Customer Reviews

Give Up the Ghost

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've had the vinyl release for several days now and am quite pleased while looking forward to acquiring the CD for my car. I've been listening to Brandi Carlile and the Hanseroth brothers since I received a 'song-of-the-day' iTunes card from Starbucks in October of '07 highlighting the song 'Turpentine'. A few of these songs written by Brandi alone are so heartfelt, it truly feels as though she's desperately reaching out to disconnected people in her past.

The subtle use of instrumentation and orchestration in this third release is beautifully produced and does not in any way obscure from Brandi's unparalleled voice. She could sing (or yodel) her weekly grocery list, and I would drop what I'm doing to listen... anytime.

My current favorite tracks are 'Looking Out' (w/Amy Ray), 'Dying Day', 'Pride And Joy', 'Before It Breaks', and 'Touching the Ground'. Basically the entire album will grow on you. The upbeat song 'Caroline' is a wonderful treat with Elton John playing the piano the way ONLY Elton John can. Highly recommended!

It takes supreme confidence to start a rock concert by stepping in front of the microphone with your band and singing a country number that calls for you to... yodel.

Brandi Carlile is that confident.

And that good.

Make that devastating --- she may be the best female singer now working in rock or country.

At the Beacon Theater in New York, she worked through the songs on Give Up the Ghost and its predecessor, 'The Story'. The flow was organic --- she is one of those talents that arrives fully-formed. The crowd at the Beacon cheered wildly. The arena awaits.

The arena lies ahead because Brandi Carlile has enough vinegar in her voice to clean windows. She can whisper, she can shout --- and she can scream. And when she screams, she cuts through whatever is keeping your heart armored and shatters your defenses. Tasers have nothing on her.

It doesn't hurt that she's flanked by two guitarists --- twins, as it turns out --- who are so tall you think they're on stilts. Or that her drummer is a spiky-haired woman from Brooklyn. Or that, to one side, a cello produces exquisite balance. (On the new CD, she makes do with guests like Elton John.)

And it's a pleasant bonus that she's enormously appealing. Between songs, she's funny and tender and a little surprised by the rising trajectory of her career. But when she straps on an electric guitar, aims it at the audience and starts bouncing around --- that's something else.

Carlile puts her band through Beatle harmonies. She does Johnny Cash train songs. She makes "Let It Be" sound fresh. She does a song about a high school friend who killed himself that had tears flowing all around me. And, goofing around, she runs through some country songs that are compellingly bad/good. Among them is "Stand By Your Man," which contains these lyrics: "And if you love him/ Oh be proud of him/ 'Cause after all he's just a man." For Tammy Wynette, that was an expression of compassion. For Brandi Carlile's audience at the Beacon --- I'd say it was 80% female --- that was a punch line.

Don't wait until she's huge to see and hear her.

Hurry, buy this Album!
This is 'Get-Stuck-In-Your-Head' music. As in catch yourself singing in the shower!
From the lyrics to the beat to..EVERYthing. Her voice is such a great story all by itself. All raspy and mysterious with feeling and angst. I just added this whole album to my iPod under FAVORITES!

I can't believe this is the first I'm hearing Brandi's music? I'm not a big Grey's Anatomy fan so I didn't realize a bunch of her songs have been on it.

I read that she is a big fan of Indigo Girls, that was enough for me to give her a listen.
I find myself listening over and over to the faster paced songs: Looking Out, Dying Day and Dreams. Perfect for my exercise playlist.
But I groove on the slower ones too.. (especially Pride and Joy and I Will) they will go into my late at night blogging music!

Here are the more toe tappin' songs {I could not pick a favorite out of them}. Seriously. I am in LOVE with this music.

LOOKING OUT. The part that gets stuck in my head:
Some People get religion. Some people get the truth. I never get the truth...
and
I am afraid of flying blind afraid of inquiring minds afraid of being left behind...

DYING DAY. My 8yrold heard this song and now calls it "that funny song about the kisses"!
Head catching lyrics:
How I miss you and I just wanna kiss you and I'm gonna love you til my dyin' day...
How these days grow long.
I'm having a hard time deciding which song is my favorite one. This one is for sure top three.

DREAMS. This was the first song off the album to be released and I fell in love with it when I first heard it. I added it to my blog and facebook, I'm her evangelist. I want everyone to hear this song. Fave Lyrics:
How long can you hold your breath can you count to ten, can you let it pass....?
then
...in the dreams I can feel the way I can just come clean.. I keep it to MYSELF!!

CAROLINE. Terrific beat, a love story unfolds
I'm on my way back home to you,
won't you say a prayer for me, I hope you will remember me, you're always on my mind.
And then a male voice comes in on this song... I LOVE the duet there!!

IF THERE WAS NO YOU. This one falls somewhere between the upbeat songs and the more calm ones. But it still is one of my more favorites on the album.
Nothing you could do could make me turn my back on you, when you're lookin' for a fight... I'm your man.


This is from Brandi's website/newsletter:
She writes...
"Great tour! I'm so pleased to start a new chapter and bring out Give Up The Ghost on tour for all to hear and see. We've got new covers in the fall, new arrangements, new songs, instrumentation, and lots of surprises. See you out on the road with the changing leaves."

Sheesh she even writes her newsletter in prose! I'd can't wait to hear her new covers... I'm so there.

