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Ghosts of the Great Highway is the 2003 debut album by San Francisco quartet Sun Kil Moon
Sun Kil Moon

Sun Kil Moon is the project of singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek, best known for his previous band, Red House Painters. Sun Kil Moon sees Kozelek undertake the writing, composing, singing and guitar playing accompanied by Tim Mooney and Anthony Koutsos on drums, and Geoff Stanfield on bass....
, led by Red House Painters
Red House Painters

Red House Painters were an alternative rock group formed in 1989 in San Francisco by singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek. They, along with American Music Club, are considered the linchpins of the slowcore movement in alternative rock....
' founder Mark Kozelek
Mark Kozelek

Mark Kozelek is an United States singer/songwriter and frontman of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters....
, who composed all of the lyrics and music on this album. The other members are Geoff Stanfield, Anthony Koutsos and Tim Mooney.

Kozelek has said he considers Sun Kil Moon essentially the Red House Painters (especially given the participation of Painters' original drummer Koutsos), but that he opted for a new name (and the impression of a new band) in response to critics who had gotten bored with (or stopped paying attention to) Red House Painters.






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Ghosts of the Great Highway is the 2003 debut album by San Francisco quartet Sun Kil Moon
Sun Kil Moon

Sun Kil Moon is the project of singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek, best known for his previous band, Red House Painters. Sun Kil Moon sees Kozelek undertake the writing, composing, singing and guitar playing accompanied by Tim Mooney and Anthony Koutsos on drums, and Geoff Stanfield on bass....
, led by Red House Painters
Red House Painters

Red House Painters were an alternative rock group formed in 1989 in San Francisco by singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek. They, along with American Music Club, are considered the linchpins of the slowcore movement in alternative rock....
' founder Mark Kozelek
Mark Kozelek

Mark Kozelek is an United States singer/songwriter and frontman of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters....
, who composed all of the lyrics and music on this album. The other members are Geoff Stanfield, Anthony Koutsos and Tim Mooney.

Kozelek has said he considers Sun Kil Moon essentially the Red House Painters (especially given the participation of Painters' original drummer Koutsos), but that he opted for a new name (and the impression of a new band) in response to critics who had gotten bored with (or stopped paying attention to) Red House Painters. The move was successful, as this has been Kozelek's biggest selling album to date, while receiving near-unanimous critical praise.

The album is marked instrumentally by both quiet acoustic numbers (including the addition of Portuguese guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
 to the instrumentation), gently winding country-influenced folk-rock and louder, Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse was a respected war leader of the Oglala Lakota, who fought against the U.S. federal government in an effort to preserve the traditions and values of the Lakota people way of life....
-esque distorted guitar. Vocally this album seems more extroverted than his previous work, the lyrics
Lyrics

Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song, either by speaking or singing. The word 'lyric' comes from the Greek word ,lyricos, meaning "singing to the lyre"....
 balancing epic tragedy ("Salvador Sanchez
Salvador Sánchez

Salvador S?nchez Narvaez was a Mexican boxer born in the town of Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de M?xico....
," "Pancho Villa
Francisco Guilledo

Pancho Villa was the pseudonym by which the legendary Filipino people flyweight boxer Francisco Guilledo was best known. Villa, who stood only 5 feet and 1 inch tall and never weighed more than 114 pounds , rose from obscurity to win the World Flyweight list of current world boxing champions in 1923, earning acclaim in some...
" and "Duk Koo Kim
Duk Koo Kim

Duk-Koo Kim was a South Korean boxing who died following a boxing match against Ray Mancini....
", all titled for deceased boxers — "Pancho Villa" refers not to the revolutionary, but to a Filipino boxer who fought under that name), personal emotional states, and an occasionally surprising lightness of spirit ("Sí, Paloma").

"Glenn Tipton
Glenn Tipton

Glenn Raymond Tipton is one of the guitarists for the British heavy metal music band Judas Priest. Prior to joining Judas Priest, he was in The Flying Hat Band....
," the album's opener, is named for the guitarist of metal band Judas Priest
Judas Priest

Judas Priest is an England Heavy metal music band formed in 1969 in Birmingham. Judas Priest's core line-up consists of bass player Ian Hill, vocalist Rob Halford and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K....
. The speaker makes comparative reference to the band's other guitarist, K.K. Downing. Cassius Clay
Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is a retired United States boxing and former three-time List of heavyweight boxing champions.As an amateur, Ali won a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in the light heavyweight division gold medal....
, Sonny Liston
Sonny Liston

Charles L. "Sonny" Liston was a professional boxing who became List of Heavyweight Champions in 1962 by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round....
, Clark Gable
Clark Gable

Clark Gable was an Cinema of the United States, nicknamed "The King of Hollywood" in his heyday. In , the American Film Institute named Gable seventh among the AFI's 100 Years......
, Jim Nabors
Jim Nabors

James Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an United States actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California due to his asthma....
 and Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton

Bobby Vinton...
 are also name-checked in the song, with the observation that people tend to prefer one over the other.

