|
| Giving Up the Ghost | 
 enlarge | Artist: Jackie Greene
Label: 429 Records
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy Used: $6.00
You Save: $7.98 (57%)
New (40) Used (18) from $6.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  62 reviews
Sales Rank: 3960
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 17694
UPC: 795041769428
EAN: 0795041769428
ASIN: B0013FYT9Y
Release Date: April 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Tracks:
| • | Shaken | | • | Animal | | • | I Don't Live In A Dream | | • | Like A Ball And Chain | | • | Uphill Mountain | | • | Don t Let The Devil Take Your Mind | | • | Prayer For Spanish Harlem | | • | Downhearted | | • | Follow You | | • | Another Love Gone Bad | | • | When You Return | | • | Ghosts of Promised Lands |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Named The Prince of Americana by the New York Times, Jackie Greene is steeped in country, blues, jazz, rock and folk traditions, defying easy categorization. Performing live with a guitar and a harmonica rack, Greene has accelerated past initial cries of the new Dylan and has managed to forge a unique musical vision. With four distinctive albums under his belt, Giving Up The Ghost is an energetic showcase of folk, blues and rock that Greene has taken to another level. Produced by Steve Berlin (Los Lobos), Giving Up the Ghost also features collaborations with Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan), Mic Gillette (Tower of Power), Dave Hidalgo (Los Lobos), Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead), Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello) and others. The first single from Giving Up The Ghost is "Shaken" and is poised to do just that. Shake things up a bit just where Jackie likes them. Jackie Greene Photos More from Jackie Greene 
American Myth | 
Sweet Somewhere Bound | 
Gone Wanderin | 
Broken Hearts Dusty Roads (2004) | 
Dig Years 2001-2005 | 
Rusty Nails | 
Positively 12th and K: A Bob Dylan Tribute Live |
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 57 more reviews...
 The Prince of Americana? May 6, 2008
14 out of 20 found this review helpful
I am a devout lover of the multifaceted and ever changing musical landscape of Americana. I spend most of my musical life listening to copious amounts of Country, Jazz, Western-Swing, Alt-Country, Folk, Jump Blues, Bluegrass and the endless other forms that comprise Americana. Considering my music diet, I am baffled by Greene's selling point as "the Prince of Americana." That's because there's little about "Giving up the Ghost" that qualifies as Americana. 'Shaken' isn't a country song just because it employs a steel guitar and 'Another Love Gone Bad' isn't actually Cajun because it features an accordion in the background. Sonically, this project borrows from 60's and 70's Rock and R&B. Marketed for delicate ears, this is singer/songwriter pop-rock music. Okay, while the New York Times may not know everything about Americana, the evolved listener should never put blind faith into what the critics say. Given such flexibility, there's nothing here that rises above run-of-the-mill soft rock. Greene's music has tones of Bruce Springfield, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and perhaps Ryan Adams. It certainly has a Don Henley appeal. The stand-out may be the Rolling Stones inspired 'Like a Ball and Chain.' In terms of content, the song has an eerie resemblance to Jagger and Midler's 'Beast of Burden.' The theme here is that "Giving up the Ghost" is rich in terms of what it borrows, but limited in terms of what it contributes. Jackie Greene holds the fort down for mature listeners who won't give up on rock 'n' roll enough to actually listen to Kenny G; it nurtures the delicate sensibilities of listeners who seek thoughtful and easy going rock songs.
 Stunning and Brilliant April 1, 2008
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
This is, by far, Jackie's most accomplished and stunning release to date. The pairing of musicians with Producer Steve Berlin (Los Lobos), shows a maturity and purposeful direction I have not heard on his other releases. There's a wonderful honesty in Jackie's lyrics, and his vocals can go from sweet and low down to raw in your face rock. I highly recommend this release to all as you'll want to jump on this wagon now.......you're watching the next bright star about to shine through.