Here is another exquisite release by Brandi Carlile. I am so glad that she included "That Year" on this album. This song of loss and remembrance was one of the highlights when I saw her live in concert. I have loved her music since I downloaded "Follow" as the free single on iTunes back in 2006. Since then I have picked up every album, single and special release I can get my hands on. If you are thinking about buying (or downloading) this album, I promise you will LOVE it! You are about to make a close personal friend, through the universal language that is music. She's a little bit country, a little bit folk, and a little bit rock and roll, but through it all, she is 100% straight from the heart.

I've been a fan of Brandi Carlile after hearing some of her songs on public radio since 2006. I guess it's something about her voice. There's a 'vulnerability' and 'sincerity' that I feel in her lyrics and in her voice, which is quite a beautiful 'instrument' especially with the heart this gal puts into it!

I just picked up my LP copy this afternoon and gave it a spin. . . BIG SMILE.

I loved what I heard, but only wished that Columbia (Sony) would see to it that their small number of vinyl pressings got a better quality of vinyl - my copy had too much 'noise' for a twenty+ dollar pressing.

Still, I rate it FIVE STARS - Brandi's a true talent - one of a kind - and a mighty fine one at that!!!!!

Some artists record songs as soon as they finish writing them. They don't give themselves time to grow into the music, time for the music to evolve, or (sometimes) time to realize the song wasn't that good to begin with. Having become an avid fan of Ms. Carlile two years ago, I can see that this is not the case with her. At a concert earlier this year, she explained her philosophy regarding recording, and the gist of it was that she likes to give ample time once initially creating a song before recording it. Because of this, the music has had time to work itself into the souls of both her and her fabulous band, so even on an audio CD it seems to come not from sheets of music or a fresh memory, but from deep within. I've heard songs such as "Dying Day" and "That Year for several years now, and have listened to many live versions as a substitute for not having them recorded and released from the studio. While seeing Brandi Carlile live is an incredibly special experience, I can say that the studio versions do justice to them much better than I had expected, actually bringing a subtlety that sometimes the live performances may lack, even if missing a bit of the punch. This is a fabulous record. Producer Rick Rubin produced the last two albums I have purchased, the other being the Avett Brothers' newest release. I feel his work with Brandi Carlile and the Twins (band Phil and Tim Hanseroth) is far superior to what he did with the Avetts album. While the Avetts energy was somewhat leveled off into a shiny studio album, the passion and musicality of Brandi Carlile is actually more evident on this album, despite sounding more studio-polished at the same time. This is my favorite album of 2009, and I highly recommend that you purchase it as soon as possible.

Never have I ever been so enthralled in one singer before in my whole life. Even though I had a few of her songs in my iTunes for quite a while (thanks to Pandora) I never really listened to them until one day "Have you Ever" came up on shuffle and I wasn't around to turn it. I started really listening to her voice and the lyrics and became instantly hooked, cursing myself for not taking the time to listen to her sooner. This was about three weeks ago and since then I have seen her in concert, driving quite a distance to do it and plan to go see her at the Lilth Fair in August.

I read somewhere that Brandi fans are the most devote fans out there and that is so true because I would have never thought I would drive a long distance to see someone in concert, ever. I just knew Brandi wasn't going to come anywhere around my town for the next year and I absolutely could not wait for another year or so for her to come back. It was the absolute best show I have ever been to and probably ever will. She is so personable and in touch with her fans and absolutely AMAZING live. So much better than she is on CD because she gets to express herself and her voice. But that's not to say that she's bad on the CD. She's perfect, but if you get the chance to see her live, DO IT. There is nothing like it.

Her voice is what really gets me. It's amazing. She can scream out at the top of her lungs and hit every note perfectly, but at the same time, she can be soft and delicate. Her range is ridiculous. At her concerts she does this thing with her song "Dying Day" where she doesn't use a microphone or amps for the guitar. The song is played "at the living room level" as she likes to say. Her voice is so huge that even the people in the back of the room can hear her perfectly, even over the guitars. Youtube it if you have the chance.

Lets not forget her/the twins songwriting ability. Her words are not meaningless like some other singers. When she performs, you can tell she means every single word she sings. Youtube the video "I Will" by snowshoe80 and you will see what I mean. She chokes up in that song and you can see a tear in her eye.

There is not one song, on any of her albums, that I don't like. Not one. I listen to them all on repeat for the majority of the day. Music has never really hit me the way that Brandi Carlile's music did and I am forever changed. Buy this album, you won't be disappointed. She's the real deal without a doubt.

I love Brandi but this album in my opinion isn't as strong as her first two. It depends what you like, but I love the full band electric songs on the first two albums and this album is all melancholy acoustic numbers. There's a thousand women doing that already. I want to hear her push her voice and a drumset behind her!

Brandi Carlile has such an amazing voice - almost haunting. This new album is very moving and a great mix of music. Some of my favorite songs on the album are "Looking Out", "Dying Day" and "Dreams". Her style is truly unique with a blend of folk, pop, and a dash of country. "Caroline" is a perfect example of a song with a style that is reminiscent of older music with a new twist. It is refreshing to hear such talent across the board - wonderful voice, great (and unique) instrumentals, as well as beautiful and meaningful lyrics. Giving up the Ghost is a great album and follow-up to The Story.

Just saw Brandi and her band at The Fillmore (in SF) this week. Fantastic show. She and the twins were in fine form: blending voices and rocking out. She has a great personality too. So warm and unjaded. And Yet as the lyrics on this album indicate, the girl (and the guys - who co-wrote many of the songs) has depth.

In a world of simplistic and trite, gushy love songs, this album demonstrate that there are still many hidden truths; we're lucky to have Brandi and the boys peel back the layers and show us all the nuances of life and loves.