Ambush of Ghosts [Import]

ambush of ghosts [import]

Track Listings

1. After Great Pain

2. Sedation

3. Lipstick

4. Disoriented

5. Archaize

6. White Robe

7. Cop Shed

8. Running Scene

9. Christian Returns

10. Christian Decides

11. Silk Robe

12. Sedation 2

13. Cop House

14. Funeral, Pt. 1

15. Funeral, Pt. 2

16. Dear Grover

17. Casus Belli

18. Syntonic

19. Hidden Fortress

20. Hallucinations?

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Remastered reissue of the British experimental act's 1993 album, featuring different artwork. EFA.

An Ambush of Ghosts,In the Nursery,Itn Corporation,Experimental,Experimental Rock,Rock,Rock/Pop

Ambush of Ghosts [Import]

Average customer rating:

Sleeper Album
The Best of the Rolling Stones albums
Happy surprise
THE STONES DELIVER AND SERVE SOME GREAT ROCK N' ROLL WITH GOATS HEAD SOUP!
LAST ONE OF THE GREAT EARLY 70'S ALBUMS

Goats Head Soup
The Rolling Stones
Manufacturer: Virgin Records Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000000W5B
Release Date: 1994-07-26

Tracks:

Dancing With Mr. D.
100 Years Ago
Coming Down Again
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)
Angie
Silver Train
Hide Your Love
Winter
Can You Hear The Music
Star Star

Customer Reviews:

Sleeper Album.......2007-05-07

"Winter" is simply the most gorgeous rock and roll ballad on record. Anywhere. At any time. It's lush and earthy at the same time. For me, and I love me some ballads, this trumps "Tangerine", "Wild is the Wind" and "Danceaway" (by Led Zep, Bowie, and Roxy Music, respectively).
Goats is a timeless, seamless album. Brilliant.

The Best of the Rolling Stones albums.......2007-01-13

All the tracks on this album shows the great musician ship of the band. Each artist shines out in every song. I really like this album when it came out and still play it quite often.

Happy surprise.......2007-01-09

I had read some negative things about this album. I am a diehard Stones fan and wanted to include it in my collection and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this album. It is pretty fantastic! I would recommend it highly

THE STONES DELIVER AND SERVE SOME GREAT ROCK N' ROLL WITH GOATS HEAD SOUP! .......2006-12-13

I will be writing a review on the brilliant legendary masterpiece CD album entitled "GOATS HEAD SOUP" by THE GREATEST ROCK N' ROLL BAND IN THE WORLD, I give you THE ROLLING STONES! "GOATS HEAD SOUP" was originally released on vinyl/LP and cassette in 1973 on the infamous Rolling Stones Records label which is manufactured by Columbia Records. I purchased the very first print issue of this album on CD and the matrix or ID number is CK 40492. I also purchased the second re-release in a Collector's Edition on the Virgin Records label and the matrix or ID number is 7243-8-39498-2-3. If I hear any new additional information concerning this legendary album, I will edit this review so that you the consumer will get the best and most accurate review possible.

In my opinion, "GOATS HEAD SOUP" is another great album written by the Glimmer Twins! I will list and briefly review all the song tracks in their exact order as follows: (1.) "Dancing With Mr. D.," (Outstanding rocker! I love this song! This is a great way to begin an album!) (2.) "100 Years Ago," (Another outstanding song! I love the way this song speeds up and rocks in the middle.) (3.) "Coming Down Again," (A beautiful song! I love it!) (4.) "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)," (Outstanding! Another brilliant killer rocker by The Stones! I love this song!) (5.) "Angie," (Outstanding! A brilliant and beautiful slow mellow song. I love this song very much!) (6.) "Silver Train," (Outstanding! Another brilliant rocker from The Stones! I love this song!) (7.) "Hide Your Love," Another outstanding rocker! I love this song!) (8.) "Winter," (Outstanding! Another beautiful slow rocker! I love it!) (9.) "Can You Hear The Music" (Outstanding! Another great slow rocker! I love it!) and (10.) "Star Star." (Outstanding! Another brilliant killer rocker by The Stones! We all know that if you listen to these lyrics closely, you will hear something that I cannot disclose in this review if you know what I mean! Great rocker! What a way to end this legendary album. I love this song!) Overall, every single song track in this album is nothing less than outstanding and excellent.

As you can see, this album is definitely worth purchasing that he or she should definitely own as part of his or her collection. This album is guaranteed to be around to be enjoyed for many years to come.

In closing, The Rolling Stones are an extraordinary band that I believe will live on forever. I recently told my father that The Beatles are THE GREATEST BAND THAT POPULAR MUSIC AS WELL AS ROCK N' ROLL EVER PRODUCED! I also told him that The Rolling Stones are THE GREATEST ROCK N' ROLL BAND IN THE WORLD! Two different terms that should not be confused. After all, their music speaks for itself, am I wrong? Thanks for reading my review and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it for all of you. I also hope that you will read all of my other reviews in the near future when time permits. God bless and long live The Rolling Stones! Long live Rock n' Roll! Rock out always and take care. J.L.

LAST ONE OF THE GREAT EARLY 70'S ALBUMS.......2006-07-25

You want proof Charlie's the best drummer in rock? Listen to Heartbreaker then Angie and you should know. Heartbreaker starts unusually for a Stones rocker with a keyboard riff then with a brief but perfect drum roll then the song begins to drive with a simple but oh so swinging pattern. Angie has beautifully understated drumming which both eases the song along and plays subtly along to acetuate the vocal. Gorgeous. Heartbreaker deserves more recognition than it gets as it is one of the best big arrangement songs they've done with driving rhythm from Keith, Charlie, Bill and the keyboards and some nice wah wah guitar and a great solo from Mick Taylor.
The album has lots of other songs that grow on you such as 100 Years Ago, Winter, Coming Down Again and CanYou Hear the Music. I'm not quite as keen on Silver Train as it seems like a poor cousin of All Down the Line. All in all this should be in all Stones fans collections. And you've gotta love that drumming!

Average customer rating:

An album of unrestrained honesty, if nothing else
Amazing
The Best TMG CD
The Sunset Tree
I weep at the mere thought of this album.

