Customer Reviews

The Ghost Who Walks

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While this will get all sorts of attention for who she is and who she is married to, none of that matters because the album and songs stand on their own as instant classics. I feel like I could be listening to an album of standards by Gershwin, Cole Porter, or Rogers and Hart. I'm reminded a bit of Neko Case's country-fried tales; and Mrs. Elson's voice makes me think of the gals in the band Tilly and the Wall and occasionally even of Mama Cass Elliot with slightly less OOOOMPH! Just a positively delightful listen.

this cd was recommended by amazon based on my purchase of white stripes albums. i cannot get this out of my cd player, my wife and i both love it. the music genre is hard to label, a cross between folk,blue grass and rock and roll. i highly reccomend this cd.

Karen Elson AKA Mrs. Jack White has started her music career. A quick switch from being a model and rock star wife, she actually has a voice on her! It's a blue grass neo sixties style with Mr. White on the production side. Add in a few members from My Morning Jacket and you have Karen Elson's debut album. The first song, The Ghost That Walks, hooked me, which is why I have the album. Although the rest of the album is a bit disappointing. It's definitely a good place to start a career, but not an album I can listen to on repeat. Buy the song. Wait for her sophomore release. By then maybe she'll come more into her own and we will be calling Jack White Mr. Karen Elson.

Karen Elson is a British model. She's also Mrs. Jack White. Hubby produced the album and played drums. There's also a Dead Weather here, and a Morning Jacket there. The sound is Folk/Alt Country/Pop with a touch of Lo Fi, and Elson sounding somewhat like Cat Power or Vanessa Paradis. One could spend time debating her celebrity connections, her talents, whether it's all down to hubby, or one could enjoy the album for what it is, beautiful intimate pieces that already feel familiar. This is definitely no shabby effort.

The album title is taken, she says, from her nickname at school bestowed upon her thanks to her height, pale skin, and

Haunted look. The title track is a sombre Blues-tinged death ballad, something like Nick Cave's duet with Kylie Minogue "Where the wild roses grow".

"The truth is in the dirt" is an organ-driven delight with a light Reggae lilt and squealing guitars which wouldn't sound out of place on an earlier White Stripes album. "Pretty babies" is truly spectacular, a light Tango feel and quivering guitars a perfect backdrop for her comfortably clear airy vocals (I love how she draws on the word "honey").

"100 years from now" is dainty Vaudeville,"Stolen roses" is a shuffling accordion-driven ballad, "Garden" is mournful fiddle-filled Country, Rachelle Garniez harmonises perfectly with her on the jangly "Cruel summer" (with the most melancholic strings) as well as on the beautiful "The birds they circle" (which sounds like the soundtrack to some spagetti Western).

"The last laugh" is a delicate acoustic ballad, and closing is the Bluesy organ-driven "Mouths to feed" (with haunting harmonies).

Elson says these are songs she's been writing since 2005 but was too shy to record. She was encouraged by White to record them and I'm glad he did. If you like She & Him, you should like this.

I got this album and was absolutely blown away with it. I was expecting to hear a solid album after hearing a snippet of the title track, and mainly decided to give it a shot because I'm a big Jack White fan.

Karen's voice is amazing and the song writing is astounding for a first effort. Combine this with the band of musicians she and Jack put together and you get one of the top 5 albums of the new millennium.

The title track "The Ghost Who Walks" is one of the strongest along with the closing track, "Mouths to Feed". The passion and intensity is fully evident in these two gems, but there is not a weak track to be found. The feel of the album is a alt/goth/country mix, and reminds me somewhat of some of Mark Lanegan's solo albums such as Field Songs and Whiskey for the Holy Ghost.

The only negative thing I could muster after listening to this album for 4 days straight is wondering how she'll ever top her debut- not a bad problem to have. Get this disc, it is a must have.

The first song intrigued me, but then once I gave the rest of the album a listen I was completely hooked. Few compilations have managed to add layers of sound & feeling that seem so coherent while also adding to the whole.

Karen Elson's voice is fantastic & the range/diversity of instruments & beats is refreshing. This album is great for listening to at night!

I especially love #5: 100 Years From Now! The start has that eerie old time-y, almost underwater, sound that suddenly becomes crisp & new. I can imaging the tragic past suddenly becoming the ghostly "now."

Haha, that's all probably incoherent, but Karen Elson definitely deserves a listen!!!

Model Karen Elson's debut album is reminiscent of Courtney Love's band, Hole. Although Hole was alive well before Kurt Cobain came in the picture, the band certainly achieved higher status after Nirvana hit the airwaves, didn't it? One can only attribute genius Jack White for the few catchy tracks on the album. While Elson's voice is magical on some tracks, others are riddled with the keen feeling of strangeness.

Key tracks include 'Pretty Babies,' 'Mouths to Feed,' 'The Truth is in the Dirt,' and 'Stolen Roses.' Undeniably many will consider this a breakthrough, but it's nothing we haven't experienced before. From the begrudging attempt at vintage sound to the pretty but bizarre lyrics, it's nothing to wait outside the record store for.

This is a safe debut album.

Elson can sing. Elson obviously has the ability to be any of the mainstream artists she's been compared to thus far, as well as Sheryl Crow, of whom she is obviously a huge fan. I hear strong similarities between the two, but unlike Crow, Elson's delivery is insincere on the folkier tracks. Crow, though mediocre at times in her writing has always come off as honest. It remains to be seen whom Elson will become, though I find her to be the most comfortable in the first quarter of the album. Otherwise, I would imagine a lot of young adult females could do some great make up tricks while listening to Elson's attempt to play Dress-up as a rockstar. Me? I enjoy the time I get to spend not doing much serious thinking while this album is on. That being said, I do have this slightly funny vision of Elson hiding in her bathroom playing The Truth Is In The Dirt. I thought Alanis Morissette already did that whole locked-in-my-closet-hiding-and-writing bit on Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie.

Oh, stardom! I give this a five of five for being nothing more than what it pretends to be and pretending to be nothing more than it is: a clean and safe platform from which Elson should jump - and hopefully soon. Next album is sure to be slightly conceptual and have at least seventeen tracks. You're in!

Of course, Karen is a rich supermodel married to Jack White. But this is not some indulgence. Karen has a very warm voice and her inflection is very appealing. The accompanying music is VERY nice (thanks, Jack).

A few songs are rather bland but a few such as Pretty Babies, The Birds they Circle and A Thief at my Door are as good as anything I have heard in the past few years. I am looking forward to more from this artist.

THIS IS TRULY A UNIQUE, HAUNTING, EJOYABLE & GROOVY LISTENING EXPERIENCE; WHITE STRIPES DRUMMER JACK WHITE'S WIFE CERTAINLY RIVALS ANY OF HIS WORKS HERE; THE SYNCOPATED RHYTHMS & ENTHUSIASTIC DRUMMING IS JOYFUL & FUN; THIS CD IS ON MY GIFT-GIVING LIST FOR THE YEAR FOR ALL THOSE I KNOW WHO APPRECIATE NEW GOOD MUSIC!!!!