts would be the group's last record to be released before the changes in music -- with the introduction of punk rock in the middle of the '70s -- began hemming them in, and they never again put out an album with as much panache as this. Previously available on CD only from Japan, in 1998 Ghosts was reissued by A&M in England with a sharp, clean digital sound that greatly enhanced the rich textures of the playing, and one bonus track, Coombes' unexpectedly lyrical "Changes Arrange Us," which had previously been available only as a single B-side. (British import)

Product Details

Release Date:	10/27/1998
Label:	Universal I.S.
UPC:	0731454093729
catalogNumber:	5409372
Rank:	27838

Tracks

1. Ghosts: Sweet Dreams/Night Light/Guardian Angel
2. Lemon Pie
3. Starshine/Angel Wine
4. Where Do You Go (When You Need A Hole To Crawl In)
5. The Life Auction: Impressions of Soulhall from the Train/The Auction
6. Don't Try to Change Me
7. Remembering
8. You and I (When We Were Young)
9. Grace Darling
10. Changes Arrange Us

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Strawbs   Primary Artist
Dave Cousins   Acoustic Guitar,Banjo,Electric Guitar,Vocals
Rod Coombes   Percussion,Conga,Drums,Background Vocals
Charles Cronk   Acoustic Guitar,Bass,Bass Guitar,Background Vocals
John Hawken   Organ,Piano,Harpsichord,Keyboards,Hammond Organ,Electric Piano,Moog Synthesizer,Mellotron
Dave Lambert   Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar,Vocals
Claire Deniz   Cello

Technical Credits

Dave Cousins   Composer
Strawbs   Arranger
Charles Cronk   Composer
John Hawken   Composer