The Sunset Tree
The Mountain Goats , and Mountain Goats
Manufacturer: 4ad / Ada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0007W22IE
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Tracks:

You Or Your Memory
Broom People
This Year
Dilaudid
Dance Music
Dinu Lipatti's Bones
Up The Wolves
Lion's Teeth
Hast Thou Considered The Tetrapod
Magpie
Song For Dennis Brown
Love Love Love
Pale Green Things

Amazon.com

There has always been something about John Darnielle's lyrics; even when you're not exactly sure what he's talking about, it always feels like he's telling it like it is. Not that metaphor is a major player on The Sunset Tree, the latest album from the Mountain Goats (of which Darnielle is the founder, frontman, and once only member.) Songs like "This Year," "Dance Music," and "Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod?" are painfully honest about his traumatic childhood and abusive stepfather. You might think that an album about child abuse would be hard to listen to, but as always, hearing Darnielle's lyrics is an honor and a privilege. Trying experiences are captured with deceptively simple statements (is there any better expression of determination than "I will make it through this year if it kills me"?) On this CD, Darnielle also remembers revered (yet cocaine-addled) reggae star Dennis Brown. ("It took all the coke in town to bring down Dennis Brown. On the day my lung collapses, we'll see just how much it takes.") Though the Mountain Goats have apparently done well enough for Darnielle to quit his day job as a nurse, they don't yet have all the fans they deserve. Don't wait to join the fold. --Leah Weathersby

Album Description

Following the success of "We Shall All Be Healed", The Mountain Goats return with a third record for 4AD. "The Sunset Tree" was recorded by John Vanderslice at Prairie Sun Studios (a favorite haunt of Tom Waits, among others) in North Carolina. The album features long time collaborator Peter Hughes, along with Franklin Bruno, and acclaimed jazz cellist Eric Friedlander.

Customer Reviews:

An album of unrestrained honesty, if nothing else.......2007-02-22

John Darnielle's guitar playing and compositions seems a bit rudimentary, and his voice more of a bleat (probably why he named his project the Mountain Goats), but he is one of the most admirable lyricists I can name who have been around in the last decade. His lyrics reflect on every day life and the small, mundane factors that somehow mean something, and turns them into soul-bearing and demon exorcising mantras.

The Sunset Tree is mostly based on the abuse he endured by his stepfather. One could expect a tidal wave of melodrama and whining, but somehow Darnielle turns a touchy subject such as that into something one could overcome. Some of his songs are catchy, others slow and sad, others angry, but all with an equal amount of conviction.

A song like "This Year" could be seen as a modern day anthem of empowerment, during a time in which things aren't so great, with the War in iraq, inflation, a crappy job market, etc. But a line like "I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me" is a statement of hope and determination, despite any obstacles in his life, and I can only imagine Darnielle having that thought after escaping from his childhood home... probably around 20 years ago. Not exactly sure. "Dance Music" is another interesting song about his domestic situation, and how he would hide in his room and listen to music to escape, showing that Darnielle uses music as his outlet and that he's for real. And boy is it catchy and danceable... I can't think of anyone else who would write a song about his stepfather throwing glasses against the wall with such a bouncy arrangement.

You can also glimpse into the sadness Darnielle felt. "Pale Green Things," the album's final song, is a somber song reflecting on his stepfather, and how he would take young John to the racetrack, and how John yearned for an actual relationship with him, even after his death. "Love Love Love" is also a reflection on love and hwo it leads a person to do things that are crazy and out of the ordinary. It's one of those songs you just get, without thinking about it.

The Mountain Goats are one of the most consistent bands out there now, and the Sunset Tree is a great place for a person to start when discovering their vast discography and getting into John Darnielle's world. Definitely one of the best albums of 2005.

Amazing.......2007-02-09

I've been working on some painful family history, and this cd has been very helpful in doing so. I don't listen to music much anymore, but when I do, this is the one I seem to find myself most wanting to listen to. It's pure catharsis.

There are no bad songs on this album, though if they don't elicit some sort of emotional response from you, I'm guessing you must be a robot.

I can't remember if this or Tallahassee was my first Mountain Goats CD. So far those two have been the most accessible for me to listen to. I tend to prefer a more polished sound, and most of what John Darnielle has done has unfortunately been very rough.

The Best TMG CD.......2006-09-26

Powerful is all I can say. Get this cd and you will become an instant fan. Thanks 4AD! I wouldn't have come across this band if you didn't sign them up. Oh yeah, they are also great live (I saw them during their Tallahassee tour).

The Sunset Tree.......2006-09-01

This is probably the most uplifting album in my cd collection, and definitely containing the most beautifully written lyrics. The lyrics are what hold the album together but in my opinion are also well complimented by the accompaning instruments, particularly in Love Love Love, probably my favourite from this album. This album does take quite a long time to get into - particularly if put on to relax to - as background noise.

Get this album
It's amazingly honest and beautiful in its lyrics and music, especially recommended if you feel you're in a rut, this album will make you feel better- atleast for a while. Better with each listen.

Key tracks for me:
Broom People
Dinu Lapatti's bones
Up The Wolves
Song For Dennis Brown
Love Love Love
Pale Green Things

- woops nearly mentioned all the tracks - everything is good here.
Buy this now - worth much more than the listed price.

I weep at the mere thought of this album........2006-08-15

In early 2005, I was looking for good Lo-Fi music, and someone reccomended The Mountain Goats. I then downloaded the b-side collection, Ghana, and gave it a listen. It was fun, sure, but it wasn't what I was looking for.

I then read a review for The Sunset Tree, and decided to download it. It took me over a month to get around to the album, but when I did, it lead to a two week hear-in. I attempted to listen to other music, but it was no use. The Sunset Tree had taken hold.

You'll notice that the title for this review is "I weep at the mere thought of this album", and it's quite true. I began reading a blurb for the album, but was unable to finish until many minutes later, due to the fact that, for no reason, I had started crying at the mere thought. I put the album on, and I got to "Pale Green Things", and broke down. This had never happened before, in response to anything ever.

If I were asked what the best album of this decade has been, I wouldn't spend any time thinking, as I would already know that the answer is The Sunset Tree. In all of it's beauty and wonder. It wouldn't surprise me if The Mountain Goats didn't get big. But it still disappoints me that this album hasn't made them a household name.

So, what else is there to say? I can only say that this is an album that everyone should own. In an age where youths know the lyrics of cookie cutter bands by heart, it makes me hurt to think that such beauty is often overlooked.

Average customer rating:

My Personal FAVORITE Mountain Goat's Album
One of the most fun CDs, period.
May be the best album ever
Tallahassee
Darkly Beautiful Gem

Tallahassee
Mountain Goats
Manufacturer: 4ad / Ada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006YXH6
Release Date: 2002-11-05

Tracks:

Tallahassee
First Few Desperate Hours
Southwood Plantation Road
Game Shows Touch Our Lives
The House That Dripped Blood
Idylls Of The King
No Children
See America Right
Peacocks
International Small Arm14. Alpha Rats Traffic Blues
Have To Explode
Old College Try
Oceanographer

Album Description

John Darnielle's songs have always dwelled on one or a combination of five subjects, relationship conflicts, flood, water, pre-Colombian Mexico mythology and talking animals. This record conjures paranoid visions of a couple permanently on the cusp of divorce who have remained drunk for so long, they're not sure of much else beyond the mutually destructive urge that holds their house together. Digipak. 4AD. 2002.

Customer Reviews:

My Personal FAVORITE Mountain Goat's Album.......2007-05-25

The Mountain Goat's are oft praised for John Darnielle's insightful lyrics. With that in mind, "Tallahassee" may be the greatest Mountain Goats album yet. The songs on this album are incredibly touching and well-phrased.

