Lets start this off by saying I am not OK, and I am going through and emotional battle daily. My recent posts probably make this apparent but if someone reads this without that context they need to know. Sun Kil Moon's Ghosts of the great highway is how I feel. Its subtle tones open up wounds and sweet pains with each listening. Some of the depths I don't want to explore as they resonate in uncomfortable ways. This is a great record.
It is a record of the road the title promises, dust choked and somber at times. Often as if riding into a storm while on the plains. For me it conjures images of old Fords on elementary roads traveling from a farm that is being boarded up. There are deep roots that tap into something past and somehow deeply American.
The is a whimsy in tracks like Glenn Tipton that is also twinned with something black humored. This song debates the two Judas Priest guitarists while telling of a murder spree, which may have lasted two generations. Things become dark and weird from there.
Carry Me Ohio i guess you could call the single from the album though it is long and almost indecipherable without lyrics. Its certainly beautiful. You can feel anguish and loss burrowed down in every note of the song. Love and Regret is definitely a theme.
Salvador Sanchez is one of the more straight ahead rockers of the record. It almost has a Screaming Trees feel to it, I could imagine Mark Lanegan singing. This song is also repeated as Pancho Villa at the end of the record. I am OK with songs slowed now and reworked but it seemed odd for both to be on the main record. Steam and Quiet Steam by Peter Gabriel are two totally different songs but they also appear in different locations.
The other rocker Lily and Parrots reminds me a bit of Smog's cold blooded old times. It has that set repeating riff that sets the beat for the song.
The rest of the songs are generally folksy and guitar based as you would probably expect. They are solid and with depth, there is plenty to sink your teeth into here. There is even some almost genesis proggy bits in the outro of Duk Koo Kim.
It is a record of the road the title promises, dust choked and somber at times. Often as if riding into a storm while on the plains. For me it conjures images of old Fords on elementary roads traveling from a farm that is being boarded up. There are deep roots that tap into something past and somehow deeply American.
The is a whimsy in tracks like Glenn Tipton that is also twinned with something black humored. This song debates the two Judas Priest guitarists while telling of a murder spree, which may have lasted two generations. Things become dark and weird from there.
Carry Me Ohio i guess you could call the single from the album though it is long and almost indecipherable without lyrics. Its certainly beautiful. You can feel anguish and loss burrowed down in every note of the song. Love and Regret is definitely a theme.
Salvador Sanchez is one of the more straight ahead rockers of the record. It almost has a Screaming Trees feel to it, I could imagine Mark Lanegan singing. This song is also repeated as Pancho Villa at the end of the record. I am OK with songs slowed now and reworked but it seemed odd for both to be on the main record. Steam and Quiet Steam by Peter Gabriel are two totally different songs but they also appear in different locations.
The other rocker Lily and Parrots reminds me a bit of Smog's cold blooded old times. It has that set repeating riff that sets the beat for the song.
The rest of the songs are generally folksy and guitar based as you would probably expect. They are solid and with depth, there is plenty to sink your teeth into here. There is even some almost genesis proggy bits in the outro of Duk Koo Kim.
1 comment:
Not genesis proggy that is wrong, it don't know Zebra proggy or something light maybe even Tevor Horn Asia proggy
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