•
Rating: It's true... in terms of sales, this "Ghost Of A Dog" didn't achieve the same results as the debut, but curse those who say this record isn't up to par with the previous one.
For the one who writes, this record was the definitive blow to the auditory system but, especially to the heart...
This second album loses freshness but there are some little masterpieces here too... "Mama help me" welcomes us with open arms with a jingly-jangly guitar and a loose, vaguely funky rhythm. Perhaps the only limitation of this track arises when a little devil appears on my shoulder suggesting: "nun è che 'sti texani vojene rifà uoraiemm??" but the angel quickly reassures me with: "ma noo!! è troppo bluesy..".
Be that as it may, "Black and Blue" is a beautiful, childlike, and danceable gallop that ironically and cheerfully speaks of violence against children. "Carmelito" transports us to the deep Texan south where, thanks to alcohol, a man confesses to his friend about having "the best time of his life" with his wife, suffering the obvious consequences. The tear-jerking ballad is "He Said" with a beautiful text, at times recitative yet melodic and minor, about the end of a love with a beautiful vocal melody in the chorus successfully underscoring its dramatic nature. Chilling is the interpretation by the now Mrs. Simon. A true jewel of Brickell's style is the slow, delicately penned "Times Like This" where a slowly strummed little guitar accompanies Edie in the description of those few perfect moments that life as a couple all too rarely grants us.
With "10000 Angels", Edie pays her debt to the period she was conceived, delivering a somewhat generic ballad drowned in the electronic-keyboard tapestry typical of that time, not a bad song but not memorable. The next track is the "usual" Brickellian gem where her voice takes center stage, telling us, between the magical and the everyday, about an old dog. Just a patched-up suitcase full of hopes and a smile takes us back on the road with "Woyaho", a track with faster and more pressing rhythms that warns us of the greater importance of the journey itself rather than the destination. A beautiful Brickellian scene awaits us in "Oak Cliff Bra" where Edie, sitting on the roadside, sees passing by, besides cars, a mother with her little boy on her shoulders but without a shoe, and a squirrel risks its life due to a massive (for him)... and from here the small Brickellian magic repeats in "This Eye" and "Me By The Sea".
Inspired ballads where the New Bohemians are more prominent are "Stwisted" and "Forgiven", of which the most inspired is, without a doubt, the first, especially in the exquisite bridge that welcomes the chorus while the second is noted for a vaguely anthemic atmosphere à la Led Zep...
Perhaps today is not the day to listen to this album, it will not add anything to your repertoire of musical knowledge, but if, like me, you have lived this album, do not let it go.
It is waiting for you out there in the less tended backyard (the one with a few too many weeds) where you hang out the laundry...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Carmelito (04:15)
Handsome Carmelito and the one they call Vandito
Rode fiery horses through the snow
Snow covered hills snow covered miles
Miles and miles of traveling to go
And they were wild and free
Happy as could be in America
They were wild and free
Everything to see in America, in America
Late one night by a little fire and a lot of booze
Dito woke up Lito from a snooze
Said "My friend I must confess, I pulled off her dress
And had the time of my life with your wife"
Oh, we were wild and free
Happy as could be in America
They were wild and free
What will be will be in America, in America
Blod was spilt Carmelito felt no guilt
Justice had fallen like the snow
The ground was red the ground was white
And blue was the color of the sky
He was wild and free
Happy as could be in America
He was wild and free
Better him than me in America, in America
11 Stwisted (05:10)
I ain't gonna kill myself loving you
I ain't gonna break my own heart
I ain't gonna kill myself wanting you
When you don't seem to want any part of my love
And I know I'll be fine just as soon as I let go
Yes I know I'll be alright as soon as I let go
Get a strong case of weakness -- a rich worthless love
Tell you straight out that it's twisted
Crack flash of lightning struck from above
Knocked down a cow and I kissed ya
Oh, now, now I know I'll be fine just as soon as I let go
Yes I know I'll be alright as soon as I let go
But I keep holding on for a future
I keep waiting for something to change
I keep holding on for a future
I keep looking for something that I never see
I ain't gonna kill myself loving you
I ain't gonna die for a life together
I ain't gonna kill myself wanting you
When you don't seem to want me oh my days go by
Loading comments slowly
