Needle Bed [Enhanced]

John Ralston | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 6, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Vagrant Records
• ASIN: B000FILVUA
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #266,939 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. No Catcher in the Rye

2. It's Not Your Fault

3. Hang a Sign

4. When We are Cats

5. I Believe in Ghosts

6. No One Said It Was Easy

7. Gone Gone Gone

8. Time for Me to Ruin Everything

9. Keep Me

10. Avalanche

11. Our Favorite Record Skips

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Accidents do happen. Just ask Florida-based singer-songwriter John Ralston. Or better yet, listen to Needle Bed, his debut album for Vagrant Records, and a stark collection of 11 honest, deeply personal songs, that—to hear Ralston tell it—came about almost entirely by accident.

The unlikely story begins with a chance meeting between the artist and Needle Bed collaborator Michael Seaman in Ralston’s hometown of Lake Worth, Florida. Over the next few weeks, the two would record some rough demos together. The coming months would find Ralston increasingly stifled musically and emotionally, so when Seaman, who had since moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, suggested another impromptu recording session.

"As soon as Jeff and I drove up there and started recording, we knew we weren’t just doing demos. We knew that we were making an album."

In the months following the recording of Needle Bed, Ralston put together a band and after only one rehearsal, ventured northward to open a string of shows for another longtime musical cohort, Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional. "I think the first night we sold close to 300 CDs," remembers Ralston about the initial reaction to the early, limited pressing of Needle Bed. This prompted Ralston to look into giving Needle Bed a proper release, and again, Ralston needed look no further than his friends, in this case Vagrant Records, with whom Ralston had fostered something of an informal relationship.

John Ralston is as surprised as anybody by his accidental success story. But he by no means plans to rest on his laurels. Even while rehearsing with his live band to take Needle Bed on the road, Ralston is nevertheless hard at work on his next round of songs. "I write all the time," says Ralston admitting to having written "probably over 200 songs" in the time since the Needle Bed sessions. "I thought it was commonplace to just write all the time, but I’m realizing that a lot of artists don’t. But that’s the only thing that I can do. I’m not suited for anything else."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Sound!, March 25, 2006

By 

BJ Chaput "college student" (Worcester, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Needle Bed (Audio CD)

I saw these guys open for Dashboard Confessional and they were fantastic. After the show I bought Needle Bed and it didn't disappoint. My favorites are Gone Gone Gone and Time For Me To Ruin Everything. It's definitely a worthwhile purchase.

01. No Catcher In The Rye
02. It's Not Your Fault
03. Hang A Sign
04. When We Are Cats
05. I Believe In Ghosts
06. No One Said It Was Easy
07. Gone Gone Gone
08. Time For Me To Ruin Everything
09. Keep Me
10. Avalanche
11. Our Favorite Record Skips

4.0 out of 5 stars Album is Great - no need to seek around to your fav songs, November 24, 2007

By 

C. A. Funkhouser (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Needle Bed (Audio CD)

It's so refreshing to see 'nowadays' (sorry if that word makes me sound too old) bands that record a complete album, instead of an album with a single radio-worthy hit and then make the rest of the album filler.

I must admit, there's nothing real profound in the lyrics. None-the-less, the tunes themselves managed to give me goosebumps. Ralston's lyrics are the same throughout the entire album - similar to a whisper - and there isn't help from other band members, so depending on how much you like the tunes, the album will be ubiquitous and grand or monotonous. I loved it.

I'd recommend that readers sample the songs:

I Believe in Ghosts
When We Are Cats
Gone Gone Gone
Keep Me

If I had to compare him to anything I guess I'd say he kinda reminds me of Elliott Smith's sound.

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING!!!, November 21, 2006

By 

GUY N. HEAD "Livvie<3" (US of A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Needle Bed (Audio CD)

I L-O-V-E this CD, and John Ralston for that matter.
Almost EVERY song was amazing.
I bought this at a Dashboard concert, (he was the opening act), and I ended up liking him better than them. So I bought the Cd after.
Been listening to it since.
Some of my FAVORITE songs, were "I believe in ghosts", and "hang a sign".
GREAT Voice.
INCREDIBLE Lyrics.
overall... AMAZING!!!
~Livvie <3
(& yes I like my CAPS key) : )