Ghost on Ghost is the fifth studio album from innovative South American singer-songwriter Sam Beam also known as Iron & Wine. The progression of Beam’s style has been quite pronounced over the years and this album is a continuation of that trend. The development of a spare solo guitar, to more soul-funk-inspired big band music is quite notable – Ghost on Ghost is of course no exception, the musical diversity put forward by his previous album Kiss Each Other Clean is continued here. The song ‘Grace for Saints and Ramblers’ displays very well the lyrical prowess of the artist – and also it is a great example of how good Beam is at producing a catchy song without having to revert to the kind of clichéd stuff that plagues the charts.
The song reminds me of the opening track on Kiss Each Other Clean in that it almost takes you by surprise that one man and a guitar as seen in Beam’s early work could reinvent his style so much to reach this point.
This album is certainly less edgy than some of his previous work, which was at times was extremely unsettling. As much as I enjoy the change of pace of Beam’s new work I do feel something has been lost – the simplicity of his early work always emphasised the poetry in his lyrics. And as much as I like this album, I do not feel the lyrics are anywhere near as profound or beautiful as they have been in the past, especially those seen in The Shepherd’s Dog and Our Endless Numbered Days.
The lyrics do not stand alone the way they used to, which is unfortunate for an artist who I believe is one of the best lyricists ever. I would prefer he return to stripped down songs with profound lyrics than have more interesting instrumentation whilst sacrificing his lyrical talent in the process.
Beam has also moved anyway from the sampling and electronic influences that we heard in Kiss Each Other Clean. All in all, I believe this album is good, but it certainly is not his best work.