I’ve been listening to the Ghosts of Hallelujah since Tuesday and I’ve been enjoying the hell out of it in a mystified sort of way. Musically I have no hesitation; there is a back porch, orchestral quality that has the feel of a good stringband that's been playing together forever, stretching out under deeply shared tunes. There is a lot of wonderful, seemingly organic ensemble playing; no stars but plenty of individual contribution. The closest aural equivalent that comes to mind is The Band’s early work: a home grown sounding blend of rural parlor music solidly grounded in a rock sensibility...along with the additional influences and changing context thirty years passing has heaped on. Lyrically my initial take was "Huh?". There is a huge contrast between the earthy, largely traditional, albeit loose and eclectic, playing and the unearthly, often near (near?) hallucinatory lyrics. This contrast is growing on me overtime but I couldn’t begin to say what kind of a statement "Up on High" or "Bean Bowl" are making. Other song’s like "January 6" (wonderful harmonies) and "Rugged Roses" present relatively coherent emotional vignettes. Strangely, this almost increases your struggle with the wilder lyrics in a "Rugged Roses is musically comfortable and makes sense so this other comfortable sounding song, say Bean Bowl, must also make sense" kind of way. But, as I said, it grows on you. If your left brain keeps nagging you try and figure this stuff out , wander over to www.thegourds.com for the lyrics. You can also find The Gourd’s own description of their music (below) which suggests you should probably just kick back, take in the "quilt", and enjoy it for what it is. "There is just absolutely no way to categorize this music, these songs, without tearing up the English language. On any given night, in any given bar, somewhere out in Eugene or Amarillo or Jacksonville or Lincoln. In new York city, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle or Austin. One can sit listening to a gourds show without a clue as to where in the hell it's gonna go. They are quilters in the true sense of the word. Scraps, fragments, leftovers, images strung together in a continuous scrabble of sheets draped over old wood like charm. This is first and foremost a music of joy. From there it¹s anybody's guess what the friggin' hell it is." Cheers...TG Still p. Ghosts of Hallelujah - "Pair of Goats" and suspecting I’d enjoy this song almost as much (which is considerable) sung in latin
