Like or Dislike: Ghosts
 

Meh. Another tune that could have been so much more, musically, lyrically and vocally. :shrug: It's pretty blah for me. I don't feel much when I hear this tune, but I don't really dislike it either. Another one that's just...there.

I get what she's going for, I really do. It's bittersweet, looking back on your life, looking forward & wondering about what will happen next, knowing that people and experiences you've had will always be with you. So it should make me feel something, right? Sadness, hope, depression, desparation, fear - SOMETHING?!?! But it doesn't, it's just a nice little song, nothing more. And that pisses me off, for some reason.

Music? Drab & cloudy. Vocal? Sung too low & no emotion.
Bbbbbbbbbllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. :(

another one I really love, because I can overlook the horrid chorus. the verses and the vamping in this song just makes me wet. I love the awesome backing vocals. Stevie has this way of making her voice so fragile and thin, but hauntingly strong at the same time. and TOSOTM really shows that part of her voice at it's ultimate goddessness.

the chorus knocks it down a point b/c it is stinkier than pig slop in July.

"way up there in heaven" and "depends on it like a husband" are probably my favorite parts of the song...so it's interesting those are the lyrics used for the poll. (that just fascinated me, don't ask why)

I think it is so-so. It's one that I feel could have been much better with a lot of work, but just lacks passion. I don't really like the repetition of the word "ghost".

I do, however, love this one part:

So long ago I was an innocent
It had nothing to do with age
One day they were lovers one day they were friends
There was nothing else to say

oh oh oh...yes, yes, YES. that! is my favorite part.

oh hell, I love it all.

If the whole song had matched that part, this song would be in my top 10 Stevie songs for sure. :nod:

:o I know...it's the chorus isn't it? go ahead, you can say it...it's that damn chorus.

I love it when Stevie is singing a demo and can't hit a note and she says "there it is...it's that f*cking note" - lol.

Oh, yeah. :nod: :nod:

It's especially good when she revisits the "One day..." line at the end of the bridge and rips it.

This song is clunky. The "depends on her music..." and "silver haired girl looks..." lines are not good- something only a completely-blind-faith-chiffonhead would love (:wavey: Jizzy!).

I always get chills when she does "So, you look to your guardiaannnnn...." right before the end vamp, though.

And, as I've said before, no one backs Stevie's vocals better than Stevie. I think that's the hallmark of The Other Side of the Mirror- Stevie does background vocals allllll over the place.

lol. I can own it.
see post #2. amen child, amen.

Guys, what exactly is the "vamp?" People post about it, I see it in lyric sheets, and I've no clue what exactly the "vamp" is. Help! :o

:lol: :lol:

I picked second from the top, because I so much like the lyric

"It's just the ghost of what you want to be
And the ghost of the past that you live in

It's just the ghost of what you really want
And it's the ghost of the past that you live in
And it's the ghost of the future you are frightened of"

There are some lyrics I don't like, though. Then there are some music parts I don't like.
Here's the diagram:

"And the rain was there
There were many nights
And a few of them, were all that you had dreamed of
Love was the thing
And you feel as if someone was following you
But you know you are wrong
It's just the ghost of what you want to be
And the ghost of the past that you live in
Like this whole part ^

It's just the ghost of what you really want
And it's the ghost of the past that you live in
And it's the ghost of the future you are frightened of
Like this part ^

So you look to your guardian angel
Dislike music and lyric^

So long ago I was an innocent
It had nothing to do with age
Like lyric, dislike music^

One day they were lovers one day they were friends
There was nothing else to say
Love music, lyric fine^

Well just the ghost of what you want to be
And the ghost of the past that you live in
It's the ghost of the future that you're so frightened of
Love^

So you turn to your guardian angel
again, no. Hate^

And a few of them were all that you really dreamed of
Love was the thing
So the silver-haired girl looks for escapism
Music and lyric both questionable^ Music better.

To feel the empty spaces she's feeling
She depends on her music like a husband
And she knows it's no good to fall in love again
Music I like, lyric I understand, and it's okay. Not great. ^

One day they were lovers one day they were friends
There was nothing else to say
Love music, again. Lyric fine^

It's just the ghost of the past of what you want to be
And the ghost of the past that you live in
Ghost of the future that you're so frightened of
Love again^

So you look to your guardian
So you look to your guardian angel
Some of them are here on earth
Well some of them are way up there in heaven

So you look to your guardian angel
Some of them are here on earth
Some of them are way up there in heaven heaven"
Hate all ^

But when I say hate, it's a very mild hate, more like a dislike.

This is one of Stevie's most important songs for me. It is my anthem :cool:

btw - my favourite part of the song is 'Depends on her music like a husband...' too!!!

Interesting, I think those two lines are fantastic, musically.

