Ghosts of the Great Highway
Studio album by
Sun Kil Moon
ReleasedNovember 4, 2003
February 6, 2007 (re-issue)
Genre
Length58:12 (album)
21:15 (bonus disc)
LanguageEnglish
LabelJetset Records
Caldo Verde Records
ProducerMark Kozelek
Sun Kil Moon chronology
Ghosts of the Great Highway
(2003) 		Tiny Cities
(2005)

Ghosts of the Great Highway is the debut studio album by San Francisco quartet Sun Kil Moon, led by Red House Painters' founder Mark Kozelek, who composed all of the lyrics and music on this album. The other members are Anthony Koutsos (former drummer for Red House Painters), Geoff Stanfield, and Tim Mooney.

Three of the album's songs are named after boxers, following on from "Find Me, Rubén Olivares" from Kozelek's debut solo EP Rock 'n' Roll Singer. The band name is also a pun on the Korean boxer Sung-Kil Moon. The opening number is named after Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton. The song "Pancho Villa" is a more luscious arrangement of "Salvador Sanchez".

Ghosts of the Great Highway was re-issued as a double CD on February 6, 2007 on Kozelek's own label, Caldo Verde Records. The second disc features 6 bonus tracks, including two versions of Leonard Bernstein's "Somewhere", and the instrumental track "Arrival", which was originally recorded for the movie The Girl Next Door. The songs "Carry Me Ohio" and "Lily and Parrots" were featured in the film Shopgirl, in which Kozelek made a cameo appearance.

The song "Carry Me Ohio" was listed at #462 on Pitchfork's Top 500 Songs of the 2000s list.[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Blender[7]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[8]
Mojo[9]
Pitchfork8.3/10[10]
Q[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Uncut[13]

Upon its release, Ghosts of the Great Highway received critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream critics, the album has received a metascore of 84, based on 18 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mark Kozelek, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Glenn Tipton"4:16
2."Carry Me Ohio"6:21
3."Salvador Sanchez"6:29
4."Last Tide"2:55
5."Floating"3:19
6."Gentle Moon"5:18
7."Lily and Parrots"4:18
8."Duk Koo Kim"14:32
9."Sí, Paloma"5:32
10."Pancho Villa"5:12
Double 12" vinyl bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."Gentle Moon" (Acoustic)4:57
2007 re-issue bonus disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Somewhere"Leonard Bernstein2:13
2."Carry Me Ohio" (Alternate Version) 5:24
3."Salvador Sanchez" (Acoustic) 4:14
4."The Arrival" 2:28
5."Somewhere" (Version 2)Bernstein2:15
6."Gentle Moon" (Live Radio Recording) 4:41

Singles

References

  1. ^ Noel Murray (November 18, 2003). "Sun Kil Moon: Ghosts Of The Great Highway". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  2. ^ "The 100 Best Indie Folk Albums of All Time". Paste. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  3. ^ Stephen M. Deusner (March 8, 2007). "Sun Kil Moon: Ghosts of the Great Highway Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  4. ^ Pitchfork Staff (17 August 2009). "Staff Lists: The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 500-201 | Features | Pitchfork". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Reviews for Ghosts Of The Great Highway by Sun Kil Moon". Metacritic. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  6. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Ghosts of the Great Highway – Sun Kil Moon". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  7. ^ Lim, Dennis (May 2007). "Sun Kil Moon: Ghosts of the Great Highway". Blender (58). Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  8. ^ Hermes, Will (November 21, 2003). "Ghosts of the Great Highway". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  9. ^ "Sun Kil Moon: Ghosts of the Great Highway". Mojo (123): 101. February 2004.
  10. ^ Goldstein, Hartley (November 19, 2003). "Sun Kil Moon: Ghosts of the Great Highway". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  11. ^ "Sun Kil Moon: Ghosts of the Great Highway". Q (212): 113. March 2004.
  12. ^ Dana, Will (November 27, 2003). "Sun Kil Moon: Ghosts of the Great Highway". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  13. ^ "White Spirits". Uncut (82): 94. March 2004. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2016.

External links

Sun Kil Moon
Authority control databases
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