Ghost Stories [Import]

Chantal Kreviazuk | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 10, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Sony Bmg Europe
• ASIN: B000HC2OFK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,530 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ghosts of You

2. All I Can Do

3. Spoke in Tongues

4. Mad About You

5. So Cold

6. Waiting for the Sun

7. You Blame Yourself

8. Grow Up So Fast

9. Wonderful

10. Asylum

11. Wendy House

Editorial Reviews

From Amazon.ca

Although it took four years for Chantal Kreviazuk to record the follow-up to her successful disc What If It All Means Something, the Canadian singer/pianist was anything but idle in between. During that 'break' she gave birth to two children, wrote songs for Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson, and recorded her fourth disc Ghost Stories at home, with husband Raine Maida (the Our Lady Peace frontman) producing.

Ghost Stories proves to be a stylistic departure for Kreviazuk; rather than settle into warm, traditional ballads, these songs are frequently unpredictable. The classical music she studied as a child--combined with her love of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper (she references the album in the lyrics of opener "Ghosts of You")--has manifested into this evolutionary disc. Many songs come across as mini-operas, constantly morphing from one style and tempo to the next; as a result, Fiona Apple and Tori Amos comparisons will be made--especially in the frenetic "You Blame Yourself"--but the numbers remain stylistically her own. The anthemic "Asylum" is an impassioned highlight, inspired by a war refugee from the Congo, while "Mad About You" is another powerful moment, a love song whose chorus bursts wide open amidst Kreviazuk's fragile, raw vocals. Kreviazuk's unique "So Cold" veers abruptly from a straight-ahead soliloquy to an emotionally-exploding gospel-style chorus; while perhaps not destined to be a pop radio hit, it offers a glimpse of something brilliant, an evolving singer/songwriter who still has many colours yet to show. --Denise Sheppard

About the Artist

When Chantal Kreviazuk took to the concert grand piano placed in the kitchen of her home studio to commence the writing of her fourth album, something began to change. The chords she started to release were immediately different from her earlier work - revealing themselves to be much more rhythmic and charging. While other artists tend to mellow as their career progresses, Chantal found that she was crafting her most driving work with Ghost Stories.

"I think that was just a reaction to the heart and passion I was putting into the songs," she reflects. "The album rocks and has a lot of rhythm... which is really exciting for me. A lot of times, when people mature they get more melancholy and reflective, and it shows in the tempos of their music."

It has been four years since Chantal released her last album, What If It All Means Something. During the break after recording and touring that record, she firmly established herself as one of the premiere songwriters in the industry by penning hits for the likes of Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani and Kelly Clarkson. And, as the strength and fit of this new album displays, the experience of crafting songs to suit the personality of other artists has allowed her to take a step back and write songs that showcase her considerable talents even more.

Ghost Stories was entirely written by Chantal and her husband Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace (who also produced the album) They worked in their own home, sharing a creative space with their dogs and two young children - charting new ideas and pecking away at songs during the course of the day before bunkering down to really make progress on the tracks together under the cloak of night. When completed, the album was mixed in studio by Michael Brauer (Coldplay, Bravery, Bob Dylan, Jeff Buckley).

Working with her life partner within the walls of their home allowed the album to take shape in an environment of complete openness. Unlike studio sessions where egos can be shielded by the niceties of professional relationships, Chantal knew that Raine was there to tell the truth - be it bruising or not. Although occasionally painful to hear, she credits the honesty of this process for ultimately making the record stronger.

"It really is rewarding to be able to work with your best friend," she reveals. "It's something you can't recreate with someone that you are just starting a relationship with. It's amazing, but when people have the level of relationship where they are able to be brutally honest with each other, it hurts sometimes"

"It did get slightly tense once in a while," Chantal admits. "However we have such an amazingly powerful love for each other and we always know that anything we do to/with/for each other comes from a positive place and that helps us make the very best music together."

Unlike her earlier work, the majority of this album was written to the rhythm - with the piano riff emerging first and providing the foundation for the songs. While it also features an utterly captivating melody, it is not hard to imagine a track like lead single "All I Can Do" being born of the driving piano that lies below.

Luckily for fans of Chantal's reflective and personal style of lyrical songwriting, basing this work on the rhythm hasn't come at the expense of the words. As poignant as anything she has crafted, "Asylum" tells the tale of Chantal's nanny - a war refugee from the Congo. "She is an incredible human being and her story touches our lives every day," says Chantal. "While the memories of war and persecution will never leave her, the joy and safety she now has in her life and in our home is such a great comfort. But I know that she suffers in silence."

