Following up on the success of his previous acoustic endeavour, ... and the horse you rode in on from 2005, James Reyne released his 2nd acoustic album, Ghost Ships in 2007.Ghost Ships finishes the job Reyne started in 2005. With acoustic versions of both his hits with Crawl and his own solo material Reyne fills in the gaps-- the material he didn't get to on ... and the horse you rode in on.
Given how dated some of Reyne's early solo material from the mid-late eighties sounds today, these new acoustic arrangements offer a breath of fresh air to songs like Motors Too Fast and Fall of Rome. Reyne rounds out the collection with a new cover of the Dingoes Way Out West that he had initially covered with country vocalist James Blundell in 1992, a song that to this day remains his biggest solo hit. The new version, minus Blundell is more uptempo and lively that the original cover. Reyne also covers Australian Crawl hits Beautiful People and Boys Light Up to great effect. The new arrangement of Boys Light Up features an almost calypso rhythm and Reyne's superlative songwriting skills are laid bare when the song is presented without the bombast and bluster of his former band.
With the exception of Bug (a solo track of Reyne's I've never been keen on), there's not a weak track on the album. These fresh new acoustic arrangements of past hits and favorites give them new life and energy and remind the listener of Reyne's talents both as a singer and songwriter.
Ideally this album should be enjoyed with ... and the horse you rode in on as the two albums bookend each other very nicely, although both albums also stand on their own quite well too.
Related Links
Australian Crawl Boys Light Up (1980)
James Reyne ... and the horse you rode in on (2005)
James Reyne (wikipedia entry)
Australian Crawl (wikipedia entry)
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1 comment:
Thanks for the well written review that makes the reader want to hear this music.
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