While some are not as musically captivating, they weave great stories. Later in his career, Darnielle went on to writing autobiographical lyrics. But this album being a concept album centered on a fictional couple, the lyrics have a more universal resonance.

I don't know anyone who's listened to "No Children" and not been blown away by the lyrics.

One of the most fun CDs, period........2006-12-26

At a recent concert, John Darnielle told the audience that there will come a day when 'No Children' will no longer be funny. However, that day has yet to come.

Like other albums, 'Tallahasse' follows a loose narrative with reoccurring characters: here they are an unhappily married couple who have decided to stick it out despite (or maybe because of) their mutual hatred. With a subject like that, one might expect angsty lyrics about wallowing in misery. Instead, we get quirky, almost perky songs with words like 'On Southwood Plantation Road. Where the dead will walk again, put on their Sunday best, and mingle with unsuspecting Christian men'.

The only possible disappointment is that if you want to know the words, you'll have to figure them out yourself or look them up online, as the CD does not come with the lyrics. Instead you get a booklet with a little story blurb and some quotes which match the tone of the album perfectly and, in my opinion, more than justify the lack of a more traditional CD insert.

May be the best album ever.......2005-10-10

I really love this album -It is a fascinating exploration of love, disppointment, hate, desire and despair. Just get it.

Tallahassee.......2005-10-05

Since 1992, John Darnielle has been creating lo-fi plot-centered music as the Mountain Goats.

Darnielle's style has always been to tell stories through song. We're not talking anything like a musical here, nothing quite so coherent as Rent. He tells his stories as a booze-hound trying to recall what he did last night, through a series of clipped, vague, and often unclear flashbacks. Most often, Darnielle lays out his stories through a series of first person stream-of-thought narrations by one or more of the albums characters. This being said, the word `narration' does not fully convey what Darnielle accomplishes through this. The result he has achieved time and time again is an experience akin to watching a person's life through their own eyes during periodic installations of their existence. Frequent listeners may expose themselves to the risk of becoming attached to the characters, who are, perhaps without exception, tragic figures in some fashion. If you want an album with a happy ending, you might try sending John Darnielle some prozac, but for the moment you're out of luck.

Tallahassee, like its predecessors, is as much a story as it is music. Given this fairly unique brand of story telling, listeners who just throw the CD on for background music, or listen distractedly, may find the album very dissatisfactory. Few emotionally powerful stories can be appreciated by half-hearted attention, and Tallahassee is no different.

Focusing on the characters that make up the "Alpha Couple", an unhappy couple who have been the subject of many previous songs, the picture painted throughout this album is of a hopelessly broken marriage, and the couple struggling desperately to fix it. Don't worry, I won't leave you in suspense: they fail utterly in every aspect, save that they manage not to murder each other. But through their failure the listener is made to experience the full spectrum of crippling emotions both high and low that such a failing marriage entails. There are also several good doses of dark humor at its darkest to keep the mood nice and light for the listener.

By the climax of the album, Oceanographer's Choice, there is little doubt left that the aching love the characters feel for one another comes incredibly close to matching the depth of their hatred. Those who, like myself, are familiar with Edward Albee's play, `Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' may see strong similarities between the Alpha Couple and George and Martha. Those who aren't may just find themselves kind of depressed.

Below, written in a format that behooves a writer, I have reviewed the album track by track, judging each with a thumbs up or thumbs down as I see fit. For those of you who are lazy and just want advice as to which songs they ought most to seek, this is my advice: listening to a track outside the context of the album is much like watching only a scene from a movie. It would be incomplete, and thus give the listener a very incomplete appreciation. This is not recommended. But, if you simply must taste of the album's wares before committing yourself, I would recommend Tallahassee or Game Shows Touch Our Lives. That being said, on with the track-by-track review!

Tallahassee: The album begins with the appropriately titled song Tallahassee. Using lyrics loaded with poetic description (one of Darnielle's specialties), the song that sets the albums opening scene feels almost cinematic. "Window facing an ill-kept front yard / Plums on the tree heavy with nectar / Prayers to summon the destroying angel / Moon stuttering in the sky like film stuck in a projector". Put to relaxing, if ever-so-slightly nervous guitars, the mood of this song can hardly be defied by an attentive listener. Weariness is not an emotion often expressed in any opening, but if I had to pick, that would be the emotion this song best conveys. Not the weariness of any thing in particular, but an overall weariness of life, the sort that comes only after being stressed so much for so long, until one has no more stress to muster. The sort of emotional surrender through which one can actually come out the other side and appreciate the beauty of everything. This song, as with the rest of the album, is told through the narrative of the Alpha Male. Thumbs up

First Few Desperate Hours: The slight nervousness of the first song segways into significantly more intense guitar strumming. "Bad luck comes in from Tampa." the song begins, and this becomes something of choral line. "Bad luck comes in from Tampa/ on the back of a truck / doing 90 down the interstate". As the song progresses, nervousness is clearly the mood of the day, as the characters uncomfortably await the cryptically vague "bad luck" to arrive. Unfortunately, if the listener is like me, they might find the music just slightly too monotonous, and the lyrics just a little too vague to convey the anxiety the characters are feeling. There are some beautiful lyrics, and with time this song has grown on me, but I don't think it's quite what it could have been. Thumbs Down.

Southwood Plantation Road: The song is almost deceptively upbeat in its music, and Darnielle's guitar perfectly accents his lyrics and the overall content of the song. On an almost cheerful tone, the listener is given a taste of how life in the house of the Alpha Couple is going. "I am not gonna lose you / we are going to stay married" Darnielle cheerfully but forcefully insists "On Southwood Plantation Road. Where the dead will walk again / put on their Sunday best / and mingle with unsuspecting Christian men". Both the overarching feel and concept of the album are captured quite well in this song. Love, optimism, pessimism, frustration, and dark humor are all expressed in the same breath by John Darnielle's peppy, upbeat voice. Thumbs Up

Game Shows Touch Our Lives: Set to music so soft and deep that I have always found it hard not to lose myself in it, Game Shows Touch Our Lives is without a doubt my favorite song on the album. It is beyond the limited ability of my ears to distinguish every instrument being played. Whatever the combination, it compliments Darnielle's vocals, which in and of itself could not have been done any better, with absolute perfection. "Shadows crawled across the living room's length / I held onto you with a desperate strength / with everything / everything in me". In my opinion, Darnielle's greatest strength as a performer is his ability to express the sincerity of his lyrics, and there is no better example than this song, in which the main character (the male of the Alpha Couple) expresses his deep desire for everything to simply be okay. "Carried you up the stairs that night / (All of this could be yours, if the price is right) /I heard cars headed down to Oblivion from up on the expressway". Thumbs Up