"Duk Koo Kim
Duk Koo Kim

Duk-Koo Kim was a South Korean boxing who died following a boxing match against Ray Mancini....
" is a fourteen-and-a-half minute (the fatal Ray Mancini-Duk Koo Kim fight ended in the middle of the 14th round) epic that stands out from the rest of the album for its shifting sonic waves of sound and for Kozelek's impassioned, flexible vocal performance. It is one of the most experimental tracks on the album, drawing more from psychedelia than the introspective country, folk and heavy rock of the rest of the album. This song dates back to at least 1996, when it started appearing in Red House Painters set lists. Kozelek had also released a 10" vinyl record under his own name, featuring two versions of the song, earlier in 2003.

Ghosts of the Great Highway received positive reviews from the music press and its success paved the way for the release of a second Sun Kil Moon album in 2005, a collection of Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in the Seattle suburb of Issaquah, Washington by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock , drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy....
 cover songs called Tiny Cities
Tiny Cities

Tiny Cities is the second album by Mark Kozelek's Sun Kil Moon, released November 1, 2005. It features the same lineup from their debut release, Ghosts of the Great Highway. This album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005 ....
.

Ghosts of the Great Highway was re-issued as a double CD on February 6, 2007 on Kozelek's own label, Caldo Verde Records
Caldo Verde Records

Caldo Verde Records is a San Francisco-based indie rock and folk music record label founded by Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon frontman Mark Kozelek in 2005....
. The second disc features 6 bonus tracks, including two versions of Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein was a multi-Emmy-winning and Academy Award for Original Music Score nominated American Conductor , composer, author, music lecturer and Piano....
's "Somewhere," and the instrumental track "Arrival," which was originally recorded for the movie The Girl Next Door. The songs "Carry Me Ohio" and "Lily And Parrots" were featured in the film Shopgirl
Shopgirl

Shopgirl is a 2005 in film United States romance film drama film directed by Anand Tucker. The screenplay by Steve Martin is based on his bestselling Shopgirl ....
, where Kozelek also co-starred.

Track listing


CD:

Album:
  1. "Glenn Tipton
    Glenn Tipton

    Glenn Raymond Tipton is one of the guitarists for the British heavy metal music band Judas Priest. Prior to joining Judas Priest, he was in The Flying Hat Band....
    " - 4:16
  2. "Carry Me Ohio" - 6:21
  3. "Salvador Sanchez
    Salvador Sánchez

    Salvador S?nchez Narvaez was a Mexican boxer born in the town of Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de M?xico....
    " - 6:29
  4. "Last Tide" - 2:55
  5. "Floating" - 3:19
  6. "Gentle Moon" - 5:18
  7. "Lily and Parrots" - 4:18
  8. "Duk Koo Kim
    Duk Koo Kim

    Duk-Koo Kim was a South Korean boxing who died following a boxing match against Ray Mancini....
    " - 14:32
  9. "Sí, Paloma" - 5:32
  10. "Pancho Villa
    Francisco Guilledo

    Pancho Villa was the pseudonym by which the legendary Filipino people flyweight boxer Francisco Guilledo was best known. Villa, who stood only 5 feet and 1 inch tall and never weighed more than 114 pounds , rose from obscurity to win the World Flyweight list of current world boxing champions in 1923, earning acclaim in some...
    " - 5:12


Re-issue bonus disc:
  1. "Somewhere" - 2:13
  2. "Carry Me Ohio" (Alternative Version) - 5:24
  3. "Salvador Sanchez
    Salvador Sánchez

    Salvador S?nchez Narvaez was a Mexican boxer born in the town of Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de M?xico....
    " (Acoustic) - 4:14
  4. "The Arrival" - 2:28
  5. "Somewhere" (Version 2) - 2:15
  6. "Gentle Moon" (Live Radio Recording) - 4:41


Double 12" vinyl:

Side A:
  1. "Glenn Tipton" - 4:16
  2. "Carry Me Ohio" - 6:21
  3. "Salvador Sanchez" - 6:29


Side B:
  1. "Last Tide" - 2:55
  2. "Floating" - 3:19
  3. "Gentle Moon" - 5:18
  4. "Lily and Parrots" - 4:18


Side C:
  1. "Duk Koo Kim" - 14:32


Side D:
  1. "Sí, Paloma" - 5:32
  2. "Pancho Villa" - 5:12
  3. "Gentle Moon" (Acoustic) (bonus track) - 4:57


Singles

  • "Duk Koo Kim" (Mark Kozelek
    Mark Kozelek

    Mark Kozelek is an United States singer/songwriter and frontman of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters....
     solo) (September 15, 2003)
    • Limited edition 10" vinyl single (limited to 2,000 copies worldwide), features acoustic studio version and live version.


External links