Produced by Van Dyke Parks;  Cover Art by R. Crumb!

Reviewers Get Spooked

Early reviews are coming in for Spooked, the latest and greatest album by Marley's Ghost. Reviewers are lovin' it and you will, too!

The best place to get Spooked is straight from the band at a CD Release Concert, see the list, left. Or you can order now from Sage Arts.

Meanwhile, here are reviews:

• “No parlour tricks, no 'bits of undigested beef,' just solid musicianship and imagination.” – David Kidney, master reviewer, music production editor, GreenManReview.com
  

• “The first thing that drew me in for this CD was the incredible cover design, drawn by legendary underground cartoonist Robert Crumb. That and the involvement of Van Dyke Parks. The music is eclectic, ranging from old string band style (a favorite of Crumb's), to straight up country, to good ol' fashioned gospel. All played with skill and heart. This one just begs for a press of the "repeat" button.” – Michael Buffalo Smith, Gritz.net
  

• “Not only are the musicians comfortable with pretty much any style they feel like playing, but they carefully tie everything together as a continuum, rather than present it as eclecticism for its own sake. If the Carter Family still existed in the present, this is probably what it would sound like.”  – Michael Toland, HighBias.com

• “…whether being reverential, reflective, historical or naughty, Marley’s Ghost effectively combine and cluster genres in a memorable and enticing manner.” – Ron Wynn, NashvilleCityPaper.com

• Marley’s Ghost, a tightly sprung quartet of “roots” aficionados has been together for 20 years, plying their anachronistic, mellifluous, four part harmonies backed by their considerable picking skills...  I certainly have heard just about everything Van Dyke Parks has produced and his stamp on this project is delicate, yet unmistakable, taking what could have been a “document” and turning it into a ... studio tour-de-force-—without interfering with the core music-making. – Michael Fremer, MusicAngle.com

• “The beauty of being lulled into this old-timey world of string bands, railroad tales, romantic lullabies and sea chanteys is equaled by having the unlimited vision of Van Dyke Parks to color that world with Technicolor touches of sonic surprises. And remember: it ain’t over ‘til the bagpipes blow and the dogs quit barking.” – Bill Bentley, pg. 23. StudioCitySun.com
  

• “Marley’s Ghost does so much more than just show off their virtuosity in each of the genres they’ve chosen, they dig deeply into the fertile soil originally laid down by their predecessors exposing their deep and abiding love for the music that inspired Leadbelly, Robert Johnson, Bob Dylan, and Pete Seeger. “Spooked” is a beautifully crafted album which serves as a tribute to the sounds the 20th Century cut its teeth on.
  “This musical quilt was stretched and formed by producer Van Dyke Parks, composer/arranger for hundreds of Warner Brother’s artists and producer of albums by Ry Cooder, Randy Newman, and the late anarchist and folksinger Phil Ochs. “Spooked” is riddled with Parks’ particular genius for tuning and arranging. His detailed attention to the expression of the instruments allows for even greater emotional resonance from the group, and his interweaving of styles by the order of song shows an incredible gift for storytelling. In a way, listening to Marley’s Ghost is akin to reading a selection of short essays from Mark Twain.” – Larry Sakin, MyTown.ca

And the reviews keep coming in. Catch the Ghosts live and get Spooked at the concert. Or order now from Sage Arts.

Spooked was recorded at Sage Arts
Produced by: Van Dyke Parks
Engineered and mixed by: Daniel Protheroe and Matthew Gephart
Mastered by: Bob Katz at Digital Domain