The House That Dripped Blood: Set to some heated guitar and some of the best use of the harmonica I've experienced, The House That Dripped Blood relates, through a narrator that sounds as if he is trying very hard not to panic, that there are some buried secrets in the house that the Alpha couple can never allow to be exposed. Again, this is done cryptically enough to annoy me somewhat as a listener, as the lyrics never directly mention what is hidden there. The music, however, is most enjoyable, as are the vocals if one can get beyond wondering what their exact meaning is. Thumbs Up

Idylls of the King: A slow pacing, pleasant strumming of guitar, and decent assortment of subtly and not-so-subtly inserted instruments all give this song potential that just never comes together quite right, at least for this listener. The song seems without much direction, both mood and melody-wise, and Darnielle's gentle but cheerful voice just never seems particularly engaged in the songs content. Thumbs Down

No Children: Lyrically, I'm not sure I believe a human being is capable of disliking this song. The guitar and keyboard seem designed mostly as a pretty-sounding drone to augment the lyrics, but they do that quite effectively. The lyrics are so bittersweet and contradictory as to make the song quite funny. "I hope our few remaining friends give up trying to save us / I hope we come up with a failsafe plot to piss off the dumb few that forgave us" for instance, and such lines as "I hope I lie and tell everyone that you were a good wife / And I hope you die / I hope we both die" sent some of the comically mixed messages the Alpha male sincerely feels. Honestly, the lyrics of the song are great in their entirety. There's not a single line that I don't love. The monotonous music makes the song wear on you after a few listens, but the lyrics make those first few times absolutely golden. Thumbs Up.

See America Right: This song is essentially John Darnielle's experiment in rap. To some drums and guitar he shouts his story of the Alpha male's bad day of car accidents and alcohol withdrawal. The contrast of this song with everything on the CD is more than a little disconcerting to the ear, and outside the context of this album I'm not sure I'd listen to it. However, within the context of the CD, I think it works rather well. The song essentially portrays the Alpha Male finally cracking, while allowing the listener some well needed venting. Thumbs Up

Peacocks: Peacocks is a soft melodious tune with some very pretty guitar work, and it conveys quite well the situation the lyrics paint, in which the Alpha male steps outside one day to find, without explanation, a peacock in his front yard. The utter confusion and befuddlement of the character comes quite well through the gentle, serene music. I'm not sure how well it fits with the rest of the album, but I'm quite fond of it. Thumbs Up

International Small Arms Traffic Blues: What I enjoy about this song can be easily exemplified with the line "Our love is like the border between Greece and Albania / Trucks loaded down with weapons crossing over every night". The lyrics, a series of metaphors for the couple's love that also hint at some very important plot advancement, make the song amusing at the least. Unfortunately, musically speaking, it's not thrilling. Vocally, Darnielle sings with a kind of whiny rasp that doesn't appeal to me. Still, the listener may well find this song good for a few listens. Thumbs Down.

Have to Explode: Set to some relaxing guitar and piano, Have to Explode conveys a gentle sense of tension building between the Alpha couple. I say this because the lyrics would seem to imply a building tension. Personally, however, I just find the song rather soothing. Whatever it was meant to convey, it is rather pretty in both vocals and tune, and whatever purpose I may read into its placement is really only an aside to what it is. And it is rather nice. Thumbs up

Old College Try: This song, gentle and relaxing like the last, manages to establish a decidedly pensive mood as our narrator attempts to make peace with his love while admitting how costly and unlikely a successful mending of their marriage would be. Again, the song carries a feel of exasperated surrender that I find attractive. It's an easy song to get lost in the mid-album shuffle, but a good one. Thumbs up

Oceanographer's Choice: Remember some tracks ago when I wrote that Game Shows Touch Our Lives was undoubtedly my favorite song on the album? I lied, there was more than a touch of doubt. This is only because I find Oceanographer's Choice to be both one of the most intense songs I've ever heard and an almost unfathomably perfect climax to the album. The song begins with the line "Guy in a skeleton costume comes up to the guy in the Superman suit / Runs through him with a broad sword". This practically sums up the song, an intense showdown between the subjects of this drama. Musically, lyrically, and vocally this song just flat out rocks. Thumbs up.

Alpha Rat's Nest: This song, which can only be described as a manically depressing, involves some extremely pop-like upbeat vocals and guitar as our narrator cheerfully describes the continuing cesspool that the Alpha Couple calls married life. "Ah, the lengthening hours in the refinery / Belching fire into the sky / We do our best vampire routines / As we suck the dying hours dry" is sung as if the singer has had one the best day of his life. The listener may easily fail to realize that this is the all the resolution they will be getting from this ongoing drama, and thus the albums ending may seem quite abrupt. But given that half the tracks on Tallahassee, including the introduction, feel very much like the last song of an album, I suppose the more expected soft, mournful tune would be a little redundant. Thumbs up

Darkly Beautiful Gem.......2004-02-08

This CD is simply beautiful. Not since Lisa Germano's Excerpts from a Love Circus has an album been so perfect in it's entirety. The songwriting is a wonderland of dark and beautiful poetry backed by music that ranges from simple elegance to out and out rockers. This is a polished piece of art and I think the music benefits greatly from the somewhat fuller production without losing it's low-fi appeal. My favorite Mountain Goats CD so far even though I have barely scratched the surface of MGs material that is available. This is a great place to start exploring the Mountain Goats musical landscape..

Average customer rating:

a quiet masterpiece
Darnielle Delivers
Beautiful at times, but ultimately disappointing
Save it for Spring
Don't give up too soon

Get Lonely
The Mountain Goats
Manufacturer: 4ad / Ada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000GH3CNE
Release Date: 2006-08-22

Tracks:

Wild Sage
New Monster Avenue
Half Dead
Get Lonely
Maybe Sprout Wings
Moon Over Goldsboro
In The Hidden Places
Song For Lonely Giants
Woke Up New
If You See Light
Cobra Tattoo
In Corolla

Amazon.com

On the Mountain Goats' previous albums, songwriter John Darnielle bluntly sang about broken marriages and broken souls. With 2005's The Sunset Tree, meanwhile, he took on his abusive stepfather using surprising vitriol for a squeaky voiced indie rocker armed with just an acoustic guitar. On Get Lonely, Darnielle seems to have found a certain sense of peace, settling into a series of supple songs that evoke sad-eyed folkies such as Belle & Sebastian ("Half Dead") and Cat Stevens ("Maybe Sprout Wings"). But through the dark clouds, he also exhibits a sly sense of humor, particularly singing to a departed lover in "Woke Up New." It's hard to think of anything funnier or more depressing than the lines, "The first time I made coffee for just myself/ I made too much of it/ But I drank it all/ Just cause you hate it when I let things go to waste." --Aidin Vaziri

Album Description

"Get Lonely" is every bit as assured as its predecessor, "The Sunset Tree", but the mood is entirely different. "Sunset" chronicled the fraught, violent relationship between John Darnielle and his stepfather and derived its power from an unblinking exorcism of personal demons, while "Get Lonely" is the haunted aftermath. It's a reflective, intimate record. The mood is one of bittersweet resignation rather than cathartic release. It's a quiet triumph, murmuring with a modest but entirely surefooted confidence. An uncannily coherent and subtly redemptive record which will come to be seen as Mountain Goats' most resonant, assured, and magical collection of songs so far.

