''Ghost Ships'' is the ninth solo studio album by Australian singer-songwriter
James Reyne
James Michael Nugent Reyne OAM (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian rock musician and singer-songwriter both in solo work and, until 1986, with the band Australian Crawl.
Biography
Early years
Reyne was born in Lagos, Nigeria. His father, Ro ...
released on 29 September 2007. The album is an acoustic recording of songs from his solo career and
Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl (often called Aussie Crawl or The Crawl by fans) were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano/harmonica), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams (bass), Simon Binks (lead guitar) and David R ...
and
Company of Strangers songs.
It is the second album of acoustic recordings following the 2005 release of ''
And the Horse You Rode in On''. Later digital editions renamed this album ''Greatest Hits Acoustic 2''.
Background
During the time of the release of ''
Every Man a King
"Every Man a King" is a song cowritten by Louisiana's Governor and United States Senator Huey Long and Castro Carazo. Long was known for his political slogan "Every man a king," which is also the title of his 1933 autobiography and the catch-phr ...
'', Reyne reconnected with long time collaborator Scott Kingman to re-record more of his earlier work in an acoustic style. He said he was surprised at the success of the ''
And the Horse You Rode in On'' album and “it makes sense to continue in that vein."
When discussing the tracks from his albums ''
Design for Living
''Design for Living'' is a comedy play written by Noël Coward in 1932. It concerns a trio of artistic characters, Gilda, Otto and Leo, and their complicated three-way relationship. Originally written to star Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt and Cowa ...
'' and ''
Speedboats for Breakfast'', Reyne said, "I still love the originals and in my heart of hearts I felt a little disappointed those albums were overlooked to some extent, so here's another chance for people to hear them. It might turn them on to the original versions".
Review
Tomas Mureika of
All Music
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
said "Volume 2 of James Reyne's acoustic reimaginings of his back catalog is even more satisfying than the first, The song choices are braver and the arrangements are tighter.” Concluding with “this serves as a nice complement to his greatest-hits collection and -- with the combination of singles and rarities that make up this record -- it plays as a great Reyne album all on its own. Proof that an artist can rework their material and still come up with something fresh and new."
Track listing
;CD
# "
Beautiful People" - 3:04
# "Bug" - 4:37
# "
Way Out West" - 2:55
# "Burning Wood" - 3:31
# "Always the Way" - 6:01
# "Little Criminals" - 4:12
# "The Rainbow's Dead End" - 4:31
# "
The Boys Light Up
''The Boys Light Up'' is the debut album from Australian pub rock band Australian Crawl, which was released in 1980 and contains the title track, " The Boys Light Up", "Indisposed", "Downhearted" and their previously released debut single " Beau ...
" - 4:38
# "
Daddy's Gonna Make You a Star" - 4:05
# "I Don't Get Out Much Anymore" - 4:36
# "Goin' Fishin'" - 4:10
# "
Fall of Rome
The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...
" - 4:18
# "
Motor's Too Fast
"Motor's Too Fast" is a single from Australian rock musician James Reyne. It was included on the international and Australian 1988 re-release of his debut self titled solo studio album. It was the fifth single taken from the album overall.
"Mot ...
" - 3:49
# "
Red Light Avenue
"Red Light Avenue" is the first single from Australian rock musician James Reyne on his 1994 album ''The Whiff of Bedlam
''The Whiff of Bedlam'' is the fourth solo studio album by Australian singer/songwriter James Reyne released in October 19 ...
" - 4:03
# "Water Water" - 5:09
Credits
* Bass, Mandolin – Scott Kingman
* Guitar, Slide Guitar, Drums, Percussion – James Reyne, Scott Kingman
* Keyboards, Harmonica, Vocals – James Reyne
Charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2007 albums
Liberation Records albums
James Reyne albums