Like or Dislike: Ghosts

[The Tower]

Originally Posted by skcin

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!

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".

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by The Tower

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.

[nightbird89]

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!

[foxyluva]

Originally Posted by nightbird89

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 If there was karma on this site, I would have given you some

[nightbird89]

Originally Posted by foxyluva

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

lol thanx

[David]

Originally Posted by skcin

Meh. Another tune that could have been so much more, musically, lyrically and vocally. 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 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

[JazmenFlowers]

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

[foxyluva]

Originally Posted by David

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

Ohh, I love that line - That is my line

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

[Johnny Stew]

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?)

[sparky]

Originally Posted by Rickypt

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

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.

[THINKABOUTIT]

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

[foxyluva]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

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?)

I agree completely with everything you just said - 100%

[Janis_no1]

Originally Posted by JazmenFlowers

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

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!

[skcin]

Originally Posted by The Tower

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".

Originally Posted by JazmenFlowers

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.

Oh, now I get it. Thanks boys!

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

[The Tower]

Originally Posted by skcin

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

Absolutely.

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".