The ghosts of war are not the only spirits haunting the album. When Chantal looked over the completed record she discovered ethereal presences lurking within the shadows of several songs. "I didn't know that there were ghosts all over the album until it came time to title it," she remembers. Intentional or not, these spirits repeatedly dart through the lyrics and themes.

"Ghosts Of You" is the second offering (after What If It All Means Something's "Flying Home (Brenda's Song)") to a very close cousin who passed away too early in life. "My cousin Brenda was such a powerful force in my world," Chantal remembers. "Her loss seems to hurt not more, but differently, every day. I feel her and that loss just as much as when she left this world. "Ghosts of You" is about our coming of age together and the beautiful safe haven we had in each other throughout our lives prior to her passing."

Some of the ghostly inhabitants are more symbolic. Chantal wrote "You Blame Yourself" to address lingering memories from past hard times. "I have a lot of painful memories of being confused as a teen," she says. "This is a dark song for anyone who hurts where they are and feels like they need to break out."

With Ghost Stories Chantal asks us to follow her to a landscape shaped by rhythm, beauty and loss. While the spirits inhabiting this realm speak with the voice of the lost and the outcast, their tales of love, war, destitution, isolation and joy demand to be heard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally back with a new cd!, September 17, 2006

By 

Jake Z "holden84" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Stories (Audio CD)

I have been a fan of Chantal Kreviazuk's since she released her debut in Canada in 1996. I have had the pleasure of seeing her in concert, with just her and a piano, and it was mezmerizing. I even met her, she is very down to earth and nice. I waited for this new release and now it's here. The album is void of any guitars, instead there are rich string melodies. Some of the songs are growers, but as a whole its a pretty good album. Highlights for me include the moving "Ghosts of You", the inspiring "All I Can Do", and the upbeat "Wonderful". Other highlights include "Asylum" and "Wendy House". Overall a really good cd!

Amazon has the wrong tracklisting though. Here is the correct one:

01 Ghosts of You
02 All I Can Do
03 Spoke In Tongues
04 Mad About You
05 So Cold
06 Waiting for the Sun
07 You Blame Yourself
08 Grow Up So Fast
09 Wonderful
10 Asylum
11 Wendy House

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Angsty, October 10, 2006

By 

Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ghost Stories (Audio CD)

Chantal Kreviazuk is accustomed to co-writing big pop songs for artists like Avril Lavigne (6 tracks from "Under My Skin"), Gwen Stefani and Kelly Clarkson, but now that it's time for her to deliver her own fourth studio album, she chooses to go in the opposite direction, resulting in an angst ridden, sometimes melancholy album that's more gospel than glitter and more personal than Pop.

The first two tracks are not representative of the rest of the album, and on the first listen you may be disappointed that there are not more tracks like these. "Ghosts of You" starts with some sweet, sad strings and then morphs into a ballad lamenting lost love, where she sings "please don't go / these ghosts of you / the only thing that helps get my through the day". The first single "All I Can Do" is definitely the stand out track of the album, and more songs like this would have made for a five star album. With great lyrics like "All I can do is love you to pieces / Give you a shoulder to cry when you need it", this is easily my favorite track.

As I said, you may not like the rest of the album on a first listen, but keep in mind the tracks "Grow Up So Fast", "Wonderful", the gospel chorus of "So Cold" and the stirring, war inspired "Asylum" as you go.

The album showcases Kreviazuk's ability to play a mean piano, which coupled with her plaintive vocals and haunting lyrics makes for some pretty intense listening. It's not going to be the album to get your party started, but you'll reach for it on quiet days when you're feeling a little blue and need something introspective to match your mood. Recommended for the days when a good cry is all you need.



Amanda Richards

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Emotional and Strong, December 24, 2006

By 

Karl G "Jerry" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Stories (Audio CD)

Chantal's 4th Studio Album is marvelous, and very much different from her previous 3.

Chantal has taken a cue from Nelly Furtado and has changed her music, to a darker, more lyrical, more angsty and much more soulful level. The lyrics are now very angst-ridden and carries a stronger message to all who listen to it.

All I Can Do is very dark, very meaningful and it makes you yearn for more. However, the rest of the album is not like the first single, ranging from the rousing piano intros of Ghosts of You, the melodious and catchy tune of Wonderful and the shocking lyrics of Asylum.

This album is very varied and it shows that she is no more the girl who mused about Time leaving her behind. She is now the woman who sees the world for what it is.