Chasing the Ghost

Collide | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 31, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 31, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Noiseplus Music
• ASIN: B000050YAK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,305 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. transfer

2. wings of steel

3. razor sharp

4. dreamsleep

5. white rabbit

6. frozen

7. halo

8. monochrome

9. ocean

10. like you want to believe

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars KaRIN And The White Rabbit Collide On The Way To Wonderland, March 23, 2006

By 

Brian E. Erland "Rainbow Sphinx" (Brea, CA - USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chasing the Ghost (Audio CD)

If Tim Burton remade the film 'Alice In Wonderland', 'Chasing The Ghost' would be the soundtrack. With its slow, melodic pace and electronic dissonant sound evoking a near trance-state, the listener is progressively hypnotized with each successive track moving you deeper and deeper into a dreamy, surreal world of multi-layered shadow.

KaRIN is not so much singing, but whispering to us to follow her on a journey down the rabbit hole. It has a somewhat disquieting affect, as though someone else is listening in and she doesn't want them to hear.

All -10 tracks- work well together as they seamlessly weave there way through the ever-shifting darkness. I particularily enjoyed -track 4- 'Dreamsleep', -track 5- 'White Rabbit' (great cover of the Jefferson Airplane classic) and -track 8- 'Monochrome.'

So turn out the lights and sit back and enjoy. No need to light any candles, the Cheshire Cat will arrive shortly and his glowing eyes and wide, mocking grin will provide all the illumination necessary.

43 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the river of darkness there is a light, November 29, 2003

By 

Clarissa "MoonGoddess" (Ontario, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Chasing the Ghost (Audio CD)

For the longest time I've been wanting to express my feelings towards this extraordinary record and have failed miserably at every thwarted attempt. There's simply no just way to articulate how wonderful it is for me to have this unparalleled masterpiece in my collection (I actually feel honored) and even now I'm at a loss for words. At this point, depletion has taken over and I'm at my lowest low with frustration but I'm determined to take a pathetic shot at praising Collide's most accomplished effort to date because this truly is a work of art.

I've owned 'Chasing The Ghost' for well over a year now and its been in heavy rotation ever since. It's hands-down my favorite album and nothing's come remotely close to outdoing that position. Many people describe their music as erotic and I'd have to agree with them. KaRIN's voice is like a dark siren call that's seductive and distinctly alluring as her ethereal singing style caress the senses with poetic lyrics and beats laced with trance-like quality.

As much as I love their debut, 'Beneath The Skin', and their latest release, 'Some Kind Of Strange', 'Chasing The Ghost' is lifetimes ahead of them both and far less alternative. Collide's remix excursion with 'Distort' apparently set the groundwork for a more electronic-based sound that fuses guitars and drums with a dancier EBM flow that's incredibly hypnotic. Collide (a two person group: kaRIN - voice/lyrics, and Statik - "noise") may never garner the inconceivable attention and recognition they deserve but, in my eyes, they will forever remain one of the world's greatest Goth bands. The melodies are all unforgettable and they never cease to draw me in deep as they run with remarkable consistency. And while every track is beyond amazing, none other has surpassed the trip-hop of "Razor Sharp" as my all-time favorite Collide song.

This is sure going to be hard to exceed.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what I expected - but it impresses anyway!, October 31, 2000

By 

MTJones (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chasing the Ghost (Audio CD)

I was fortunate enough to receive a promotional copy of this album before the release date. Some people might argue that five advance days mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, that it hasn't had enough time to soak in.

I would argue that five days of nonstop listening is more than enough.

I think I should clarify that I'm a huge Collide fan. Goth music in general doesn't cut it for me, but this duo's unique electrogoth sound moves me like no other. So I have to mention that I have a slight bias toward this album before even hearing it; although I know Collide is far from perfect, and I've criticized some work in the past, I had a feeling from the start that Chasing the Ghost will be good.

Statik's extensive production work with such groups as Love & Rockets, Powerman 5000, and Eve 6, among others, leads to a very crisp sound quality. It fits the music, which is itself less raw and jagged than on past albums. Even though Chasing the Ghost dares to experiment more with guitars and exotica - creating a wider, more general appeal - the mellow/dance element remains a dominant force. kaRIN still has the voice of an (as the cover art suggests) angel, and my wish has come true - her voice is brought to the front of the mix, giving it a larger role than on Beneath the Skin.

I must admit, I love Collide's earlier output and was hoping for something along those lines, but this more emotional and musically sophisticated release, while not quite in the style I expected, made my jaw drop anyway. Great artists are those who can reinvent themselves, after all, and Collide has done just that without losing an iota of appeal.

As I said, the dance elements are still there, and are especially present in the wicked, percussive groove of "Transfer." But Chasing the Ghost has much softer moments, as in the trip-hop influenced, crooning nuances of "Razor Sharp." And "Ocean," one of the most dynamic tracks on the album, combines laid-back 'verse' segments with atmospheric and vocal-driven choruses; it's sure to be a hit.

The louder/noisier moments do not dominate the album, by any means - Chasing the Ghost still remembers Collide's mellow roots. Nonetheless, tracks like "Dreamsleep" have occasional bursts of grinding guitar activity. No, it's not like P5000 - the riffs on "White Rabbit" are tasteful and muted; they only flesh out the track, not mar it.

However, the best moments on the album are by far the exotic ones. "Halo" comes to mind immediately - it uses a sitar (the Indian equivalent of a guitar) to back up kaRIN's vocals, and the sweeping string/electronics combination is unforgettable.

Collide claims that making this album was a torturous process. I can believe it. The pure emotion infused within each track, the precise timing and placement of the songs, the impeccable vocals - these all reflect love and effort, two qualities that cannot be faked.

Although this statement may not carry as much weight as I would like after only three albums, I have to say it: Chasing the Ghost is the best Collide album, by far. It's well worth the wait and the money. I only hope Collide continues to raise the bar with each release, as it evidently did with this one.