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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9873 Posts |
 Posted - 26/04/2016 : 13:40:16
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Production-wise, ÒAm I Born To Die?Ó sounds unlike any other album to come out of Maine in recent years Ñ thereÕs a certain spooky atmosphere throughout, with just the right balance of reverb and crispness. Erik WinterÕs harmonium winds its way through every song, a kind of spiritual drone that is more of a mimicking of the wind, or wails, or of nature itself, than it is a rhythmic musical element. The overall effect is one of something Ñ I donÕt know what Ñ that transcends earthly matter. Death, as another lover of the old, weird America once said, is not the end.--By Emily Turnham ©Bangor daily News 2015
THE GHOSTS OF JOHNSON CITY RESURRECT CIVIL WAR TUNES
WITH DEBUT ALBUM ÔAM I BORN TO DIE?Õ
Face the Music / with Aimsel Ponti / October 20, 2015 / ©Maine Today
The Battle of Cedar Creek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBBTKwcDjsA
Portland band The Ghosts of Johnson City have released ÒAm I Born To Die?Ó a stunning debut record. On it is a collection of old mountain music, Civil War songs, coal mining tunes, songs of loss as well as haunting and murder ballads from the American South. In other words, the CD is one part history lesson, one part spiritual sojourn into days long past and one part fantastic.
The bandÕs lead vocalist and banjo player is Amos Libby who you may know from the middle-eastern music ensemble Okbari. The band got its name from LibbyÕs early childhood summers spent his father in Jonesborough and Johnson City, Tennessee. Libby lost his father in 2003 and the two had been estranged for many years prior to that. However in January Libby returned to Tennessee and met with his dadÕs adopted daughter who gifted him with his fatherÕs guitar, one that Libby hadnÕt heard played since he was a kid. Libby says on the bandÕs website that Òthe guitar is an embodiment of days and people that are now gone; memories from a time and place that inspire the music of The Ghosts of Johnson City.Ó The rest of the band is Douglas porter on guitar and vocals, Erik Neilson on baritone ukulele and vocals and Erik Winter on Harmonium.
ÒAm I Born To DieÓ is 15 songs that speak of death, loss, poverty, murder and ghosts and many are set during the Civil War, though a few are even older. By the end of the last song, the body and widow count is high yet, I found my spirits had been lifted by the poignancy of the storytelling and certainly by the musicianship. With ÒThe Dying Californian,Ó the lyrics are said to be based on a letter which told of the death of a New Englander while at sea en route to California during the 1849 Gold Rush. Many didnÕt survive the long voyage and succumbed to starvation, disease, exhaustion or shipwreck. ÒI am dying brother, dying/Soon youÕll miss me in your berth/For my form will soon be lying/ÕNeath the oceanÕs brinny surf.Ó
ÒJack MonroeÓ is a logging tragedy song that is believed to have originated in either Northern New England or Canada. ÒThey had not rolled off many logs Õtill they heard his clear voice say ÔIÕd have you boys be on your guard, for the jam willing soon give way.Õ These words heÕd scarcely spoken when the jam did break and go/While crushed and bleeding near the banks, lay the foreman, Young Monroe.Ó
The upbeat ÒDarling CoreyÓ is an Appalachian bootlegging song and of my favorites on the album. ÒWake up wake up my darling Corey/And go get me my gun/I ainÕt no man for fighting/But IÕll die before I run.Ó I know, itÕs not exactly cheery material but The Ghosts of Johnson CityÕs resurrection of it make for a lively, listen-able song that gets stuck in your head.
YouÕll hear many, if not all, of the songs on ÒAm I Born to DieÓ at the Saturday night CD release show. The band chose two terrific openers in the form of Dark Hollow Bottling Co. and Welterweight who both have a keen appreciation for acoustic, Americana, bluegrass and new-timey string music.
Well worth multiple listens....
Am I Born To Die? full album play
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkSLUt1MhVE&list=PLB7CoFhTgzYWLdrUaZW4MJV_DnKXbAjxU
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The actual writing of a song usually comes in the form of a realisation.
I can't contrive a song. Ð GENE CLARK |
Edited by - lemonade kid on 26/04/2016 13:50:48 |
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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9873 Posts |
Posted - 26/04/2016 : 13:47:44
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Album Review: The Ghosts of Johnson City Ð ÔAm I Born to DieÓ
Earth To The Ground /
APR 12, 2016 / 8:19 PM
Posted by: Siri Undlin
The Ghosts of Johnson City Ð ÔAm I Born to DieÓ
https://soundcloud.com/theghostsofjohnsoncity/am-i-born-to-die?in=theghostsofjohnsoncity/sets/the-ghosts-of-johnson-city-am
The Ghosts of Johnson City start with death. Their album ÒAm I Born to DieÓ is that of a winding, conceptual journey Ð not towards resurrection, but into the full immersion of earthen decay. Unapologetically old-fashioned, the Portland, Maine ensemble steers clear of quaint motifs that many people associate with Americana music of the 21st century and embodies the voice of spirits returned to the land of the living in order to tell their immortal stories.
The album begins with the fiddle playing the familiar haunting melody of the well-known American traditional that serves as the albumÕs moniker. Heart-splicing vocals are quick to follow, though the choice of immediate and consistent harmony communicates a sort of togetherness as we begin our dissent into an Appalachian afterlife. ÒDown in the Willow GardenÓ tells stories of murder and debauchery in three-part harmony, set to the stunning landscape of sunsets and lonely cabins in the valley, nature imagery being an effective tool to explore our inevitable mortality. ÒDarling CoreyÓ feels like a high speed rollick down a mountain gravel road and while the recording will no doubt have you tapping your toes, itÕs the sort of song thatÕs sure to burn the building down when performed live. ÒThe Southern GirlÕs ReplyÓ is a sing-a-long heart-wrencher. ÒThe Dying CalifornianÓ cuts right to the bone marrow, beginning with the death drone rattle of a snakeÕs tail and the words of a dying brother.
ÒThe Triplett TragedyÓ tells the story of an ominous Christmas morning. The arrangement starts simply, hinting at awful things to come and a person canÕt help but listen with baited breath as the sense of foreboding increases and the song builds. The call and response of the lyrical storytelling and instrumental melodies seamlessly weave the narrative together.
At times minimalist, then brooding, then buoyant, this album moves the listener through a plethora of psychological states, but relies on time-tested melodies to give a sense of grounding to the collection. Unlike most of us humans, The Ghosts of Johnson City start with an up-front acknowledgement of mortality and invite us to do the same. Excavating themes of familial loyalty, undying longing and Christian reverence, these songs are a walk through a graveyard, a jaunt through a haunted wood. In an act of crazy wisdom or delusional optimism, this album somehow illustrates the pure freedom inherent in finally celebrating that, yes, we are all born to die.
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The actual writing of a song usually comes in the form of a realisation.
I can't contrive a song. Ð GENE CLARK
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Ghosts Of Johnson City-of loss & murder ballads