Customer Reviews:

a quiet masterpiece.......2007-07-07

From the opening notes of the quiet piano, this album grips and doesn't let go. The arrangements are quiet. The lyrics are quiet. The passion is quiet. The sadness is quiet. But quiet because it doesn't need to be loud. Quiet because the effort of loudness would erode some of its power. I feel the need to play this album every two or three days. When I'm feeling in need of a musical treat I cue it up.

The lyrics are beautiful. Honest, interesting, straightforward, sad. And they are delivered with a mature finesse that is completely satisfying.

Darnielle Delivers.......2007-05-19

I do agree with the other reviewers that this is perhaps not the best introduction to The Mountain Goats, but either way it is still pure John Darnielle through and through. From when I first "discovered" I'd rather call it fate The Mountain Goats in my local Barnes & Noble; I treat every record as a gift. While this record is not full of catchy tunes that one can use to explain to one's friends who the heck The Mountain Goats are, it is chuck full of gems for the longtime fan (a connoisseur's album) but I think this album has the potential to contect with anyone due to Darnielle's consistent incredible lyrics.

Wild Sage is the first song that has brought me tears in a while, beautiful-pure and simple.
Disclaimer: I am Mountain Goats obsessed.

Beautiful at times, but ultimately disappointing.......2006-11-25

I'm a huge Mountain Goats fan, seeking out even their rarest material. I saw them live here in Durham last month and eagerly rushed out to get this album. I've listened to it a dozen times or more, expecting it to grow on me, but, alas, I hope this album doesn't represent any sort of future trend for John. There are some beautiful songs here; "Get Lonely," "Wild Sage," and "In the Hidden Places" are masterful works that would stand out on any other album. Unfortunately, these songs have a difficult time standing out because the whole album follows the same slow paced, moody, string-heavy formula. I have a hard time telling one song from another. John has certainly explored sorrow and lonliness to great effect before, but on albums like "the Coroner's Gambit" the sadness and lonliness is balanced with hope and anger and irony. Here, it's just one soft, slow downer after another. Worth the money if you are a Mountain Goat's junky like myself, but nowhere near his best work.

Save it for Spring.......2006-11-07

Certainly everyone should buy this CD now -- I mean, keep the cash flow flowing -- but if you actally have had a bad breakup or, God forbid, have just lost someone you love, do not listen to it now. If you do, you will sob and sob and sob. Then "Get Lonely" itself will come on and you will sob some more. Then you will try to listen to this two years from now and you won't be able to, which will be a shame because it is really good.

And if you have seasonal depression (which is no damn joke, haters) save this one for April. I gave this the prerequisite MG "three or four times through to get the gist" and then set it aside. Oy vey already with the soft tendrils of sorrow enfolding and entwining...

The point being that I don't know how John Darnielle gets into the corner of the collective unconscious where words waiting to be written are stored, but he does. And then he seems to throw them down as easily as pick-up sticks, each line finding its own shape and place. And then you're pulled over on the side of the road hitting "repeat" because that song is *your* heartbreak, *your* theme song, *your* drunken mistake. And if having a theme song like that for your current heartbreak might *lead* to a drunken mistake... well. That's all I'm saying.

I also found myself thinking a lot about melody listening to this CD. As a reasonable singer and really terrible guitarist, I frequently regale myself with the MG songbook acapella and sometimes find myself thinking "Huh. That song actually has only four notes." Separating tunes (mainly earlier ones) from their yummy arrangements leaves them a bit nekkid. Listening back over these later CDs, and Get Lonely especially, the melodies do not depend so much on just that one arrangement, but stand by themselves and invite other interpretations. (And hast thou been to a vocal coach, John? Upper register sounding really nice!)

OK, there you go: good CD, mellow and sad, do not listen if you actually are lonely. I give this CD only four stars because you gotta have somewhere to go when the Canadians take the ice.

Don't give up too soon.......2006-10-25

I'd have to agree with many of the reviewers here, in that this is connoisseur material- I don't think this is the most accessible album for those who've only really become familiar with the Mountain Goats through the radio hits- there really isn't a 'This Year' on this album. This was strange for me too, since it's nice to have an anchor to explore an album from, but do not give up on this album too soon. After about the third listen, just when the idea of giving up has started to creep up on you, it'll all make sense. Darnielle's lyricism is stronger than ever on this challenging, difficult album, and it's to his credit that he's pushed the stylistic and thematic envelope so strongly, and with such maturity. Definitely a grower, a lot thinner on the teenage angst so probably not for the kids who fell in love with 'this year', but incredibly rewarding for those prepared to work with it.

Average customer rating:

Mountain goats have better albums
One of my favorite albums
Best Mountain Goats album
Close to perfect.
my favorite Mountain Goats CD

Sweden
The Mountain Goats
Manufacturer: Shrimper Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Bitter Melon Farm
Ghana
Protein Source of the Future Now
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Nothing for Juice

ASIN: B000005DKJ
Release Date: 2000-06-20

Tracks:

The Recognition Scene
Downtown Seoul
Some Swedish Trees
I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone
Deianara Crush
Whole Wide World
Flashing Lights
Sept 19 Triple X Love! Love!
Going To Queens
TahitianAmbrosia Maker
Going To Bolivia
Tollund Man
California Song
Snow Crush Killing Song
Send Me An Angel
Neon Orange Glimmer Song
FM
Prana Ferox
Cold Milk Bottle

Customer Reviews:

Mountain goats have better albums.......2007-01-28

Having been only slightly introduced to the Mountain Goats before purchasing this album, I was disappointed to find out that this album sucks compared to the 2 or so songs that I had heard elsewhere. Not knowing much about their entire musical history, I can't recommend a better album, but they must have one.

One of my favorite albums.......2005-01-29

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. The only copy that I have right now is a tape that I copied from vinyl when it came out. I am looking forward to getting it on cd since my tape is almost worn out.

Best Mountain Goats album.......2004-02-01

This is an excellent album. The rest of the Mountain goats albums are mostly good, but none is as cohesive as this one. If you are interested in hearing him, this is the one to buy. It will take some getting used to, but you will grow to appreciate what he does. Music that is largely based on lyrical imagery and vocal delivery, but you'll be singing along as well

Close to perfect........2003-01-20

Damn good. I cannot stop listening to The Mountain Goats. Words cannot describe how good these albums are.

my favorite Mountain Goats CD.......2002-08-03

Great stuff here. If you're looking for intelligent lyrics full of mirth and sadness, this is the place. If your looking for a great singer and complex musical arrangements, move right along now. The Mountain Goats are masters of the former and Sweden is their most complete work.

