Second Time Around

by Ned RaggettGhost's second album, following one year on from the self-titled debut, saw a slight shift in the lineup, with Krishna out on percussion, replaced by Iwao Yamazaki. Guest performer Kazuo Ogino also became permanent, introduced from the start with his Celtic harp on the opening "People Get Freedom," while multi-instrumentalist Takizawa and bassist/singer Kohji Nishino continued from before. Batoh as always remained the center around which all revolved, with even more eerily beautiful and powerful music than before. All members were credited with a large number of percussion instruments, from bell tree and Tibetan bells to "some nameless bells and stones," further intensifying the aura of ancient and mysterious rites that hangs through Ghost's music. The blend of influences both Western and Eastern results in a series of fine syntheses, perhaps even stronger than on Ghost. "Higher Power," with oboe and finger cymbals among much more, and "First Drop of the Sea," which could almost be a calmer Scott Walker number from the late '60s at points, both capture this sense of broad listening to grand effect. Batoh can be straightforward as he chooses, thus the title track, for one example. He almost sounds a bit like Bowie in lighter cabaret mode (an approach he generally maintains throughout the record) even while the acid folk atmosphere gently kicks along, sometimes with quiet drama in the arrangements. When the band fully kicks in, as on the rolling "Forthcoming From the Inside," everything achieves powerful heights as a result. His lyrics throughout are often quite striking -- his images of ceremonies, seeking the spiritual amid the mundane and more often make a lot more sense than the fuzzier hoo-hah coming from his West Coast psych/Krautrock forebears. This is especially saying something the case of the former, given that English isn't his first language.