Customer Reviews

Walking With A Ghost + 4 Live Tracks

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

 

 

Walking With A Ghost- A simple and already catchy tune to begin with kicks off this great EP. The song is given The WS treatment, with wailing guitar breaks (interesting Whammy work!), and of course; a charming drum beat from Meg! Jacks vocals are great as well. The other live songs have already been released on other various WS singles; however, I think the "Walking" cover, and really nice artwork justifie this purchase (and if you haven't heard the live songs on here, they are great too!) and is a great gift for any music fan!

The White Stripes cap off another successful year with the December '05 release of this E.P., which contains some interesting live bonus tracks.

"Walking With a Ghost" (5 tracks, 19 min.) starts off with a sweet shout-out to Tegan & Sara, covering their "Walking With a Ghost" from their 2004 album "So Jealous". But the real meat on this E.P. are the 4 live tracks. Tracks 3 and 4 are radio in-studio live versions of "As Ugly As I Am" and a rousing "The Denial Twist" from the "Get Behing Me" album. "Same Boy You've Always Known" is a Jack-only accoustic take on the "White Blood Cells" track. The best is saved from last: a 5+ min. "Screwdriver" that showcases why the White Stripes are such an exciting live act. Jack and Meg are on the top of their game on this track, just great.

This E.P. is not "essential" in the White Stripes catalogue, but I look at it as a nice end-of-the-year gift to WS fans. While I'm not always sold on the WS albums, I have seen them live in 2005, and they surely are one of the most rousing live acts around, and this E.P. does justice to that.

The live stuff on here is great, I can never hear enough versions of "Screwdriver".

The title track, a cover of a Tegan & Sara song, is great too. It actually served as a springboard for me to check out the original band, of whom I am now a big fan.

The White Stripes had another great year with the release of the album Get Behind Me Satan. It was so effortless that we might have had a déjà vu moment. The White Stripes are one of the great bands of the era. Here they already have an EP out. "Walking With A Ghost" is a song by Tegan & Sara. It is not too different from "Blue Orchid." You have some live tracks from their recent 2005 tour. It was an amazing show. I got to see them twice. "Same Boy You've Always Known" and "Screwdriver" are recorded in Brazil to some big audiences. "As Ugly As I Seem" and "The Denial Twist" (their latest video) were recorded in the studios at KCRW during their stint in Los Angeles in August 2005. This is another great collectable.

I thought the cover was pretty cool. I love Tegan and Sara to death so the thought of super-cool white stripes doing a cover thrilled me. I definitly wasn't disappointed. I enjoyed "waliking with a ghost" 100%. The rest of the songs of course have all been heard, but they were still quite enjoyable.

This EP is really very good. "Walking With A Ghost" is a fantastic cover, and all the live tracks are amazing.
"Same Boy You've Always Known" is, of course, a live classic.

This album is definitely worth the money.

If you're new to the White Stripes, don't get this album. Get one of the five LP's, which are all incredible. This is more for people who are already fans of the band. I actually don't care a whole great deal for the cover of Tegan & Sara's hit "Walking with a Ghost," but it's alright. Actually, I liked the live tracks more. Even so, while they are all amazing Stripes songs, it is more like something intended for fans than anything else. I don't really think they're newer releases will be a template from this.

On the other hand, a new album, "Icky Thump" is coming out in awhile. We'll see how that one turns out.

Unsurprisingly, a new White Stripes album is going to overshadow a small live/cover EP like "Walking With A Ghost + 4 Live Tracks." But this little collection is worth checking out anyway,

It opens with a cover of indiepop sisters Tegan & Sara's "Walking With A Ghost," now White-Striped. This version is much hard-rockier and more angular, with jabs of rough guitar and wails from Jack White. Where Tegan and Sara sounded mildly perturbed by their "walking with a ghost," Jack sounds on the edge of breaking down completely. Steady there.

And, this having "+ 4 Live Tracks," we're then treated to some fairly good, low-key renditions of White Stripes tunes: a mellow version of "The Same Boy You've Always Known," where you can hear cheers and handclaps from the audience, the mournful "As Ugly As I Seem."

After the sorrowful pair of songs, we finally get some rockin'. Jack and Meg smash through the tune of "The Denial Twist," with snarly singing and lots of rough drums'n'bass. And after a hearty round of applause from the audience, they launch into the roaring bass of "Screwdriver."

Wedged in the midle of the last song is "Passive Manipulation," a solo where Meg sings, "Women, listen to your mothers/don't succumb to the wishes of your brothers..." Then Jack lets rip for one grand finale, a blast of raw vocals and equally raw instrumentation.

Well, the White Stripes know how to make their odds and ends worth the money -- smashing together a quirky cover with their live performance. While the cover is good -- not as enticing as the original, admittedly -- the live performance is what really rocks.

At first, things don't seem to be too energetic. Jack sounds very depressed, and only acoustic guitar and a few drums break through. But after a couple of very low-key songs, Meg and Jack start giving it their all. The result is absolutely electric -- kinetic music, ripping singing, and to judge from the applause, the audience loved it.

There's a muddy edge to the music, like many live performances, and it's a credit that their musical skills that the White Stripes can make this EP a good addition to any fan's collection. And yes, the cover is nice too.

Great cover of Tegan and Sarah's "Walking With a Ghost" (a nice seguay from "Little Ghost") with the Stripes' stamp on it. And a taste of the live shows too. More good stuff that showcases the Stripes tremendous live talent. A bit different than their recent release this stuff harkens back to earlier days.

Being a massive White Stripes fan, this purchase was worth the one song that wasn't released anywhere but on this disc. The four live tracks can all be found elsewhere. So for the one new song and four fantastic songs played live, it is a great collection.