I will ocassionally go many months between listening to this CD and every time I do, a new song emerges as my favorite. Currently, it is 'Prana Ferox,' which while telling a story of moonshine whiskey and a heat wave, makes one feel happy to be alive. Snow Crush Killing Song and Sept. 19 Triple X Love! Love! are other highlights. And Cold Milk Bottle is the best telling off of God there is, beating out Jed Bartlett in the West Wing's Season 2 finale. While there are a few songs that don't stand out--like FM and Tollund Man--there are none that are bad.

The best thing I can say about this CD is that is incredibly rewarding. Every time you listen to the lyrics, you discover another beautiful nugget. I'm sure next year, I'll listen to the CD again and pay closer attention to FM then I ever did before and start raving about it instead of the other songs.

We Shall All Be Healed
Average customer rating:

We, us, ours

A Songwriter's Dream

I want to hear more

one of the best records of 2004

Mountain goats keep rolling on

We Shall All Be Healed
The Mountain Goats
Manufacturer: 4ad / Ada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sweden

Bitter Melon Farm

Protein Source of the Future Now

Ghana

Zopilote Machine

ASIN: B0000U98KI
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Tracks:

Slow West Vultures
Palmcorder Yajna
Linda Blair Was Born Innocent
Letter from Belgium
Young Thousands
Your Belgian Things
Mole
Home Again Garden Grove
All Up the Seething Coast
Quito
Cotton
Against Pollution
Pigs That Ran Straightaway into the Water, Triumph Of

Album Description

This, the follow-up to "Tallahassee", is The Mountain Goats' most accessible and commercial record of their notable career. Produced by John Vanderslice.

Customer Reviews:

We, us, ours.......2006-02-15

Among other things, this album is Darnielle's love letter to the first-person plural pronoun. Anyone over 25 ought to understand the tragic loss involved. There're a couple of clunkers here, but overall it's a wonderful journey back.

A Songwriter's Dream.......2005-08-16

The debate that I've heard often about this album is whether the slick production values take away from the Mountain Goats feel. If you're unfamiliar with John Darnielle's previous albums, one of the big draws was that he recorded directly to a boom box. I don't believe that this retro recording style was what really made his work great. The man is simply a great songwriter, in the vain of such great Americana-ists as Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. To that end, "We Shall All Be Healed" definitely stands tall and proud with his other works. A few legends surround the method by which Darnielle develops the stories for his albums. However he does it, the albums come together as cohesive observations of different walks of life across the country, and this album is no exception. The story here is occassionally unclear to me, as it sometimes seems to switch narrators, but the songs are beautiful and emotional. By the end of it, you'll care deeply for these charaters, thanks to both the lyrical precision and the haunting melodies.

I want to hear more.......2005-02-18

This is the only Mountain Goats album I've heard and I'm amazed that its this good in light of how material is already out there from this guy. I don't know what to make of the lyrics yet really, maybe pretentious aburd or whatever but I can't remember the last album I heard with authentic poetic lyrics. The music is very impressionable though, gives me goosebumps, heartfelt and magical sounding. check it out. 4 and 1/2 stars probably.
I like tracks 1,2,4,5,6 and 8 the best so far.

one of the best records of 2004.......2005-01-31

Some of the richest metaphors ever found in song...they'll creep out of the music and into your mind ever so slowly over the course of many listens, all their angles and breadth.

The production is a perfect compliment to the songs, not at all a sell-out for the MG's, but tasteful, minimalistic fleshing-out of the tunes, that can hopefully make the MG's sound just that much more accessible, maybe Mr. MG himself can quit the day job, should he want to.

Mountain goats keep rolling on.......2004-12-02

At first, I was suprised at how much more refined the sound was for this album. I missed Tallahassee. The last Mountain Goats album I got was Ghana. The move to higher production levels doesnt quite sit right with me, there is something very intimate about listening to the tape recording winding in the background of earlier albums.

Its still an impressive album, with excellent, well crafted and insightful lyrics. There are flashes of earlier albums on a couple of tracks (eg. Home again garden grove), and tracks like palmcorder yajna, and pigs.... are excellent.

Bottom line, you get this, you still get the goats in all their artistic glory, just with a bit more polish

Average customer rating:

All Hail West Texas
A perfect capture of a moment in emotional time.
a great songwriter who should not go unnoticed
perhaps the last TRUE mountain goats record?
My favorite Goats album...

All Hail West Texas
The Mountain Goats
Manufacturer: Emperor Jones
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sweden
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Ghana

ASIN: B00005YD61
Release Date: 2002-02-19

Tracks:

The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton
Fall Of The Star High School Running Back
Color In Your Cheeks
Jenny
Fault Lines
Balance
Pink And Blue
Riches And Wonders
The Mess Inside
Jeff Davis County Blues
Distant Stations
Blues In Dallas
Source Decay
Absolute Lithops Effect

Customer Reviews:

All Hail West Texas.......2007-01-11

Tragic and Melancoly...with a dash of humor, it's just a wonderful CD

A perfect capture of a moment in emotional time........2006-01-05

Apparently this is the kind of music that people mean when they talk about "post-rock," but it doesn't sound pretentious. The appalling low-fi sound is due to the fact that it was recorded in its entirety on a dying Panasonic boom box, and you can hear the whine of the grinding gears. It sounds like a demo tape, because it basically is a demo tape, but somehow that sound is perfect for the feeling of the songs. The lyrics are kind of contextless, but clearly the whole album is about people finding good things and hope in bad situations and despair. It's just John Darnielle and his guitar, and you can feel the heat in the air and smell the ashtray that needs emptying as he plays and sings about running away with a girl on a motorcycle, or trying to figure out how to feed two infants, or about how Cyrus and Jeff's death metal dreams of stardom were broken up by their parents.

a great songwriter who should not go unnoticed.......2005-01-08

I went for years being aware of the cult of John Darnielle, but never really looking into the music he makes under the nom de record, The Mountain Goats, until in the last year. While his latest records are more polished creations, the earlier releases, such as "All Hail West Texas" are truly honest gems. Darnielle may be one of the best "right below the surface" songwriters in all of popular music. His voice, and unique way of storytelling are pretty much without peer in popular music. Sure, people play and sing like him in coffeeshops all across America, but it's rare and refreshing to hear something like this on record. Songs such as "The Fall of the Star High School Running Back" and "The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton" brim with unique wit and insight, while songs like "Jenny" present Darnielle's impeccable attention to detail. While The Mountain Goats may be an acquired taste to many, for people who love honest, raw guitar and voice committed to tape, you should definitely check this (and any other Mt. Goats record) out.

perhaps the last TRUE mountain goats record?.......2004-08-01

john darnielle, my second favorite person in all of music next to stephen malkmus (sorry john), cannot write a bad song, it's just not within his capabilities as a performer. while this set of raw, guitar-only, tape-hissy tunes isn't quite as memorable or poignant as his two previous efforts--to me at least--there are a few songs that stand out as career highlights: "best ever death metal band," "jenny", and "faultlines" are excellent examples of darnielle's acerbic wit, as well as his devastatingly accurate portrayals of relationships in distress. stand-outs "the mess inside" and "source decay" are two of his finest story-songs.

here's hoping this won't go down as john's last direct-to-boombox recording. some things just sound right, you know?

