The Residents – The Ghost of Hope
6th March 2017The Residents are amazing story tellers & have released an amazing body of work. 60+ albums since 1972, is quite an achievement & well worth bragging about.
Their latest album, The Ghost Of Hope, doesn’t fail to disappoint either. Every track is historically accurate & wherever possible, contain a lyrical reference to the original source material. The source material in question? Train wrecks of the 9th & 20th century. I think you’d agree that this is a seriously interesting topic to cover.
The opening track (for example)The Horrors of the Night tackles the subject of a horrendous train accident back in 1892 where 6 men tragically lost their lives & featured in the lyrics is an excerpt from the only woman on the train.
The Great Circus Train Wreck of 1918 is a phenomenal piece of storytelling. Not only is the story quite horrific but the lyrics are not an easy on the mind. The imagery they conjure up is one of disbelief & incredibly shocking.
The media book that houses the CD & booklet is fabulous. The booklet itself is split into 2 sections. The 1st section being the actual story of the incident, the 2nd part being the lyrics. Each track is written like a poem & the avant-garde/progressive music that backs them is sublime.
It’s well worth reading the stories before listening to the CD as it gives a whole new perspective to how The Residents have approached & interpreted each track.
To compare this to a typical progressive concept album is so unfair to this opus. The entire record is mind-blowing & will alter your perspective of train wrecks in general as it puts you firmly on the train with those involved.
I cannot express how impressed I was with this album. The Residents have produced yet another amazing album & they’re certainly not running out of steam anytime soon.
The album is due for release via Cherry Red 24th March 2017 & is available to pre-order HERE & check out the band HERE
Score 8/10
Track List
1. HORRORS OF THE NIGHT
2. THE CRASH AT CRUSH
3. DEATH HARVEST
4. SHROUD OF FLAMES
5. THE GREAT CIRCUS TRAIN WRECK OF 1918
6. TRAIN VS ELEPHANT
7. KILLED AT A CROSSING
