Performer Notes

Solo performer: Bill Frisell (acoustic & electric guitars, banjo, loops).
Recorded at Mobius Music, San Francisco, California.
GHOST TOWN is another winning set from the prolific guitarist and composer. This is a solo set with Frisell on electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, and bass. His regular cohort, Lee Townsend, produced the multi-tracked pieces. Some of the pieces are built over looped beds, while others have austere and elegant solitary voicings. 11 of the selections are Frisell originals and the remaining five covers offer a compelling glimpse into the range of his musical interests. Frisell is as at home in country standards by A.P. Carter ("Wildwood Flowers") and Hank Williams ("I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry") as he is with the works of Gershwin ("My Man's Gone Now") and Heyman & Young ("When I Fall In Love"), and even John McLaughlin ("Follow Your Heart"). This is another album rich with the breadth of the American musical landscape, a fine companion to his NASHVILLE and HAVE A LITTLE FAITH albums.

Professional Reviews

Alternative Press (7/00, p.94) - 3 out of 5 - "...Bizarre....gradually emerging as an almost airtight, emotionally barricaded sonic universe....This is not hillbilly music; rather, it is music intended to evoke 'hillbilly culture' to those who have never left a major city..."

The Wire (5/00, p.69) - "...His first solo guitar album....Frisell tinkers with [Hank] William's 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry' and the Gershwin's 'My Man's Gone Now' from PORGY AND BESS, 2 eternal songs which he expertly picks away at like a hungry buzzard until only the bare bones remain."

CMJ (3/27/00, p.23) - "...A milestone in the career of a true innovator - enchanting as anything he has done and a clear window into his muse."

Down Beat (8/00, p.27) - Ranked #3 Jazz Album in Downbeat "Critics Poll 2000".

Down Beat (6/00, pp.69-70) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...So immaculately layered and natural sounding that you can't imagine any other guitarist duplicating it....painting Frisell as the contented, beauty-worshipping man he is."

JazzTimes (8/00, pp.91-2) - "...[He] is like a painter dealing with guitaristic layers....Spare as the setting is, [he] invests a lively world feeling behind economic material....[It] is the polar opposite of background music....he's the friendly guitar anti-hero of our time."

No Depression (3-4/00, p.113) - "...a lyrical Utopia where the one-of-a-kind guitarist can indulge his love of glowing heartland melodies in splendid isolation....The bright, vibrant sound...from his layered picking and strumming lights up the room..."

Album: Ghost Town
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Tell Your Ma, Tell Your Pa
2)	Ghost Town / Poem For Eva
3)	Wildwood Flower
4)	Creep
5)	Variation on a Theme (Tales From the Farside)
6)	Follow Your Heart
7)	I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
8)	What a World
9)	My Man's Gone Now
10)	Outlaw
11)	When I Fall in Love
12)	Big Bob
13)	Winter Always Turns to Spring
14)	Justice and Honor
15)	Fingers Snappin' and Toes Tappin'
16)	Under a Golden Sky

Album: Ghost Town
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Tell Your Ma, Tell Your Pa
2)	Ghost Town / Poem For Eva
3)	Wildwood Flower
4)	Creep
5)	Variation on a Theme (Tales From the Farside)
6)	Follow Your Heart
7)	I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
8)	What a World
9)	My Man's Gone Now
10)	Outlaw
11)	When I Fall in Love
12)	Big Bob
13)	Winter Always Turns to Spring
14)	Justice and Honor
15)	Fingers Snappin' and Toes Tappin'
16)	Under a Golden Sky