Jackie Greene Should Be Headed For Greatness April 24, 2008
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Jackie Greene has produced an outstanding CD in Giving Up the Ghost. The styles range from bluesy rock to ballads. Some songs, such as Shaken, are somber and mournful, while others, such as Don't Let the Devil Take Your Mind, are full of catchy hooks that won't let go. The songwriting is superb, while Greene's mellow, but strong baritone is one of the best to come along in a while. Greene has been compared to Bob Dylan, but I think this is only partially fair. While this may be true from a songwriting standpoint, I think that Greene has a much better voice. He never slips into the unintelligible, purely nasal delivery for which Dylan is famous. Greene also does a good job of giving a variety of emotion to his 12 tracks to keep them from all sounding the same - whether it is the earnestness of Prayer for Spanish Harlem to the playful, upbeat delivery on Like a Ball and Chain. Finally there is enough variety in the instrumentation of these twelve songs to keep things fresh. Whether you like organ and vibes or trumpets and saxophones, you will find something layered on top of the traditional guitars, bass, and drums. Jackie Greene might be relatively unknown now, but don't expect this to continue until his next CD.
Download this: Don't Let the Devil Take Your Mind
Love it! Love it! April 1, 2008
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
Just caught Jackie Greene a few months ago when he played with Phil Lesh and was so utterly amazed by him! This album has to be his best yet! Starting with Shaken and rolling all the way to Ghosts of Promised Lands, every track is awesome! Play it right through cause you won't want to miss a beat!
Jackie Greene's "Giving Up The Ghost" - A Good Album, Perhaps Mislabeled May 6, 2008
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Jackie Greene's latest album Giving Up the Ghost is an enigma to me. I can't help but be impressed by the polished nature of the recording and supporting musicianship. Sure he can sing, and a few of the songs are very catchy. But based upon everything I've read about this album I expected more. Even though this is a good album, I'm not sure that the way it's been labeled is accurate.
All of the labels surrounding music today really make me wonder. Is the term "rock" such a pariah that people will go to such great lengths to label this as "Americana" when this is just a plain old rock record? Sure there are some folk elements, but I shudder that anybody can consider this "alternative." To me, this is as straight-laced as rock can get. It's not quite "soft" rock, but I would say it's easy listening. As for the folk and blues influences, that's a part of all rock music.
Most of the tracks here are very pop friendly, perhaps in an understated way. I don't hear the lyrical depth in the comparisons to Bob Dylan, but I have no doubt that there are possible hit songs on this record. In fact as a whole, this record sounds very much like it could have been made by Bruce Springstein or John Cougar Mellencamp during one of their more mellow recording sessions. Yet something is missing.
After listening to it back to back three times, I still don't know why this doesn't blow me away. Musically this album is closer to softer classic rock than the alternative rock of today. I love classic rock so that in itself is ok with me. I just don't hear any emotional connection to the music in Jackie Greene's delivery. Perhaps seeing him perform live will change my mind about that.
"Don't Let the Devil Take Your Mind" is perhaps the stand-out track for me here. It has some really catchy lyrics, though they may lack the depth that Mr. Greene was aiming for. "Animal," "Uphill Mountain" and "When You Return" are also all good songs. Even "Shaken" can hold my attention for a while. But so many other songs on this album, while competent and well-recorded, just blend into the background. They lack even the subtle power of easy going classic rock. I can definitely see enjoying this album as background music at a get-together. But this doesn't inspire me to crack open that Chateau LaTour that I've been saving for a special celebration.
While Jackie Greene deserves to be classified as classic rock, he is a far cry from being able to be compared to Don Henley, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, John Mayer or even Ryan Adams. On his own merits he deserves to be given credit for very competent musicianship and talent. But the actual content and delivery needs a lot more connection before it rises to the level of those rockers. Perhaps as I get closer to this album I will be able to really love it instead of just admiring it from afar.
Enjoy.
|
|
|
Proud member of the JimmyKat Network. Make sure you check out these other great JimmyKat network sites:
Lyrics Database
Celebrity Blog
Celebrity Thing
Celebrity PC
Celebrity Latest
Celebrity Pro
Travel Photos
Quotes
Flash Games
|
Is there a better
price available?
Find out:
|
|
|
|