My favorite Goats album..........2004-06-09

I own a few Goats albums and this is my favorite - The lyrics are terribly brilliant - from start to finish this album, with it's ridiculously low-budget production values and flawed guitar strums is warm, full of life - brimming with humanity, flaws and all - Darnelle is so full of charm and intelligence, and these songs potray his quirky personality quite well. Seeing The Mountain Goats live recently was tremendous and an encore performance of the song "Jenny" from this album reminded me of how much I love it - a voice, a guitar, and a hissing tape recorder - it shouldn't be as good as it is, but it is - another little miracle I guess...Enjoy!

Average customer rating:

The essential Mountain Goats album
GutShotRecord
great album, good place to start for the uninitiated
i can't get it out of my CD player
A masterpiece

The Coroner's Gambit
The Mountain Goats
Manufacturer: Absolutely Kosher
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004Z45F
Release Date: 2000-11-07

Tracks:

Jaipur
Elijah
Trick Mirror
Island Garden Song
The Coroner's Gambit
Baboon
Scotch Grove
Horseradish Road
Family Happiness
Onions
'Blue Jays And Cardinals'
Shadow Song
There Will Be No Divorce
Insurance Fraud #2
The Alphonse Mambo
We Were Patriots

Customer Reviews:

The essential Mountain Goats album.......2007-07-04

For new listeners to the Mountain Goats, an important thing to understand is that there are two distinct Mountain Goat eras. The first is often called "lo-fi." These include such albums as Sweden, All Hail West Texas, Zipolte Machine, and collections like Ghana. Most of these albums are recorded on a boom box, with John Darnielle solo on vocal and guitar, and the occasional accompaniment of one or two other artists. The second era is the studio era initiated with Tallahassee, growing in complexity with We Shall All Be Healed, and reaching its artistic pinnacle with The Sunset Tree. Straddling these two eras stands "The Coroner's Gambit."

On Gambit, John has reached full maturity as a lyricist. Songs such as The Alphonse Mambo, Baboon, and Family Happiness show a depth of imagery and complexity of emotions that rival those of the Sunset Tree. And, it's difficult to listen to Trick Mirror without concluding that this song is as much about his abusive childhood as the Sunset Tree song Up The Wolves.

Musically, the stark folk sound of his early albums is giving way to the rock tracks of later works. Jaipur, the lead track, is full of punk rock energy, yet full of religious images that raise it above standard pop fair into the realm of the profound. Yet, most of the tracks on this album are recorded on a boom box, and the raw, low-fi sound gives this album an urgency and immediacy that his later, more polished work never quite captures.

For a glimpse of the best of both Mountain Goat eras, and as a fine, stand alone work dealing with death and loss, Coroner's Gambit is, I think, the essential Mountain Goats album.

GutShotRecord.......2007-01-12

My first taste of TMG ie. John Darnielle, I can't stop listening to this. John and his often manic acoustic guitar alone, very occasional sweet fiddle and little else. If Sinatra had put as much anger, love, longing and living into his performances he would have made it big. Lo-fi, recorded on a worn out boombox, there are moments here that are absolutely transcendant, a few times when John's (already broken) voice breaks I'm sure that he is weeping. Songs that are explosive, songs that are bitterly tender. Great song-writing and gutshot execution, this is a man with a muse. Tired of over-produced? Try unproduced.

great album, good place to start for the uninitiated.......2006-08-28

The Mountain Goats have put out an overwhelming amount of material, but I think this album shows all the strengths better than any of the others I've heard. Excellent songwriting and lo-fi production that is still clear enough not to be distracting. Anyone curious about this band would do well to start right here.

i can't get it out of my CD player.......2005-11-30

i have been listening to this CD for about a month now, and that is really rare for me. I mean i have not even taken it out of the CD player. I am confident if one gives this CD a few good listens, there is no way that person will ever regret purchasing it.

A masterpiece.......2003-06-05

Do you know who these guys are? Well first off its pretty much just one guy, John Darnielle. And he is a legend. He has recorded over 300 songs and scores of albums. His prolific song bank includes songs of love lost and found, songs of travel and adventure and songs of tragedy and hope.

Are all the songs true accounts? No. But that doesn't make them any less compelling.

This album would be hard pressed to be called his best but definitely is not a bad starting spot, though i would personally recommend All Hail West Texas.

If you have ever wondered what is up with this Low Fi nonsense this is the man to teach you your lessons. He shows the true spirit of the content quality in place of prduction quality tilt that makes Low Fi the fabulous genre it has become.

Full Force Galesburg
Average customer rating:

One of the Goats' finest

this cd is awesome

Darnielle is a genius...

If the world were a better place

top 5

Full Force Galesburg
The Mountain Goats
Manufacturer: Emperor Jones
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000004B9C
Release Date: 1997-06-10

Tracks:

New Britain
Snow Owl
West Country Dream
Masher
Chinese House Flowers
Ontario
Down Here
Twin Human Highway Flares
Weekend In Western Illinois
US Mill
Song For The Julian Calendar
Maize Stalk Drinking Blood
Evening In Stalingrad
Minnesota
Original Air-Blue-Gown
It's All Here In Brownsville

Amazon.com

John Darnielle would prefer to see the music of his band, the Mountain Goats, classified as bi-fi, as opposed to lo-fi. He cites the fact that without modern technology, recording an album from one's bedroom would never be so easy. Sounds like a bit of overanalysis, but that's pretty much the ideology behind Darnielle and whomever of his friends the group consists of at this moment. Lyrics brim with explanations, literary references, philosophical allusions, and an all-around endearing nerdiness. The music of the Mountain Goats tends to be filled with the rapid strums of an acoustic guitar ... and little else. Full Force Galesburg is nothing short of brilliant. Darnielle is backed by Kiwi soundscapist Alastair Galbraith and Nothing Painted Blue's Peter Hughes on memorable songs of codependence and breakup. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

One of the Goats' finest.......2006-06-19

most of john darnielle's recorded output falls somewhere between good and brilliant. personally, i'd have to cite either the coroner's gambit or tallahassee as my favorite, but this album is almost as consistently inspired as those two. most of the songs get by (actually, they do a lot more than just getting by) on nothing but frantically strummed acoustic guitars and literate but accessible wordplay, but there are also some very successful songs that employ higher-fidelity recording and additional instrumentation. all in all, full force galesburg is a cohesive, compelling album that offers greater rewards with each listen.

this cd is awesome.......2002-05-27

the mountain goats are incredible, and this album is a clear demonstration of that. the songs managage to rock, even with such sparse instrumentation, such as West Country Dream which finds Darnielle doing what he does best, strumming furiously on his acoustic guitar.

