Ghost on Ghost
A relaxed, jazz-inflected album arranged by Rob Burger, with Brian Blade and Kenny Wollesen on drums.
Iron & Wine, 2013
- Released
- 16 April 2013
- Label
- 4AD, Nonesuch
- Producer
- Brian Deck
Ghost on Ghost came out on 4AD worldwide and Nonesuch in the United States. Its title is taken from a line in Grace for Saints and Ramblers, and the cover is a photograph from Barbara Crane's series Private Views. The album shows jazz, pop and R&B influences and a more relaxed approach than the two before it, which Beam felt had an anxious tension he wanted to move away from. Rob Burger directed the arrangements, and two drummers, Brian Blade and Kenny Wollesen, share the percussion.
It debuted at number 26 on the Billboard 200 and number 9 on the Rock Albums chart, selling 16,000 copies in its first week and 51,000 in the United States by June 2015. Pitchfork's Stephen M. Deusner called it dense with ideas and busy with flourishes that distract as often as they cohere, singled out Winter Prayers as a standout, and counted the 1970s lite-rock nods of The Desert Babbler as paying off.
Track listing
- Caught in the Briars3:12
- The Desert Babbler3:27
- Joy2:31
- Low Light Buddy of Mine3:30
- Grace for Saints and Ramblers3:36
- Grass Widows2:53
- Singers and the Endless Song3:39
- Sundown (Back in the Briars)2:18
- Winter Prayers3:12
- New Mexico's No Breeze4:28
- Lovers' Revolution5:40
- Baby Center Stage5:39
Personnel
- Sam Beam vocals, guitars
- Brian Deck producer
- Rob Burger arrangements, pianos, organ, clavinet, celesta
- Tony Garnier bass
- Tony Scherr upright bass, ukulele bass, guitar
- Brian Blade drums, percussion
- Kenny Wollesen drums, percussion, bowed vibraphone
- Paul Niehaus pedal steel guitar
- Neil Strauch engineer
- Richard Dodd mastering
More from Iron & Wine
The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002), Our Endless Numbered Days (2004), Woman King (2005), The Shepherd's Dog (2007), Kiss Each Other Clean (2011), Beast Epic (2017), Years to Burn (2019), Light Verse (2024), Hen's Teeth (2026)
Sources
- Ghost on Ghost, Wikipedia
- Ghost on Ghost (534456-1), Discogs
- Iron & Wine: Ghost on Ghost, Pitchfork (2013-04-19)