Ghosts of the Great Highway - SUN KIL MOON
Mark Kozelek’s triumphant 2003 debut as Sun Kil Moon gets a second look with this new edition, rereleased on his own Caldo Verde label. Whereas “Ghosts” glows with ragged, Crazy Horse-style rockers (”Salvador Sanchez,” “Lily and Parrots”) and the gripping epic “Duk Koo Kim,” the six-song bonus disc that accompanies this new version spotlights Kozelek’s gentler, acoustic side. Of particular interest are two different (albeit unrecognizable) arrangements of Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere,” one flecked with strings, the other with Spanish guitar counterpoint. But the real treats are on the album itself. The heartbreaking “Carry Me Ohio” and the hopeful “Gentle Moon” are some of the best songs Kozelek has ever written, his lyrics vivid, his playing sublime. “Glenn Tipton” sums it up best, as Kozelek recalls vintage pleasures and pain in equal measure: “I’ll never breathe her name again/But I like to dream about what could have been.” Billboard