So if you mean dislike when you say hate, what do you mean when you say dislike? :shrug: :laugh:

dislike means I almost don't like it...so close, just barely missed being hated....:laugh:

I've always considered teh "vamp" to be the voice that argues or agrees with Stevie's main vocal. does that make sense? Wild Hear is the best example. near the end where the 2 voices are fighting over each other. the vamp is more than backing, but not main. Stevie vamps her ass off.

A vamp in music is an improvised solo, usually related to another part of the song.

My favorite Stevie vamps are "Gate and Garden", "Battle of the Dragon", "Enchanted" and, of course, "Gold Dust Woman".

a much better explanation than mine and makes more sense. danke.

I LOVE this song! I love the vocals, i personally think there is a lot of emotion put into it, and It's a very powerful, haunting song. love the synth on it too!

Yay for You :woohoo: If there was karma on this site, I would have given you some :thumbsup:

lol thanx:blob2:

I love this song, although it's not in the extreme front rank of Stevie masterstrokes. I think what keeps it from being Stevie classic is the dogged mainstream quality of the instrumentation--I mean, if this were Florida, it would be Dade Center. I like a lot more personality & perversity in my pop music, which is why I have always liked Lindsey Buckingham & Fleetwood Mac so much.

But other than that, I think "Ghosts" really works well. Stevie once described it as a hymn, & I think it is hymnal: it's stately, like an ancient text. The chord progression--from the tonic to the subdominant, with a bass line that settles on the third--provides the musical emotion for the poignant lyrics. The fade-out is done lovelily, with Stevie's doubletracked voice echoing down the corridor like Joni Mitchell's Ladies of the Canyon. It somewhat raises the hair on the back on my neck. It's refreshing hearing this primordial-sounding melody in a solidly major key, too, & not resorting to one of Stevie's overused modes.

The track also has one of the most interesting bridges of any Stevie Nicks recording. It dives into a weirdly minor subdominant, but then settles so beautifully & resolves--just when you think "How the hell is this going to resolve?"--to the tonic, with chords alternating & words suffused with longing & emptiness. Was Stevie ever at a lower point philosophically?

To feel the empty spaces she's feeling
She depends on her music like a husband
And she knows it's no good to fall in love again

Ghosts (acapella)
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...286D023741F996

Ohh, I love that line - That is my line :angel:

I love the whole depressing nature of "OSOTM" - I adore it.

This and "Doing The Best That I Can" are tied for me as the two best songs on 'Mirror' (with "Ooh My Love" right on their heels). Very beautiful, very sad, very moving.

My favorite part (and there have been times in my life when I absolutely related to these lines):

"To fill the empty spaces she's feeling, she depends on her music like a husband... and she knows it's no good to fall in love again...."

(I know the lyric sheet says, "to feel the empty spaces," and everyone always types it out as such -- but the way Stevie sings it sounds to me like "fill" and then "feeling." Does anyone else hear the difference?)

This is a great line and probably has more truth to it than any other verse on the record. But I am not such a fan of the song. I hate how she wanders back into the third person. If it had all been written first person it would have been much more powerful. The whole switching from I, to You, to She drives me bat****.

It is interesting that so many people like that whole music/husband couplet. It makes me barf ! The first time I heard it, I can clearly remember wincing and wondering what the hell that was all about. It was when I felt the whole record start to fall apart. It confirmed the uneasiness that slapped me during Two Kinds Of Love. I am not a fan of wimpy whiny Stevie. I prefer the angry Stevie or the matter of fact wise Stevie, who is clear and present in the quote above.

The music, as David says, is interesting. Many thanks to Mike Campbell, but the rest just doesn't hang with me.

This is one of my faves!! :blob1: I know I'm not alone out there :laugh: TOSOTM is my fave album, but still, Ghosts is so beautiful!!! :blob1: Anyone? Anyone? Anyone seen this before? :lol:

I agree completely with everything you just said - 100% :xoxo:

:( it no work!!

I ibviously need to take a closer look at this song.... since so mayn of you really like it, i must try to hear what you hear.....

Im looking forward to hearing this acapella version!! Different versions and demo's can make a song a completely new experience... IE: Smile at you!

Oh, now I get it. Thanks boys! ;)

Hey - would the additional lyrics at the end of live versions of Rhiannon be considered a vamp? :shrug:

Absolutely. :nod:

Her whole "Dreams unwind, love's a state of mind..." thing is a vamp. As well as the whole "and you say, 'Nooooo, ASdkjfalsdjf;aijefl;asikedfuaiovnwopawienvoiedjhfa!!!!'" from Mirage live "Sisters of the Moon".

I love it. And it's all about the guardian angels for me. When it builds to the end "some of them are here on earth...and some of them are way up there in Heaven" I could cry. The people you lose in your life come spiraling back at that part. Then of course the rest of the song is pretty damn depressing so it's all a big "whaaaa" fest for me. Love it.