Darnielle is a genius..........2002-04-18

When it comes to taking independent recordings to a limit, Darnielle manages to do so. Armed with just his acoustic guitar and a panasonic boombox, Darnielle's lyrical honesty and folk-driven guitar playing is immediately catchy and one that you have to listen to over and over again.

Even with such a basic combination (man and a guitar), Darnielle's voice and style of music is instantly recognizable. With his nasal voice and stark observations on life, he manages to show the beauty in every day things and an apperciation of nature.

To talk about this CD as a whole, it's one that you wouldn't normally pick up but when and if you did, it would be an instant classic to your collection. Full Force Galesburg is a CD that will constantly impress and demand repeated listenings.

If the world were a better place.......2002-04-18

If the world were a better place, this, and music like this
(IS there anything like this) would be the soundtrack of life, would trickle from the speakers of restaurants and dribble over the cracks of car windows. And everytime someone discussed John Darnielle's music, or the music of Vic Chesnutt, or Camper Van Beethoven, or for that matter David Byrne, they wouldn't spend so much verbiage on how "weird" or "otherworldly" or "bizarre" the music is, as though it came to us via flying saucer. Intelligence and true artism would be and should be not treated as an oddity.

This record is as good as any of the Goats'--true, actual emotion, with legitimite conveyance of emotion. Darnielle knows how to use the quiet enunciation, the shout, all of his intonations matter, emotionally.
In "Weekend in Southern Illinois"
he sings "The dandelions spread themselves neatly/
upon the fields/which are evendently endless"
The song refers to dogs which "seem to know something nobody else knows," which is apparently that "We are burning up/
all of our choices/out here where the tall grass grows." It's a great moment, a great meditation, easy to understand or not. Emotions are FELT not UNDERSTOOD. Forgive John Darnielle his nasal voice: he's a good guitar player and composes very well for the instrument, but it's the lyrics that win the day here. I can't say enough about this important, exquisite work.

top 5.......2001-07-15

The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle is the pinnacle of guy-and-a-guitar rock. This album is his crowning glory. One of the greatest records ever. Period.

Average customer rating:

Underrated by everybody - including, for a time, me
Makes Me Feel Like I'm Dancing on Air
Can You Feel the Magic?

Goats Head Soup
The Rolling Stones
Manufacturer: Virgin Records Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000AM6OIU
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Tracks:

Dancing With Mr D
100 Years Ago
Coming Down Again
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)
Angie
Silver Train
Hide Your Love
Winter
Can You Hear The Music
Star Star

Customer Reviews:

Underrated by everybody - including, for a time, me.......2007-06-10

The first time I heard GHS, I hated it. I thought it was miserable, half-baked and boring. Then I gave it another chance, and I changed my mind severely. It is none of those things. In fact, it has quickly slipped past Some Girls into my Top 5 Stones albums.
The thing about this one is that it doesn't grab you immediately with the big hook song the way the previous four did. Dancing with Mr. D in truth can't compare to the previous four album openers (Sympathy for the Devil, Gimme Shelter, Brown Sugar, Rocks Off), and in fact isn't one of the Stones' better moments, but it's a decent song, slightly funky, just with laughable pseudo-Satanic lyrics.
So onto track two. Here's where things start getting good. I really like 100 Years Ago, which merges country and funk - I love that "Call me laaaaazzy bones... ain't got no time to waste away" part in the end, not to discount the rest of the song - a good uptempo ballad. Even better is the next song, Coming Down Again. This was Keith's first vocal showpiece on a longish love ballad (not counting You Got the Silver, which was short and ended as a blues-rocker), and it's by far his best - he spent most the rest of his career with the Stones trying to recreate the song's hushed, smokey atmosphere, but this pounds all the others in the dust. Another bit to listen for is the sax solo. There are two other classic ballads here - I used to hate Angie, now I love its graceful strings, wonderful melody and Mick's all-out vocals (he sings, screams, whispers, croons, cries...), and Winter, again sung perfectly by Mick. Like the lyrics, too.
But can the Stones rock? It's still the Stones, of course! Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) is yet another winner, a funky radio favorite packed with wah-wah guitar, clavinet, epic horns and the maddeningly catchy chorus to end all maddeningly catchy choruses: "Doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo (babababababap!)" and then the lyrics... gritty, street-level commentary, Mick spitting "Heartbreakers... with your forty-fours... I wanna tear your world, I wanna tear your world a-pa-hart (Doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo (babababababap!))" What a SONG! Silver Train is close to All Down the Line, but I don't care - Mick Taylor's slide guitar won me over! And Starf#@)(%er rocks. Now, the lyrics were rather controversial (then again, any song titled "Starf#)!#er is bound to be controversial even if it preaches staying in school, saying no to drugs and chastity till marriage), but I think it's hilarious: the random celebrity name-dropping coupled with whatever sex acts Mick could think of (which were plenty, Mick being Mick). Oh, and they repeat the f-bomb a good 65 times). Fun, sleazy Chuck Berry boogie - just don't play it for the ten-and-under crowd.
There's exactly one loser track, and it's Can You Hear the Music - if there's a hell for bad songs it can go there (where it would be awated by every Eagles hit except Already Gone). I like to skip it. The rest is normally quite good. First-rate Stones!!

Makes Me Feel Like I'm Dancing on Air.......2006-06-13

One of my favorite records, I play the CD in my car constantly, listen to it on my iPod all the time when I jog in the early morning, listen to it on my iBook with headphones on when I write in the evening. "Goats Head Soup" is one of those records that begs to be listened to in the order the band and producer intended. Every song works as part of the whole, from the dancing with the Devil song to that miss-named song about the girl who can make you scream all night and will do anything, and I mean anything, for a star. Keith's vocals on "Coming Down Again" are just about his best ever. Mick Taylor shines throughout, but is especially good on "Winter." Mick Jagger pulls out all the stops on that song too. I can hear the music in all the songs. I feel it in my bones. It flows in my blood. This record makes me feel like I'm dancing on air, even when I'm stuck in rush hour traffic. This record lifts me up when I'm down, makes me feel glorious when I'm just happy. This is one of the best records ever made, I can't praise it highly enough.

Can You Feel the Magic?.......2006-06-11

This is obviously another one of those Rolling Stones' records you just gotta love. In my opinion there is a subtle, mellower sound here than on the four Jimmy Miller records that preceded "Soup." "Dancing with Mr. D." is kind of a mellow rocker, if a song about carrying on the Devil can be considered mellow under any circumstances. You can slow dance to "Coming Down Again" and my man Jack and I have done so on several occasions. "Heartbreaker" will get you blood moving a bit," then the album slows down again for "Angie," and does anybody really care if the song was about David Bowie's wife, Keith's gal pal Anita or just some girl Mick made up in his head, it's a beautiful song. "Silver Train" is just simply a super song, but my favorite song on the record is "Can You Hear the Music." Can you hear it? Can you feel the magic? I can.

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