Schoolyard Ghosts
Encyclopedia
Schoolyard Ghosts is the name of the sixth studio album by British
art rock
band No-Man
.
Recorded in the UK, France, Sweden and the USA and released on May 12, 2008, the album features contributions from Bruce Kaphan
(American Music Club
, Red House Painters
), drummers Pat Mastelotto
(King Crimson
) and Gavin Harrison
(Porcupine Tree
, King Crimson
), saxophonist/flautist Theo Travis
, and the London Session Orchestra arranged by Dave Stewart (Hatfield and the North
, Egg
, Stewart and Gaskin etc.).
In his online diary Tim Bowness
mentions that, despite following a difficult year and being typically melancholy in places, the tone of the album is more optimistic than anything the band have done before. He also says "All Sweet Things" and "Truenorth" are perhaps the pinnacle of the band's achievements.
A promotional Schoolyard Ghosts microsite was created by the band's label, K-Scope. It first featured a music video
for "Truenorth - Part Two" which was thereafter replaced for a video of the song "Wherever There Is Light". No-Man fan site "A Confession" has also created a dedicated Schoolyard Ghosts microsite featuring the video for "Truenorth - Part Two" and album lyrics. The No-Man MySpace
page also includes extracts from the album.
(UK), Rock Sound
(UK), Goldmine
(USA), Record Collector
(UK), Eclipsed (Germany), Metal Hammer
(Germany), Metal Hammer (Poland), Free! (Finland), Rolling Stone
(Mexico), Jam (Italy), and Allmusic.
In June 2008, the album was #1 in Prog Archives' Member's Albums of the Year chart and #474 in Rate Your Music
's reader's albums of 2008. In October 2008, the album was #5 in the Eclipsed magazine's reader's charts. In January 2009, the album was rated #23 in the Eclipsed critic's end of year lists.
of the album, a photo gallery and videos for 3 songs. The first 2000 copies of the album obtained from the No-Man online store
came with an exclusive 6 track, 20 minute, bonus disc of alternates and edits. It sold out within 2 weeks of the pre-release announcement.
.
All lyrics by Bowness.
"Beautiful Songs You Should Know" was written by Bowness with Giancarlo Erra of the Italian band Nosound
and the two recorded an alternative version of the song for the album called "Warm Winter" which they released under the moniker Memories of Machines
. The song "Mixtaped" is a reworked version of a Tim Bowness solo demo called "Schoolyeard Ghosts". A proper recording of this version was later also included on "Warm Winter".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
art rock
Art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
band No-Man
No-Man
No-Man are a British art-pop duo formed in 1987 as No Man Is An Island by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson . The band has so far produced six studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections...
.
Recorded in the UK, France, Sweden and the USA and released on May 12, 2008, the album features contributions from Bruce Kaphan
Bruce Kaphan
Bruce Kaphan is a musician who has worked on many studio projects, often as a pedal steel player, from 1970 to 2011. In particular he was a member of American Music Club.-Albums:Albums he has worked on include:* Schoolyard Ghosts* Everclear...
(American Music Club
American Music Club
American Music Club is a San Francisco-based alternative rock band led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel.-History:Although born in California, Eitzel spent his formative years in Okinawa, Taiwan, Great Britain and Ohio before returning to the Bay Area in 1981...
, Red House Painters
Red House Painters
Red House Painters were an alternative rock group formed in 1989 in San Francisco, California by singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek.-History:While in Atlanta, Georgia, Ohio-born Kozelek became friends with Anthony Koutsos, a drummer. He then moved to San Francisco, California, adding guitarist Gorden...
), drummers Pat Mastelotto
Pat Mastelotto
Pat Mastelotto is a rock drummer who has worked with Mr. Mister and King Crimson, amongst others. For King Crimson he initially formed part of the "double trio" lineup, joining Bill Bruford on drums...
(King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
) and Gavin Harrison
Gavin Harrison
Gavin Harrison is a British drummer and percussionist. He is best known for playing with the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree which he joined in 2002. As of 2008, he also plays with the band King Crimson....
(Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...
, King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
), saxophonist/flautist Theo Travis
Theo Travis
Theo Travis is a British saxophonist and flautist.Travis received his degree in flute and saxophone from the University of Manchester and has worked among others with Robert Fripp, Gong, Porcupine Tree, The Tangent, Bill Nelson, Bass Communion, No-Man, Steven Wilson, David Sylvian, Harold Budd,...
, and the London Session Orchestra arranged by Dave Stewart (Hatfield and the North
Hatfield and the North
Hatfield and the North were an experimental Canterbury scene rock band that lasted from October 1972 to June 1975, with some reunions thereafter.-Career:...
, Egg
Egg (band)
Egg were an English progressive rock band formed in January 1969.-Career:The founding members of the group were Dave Stewart who played organ , Mont Campbell on bass and vocals and drummer Clive Brooks...
, Stewart and Gaskin etc.).
In his online diary Tim Bowness
Tim Bowness
Tim Bowness is a singer/songwriter primarily known for his work as part of the band No-Man, a long-term project formed in 1987 with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson.-Music career:...
mentions that, despite following a difficult year and being typically melancholy in places, the tone of the album is more optimistic than anything the band have done before. He also says "All Sweet Things" and "Truenorth" are perhaps the pinnacle of the band's achievements.
A promotional Schoolyard Ghosts microsite was created by the band's label, K-Scope. It first featured a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Truenorth - Part Two" which was thereafter replaced for a video of the song "Wherever There Is Light". No-Man fan site "A Confession" has also created a dedicated Schoolyard Ghosts microsite featuring the video for "Truenorth - Part Two" and album lyrics. The No-Man MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page also includes extracts from the album.
Reception
Reviews for the album have generally been very favourable, with positive reviews and interviews featured in Classic RockClassic Rock (magazine)
Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...
(UK), Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
(UK), Goldmine
Goldmine (magazine)
Goldmine, established in 1974, is an American magazine that focuses on the collectors' market for records, tapes, CDs, and music-related memorabilia. Each issue features news articles, interviews, discographies, histories, current reviews on recording stars of the past and present. Discographies...
(USA), Record Collector
Record Collector
Record Collector is the United Kingdom's longest-running monthly music magazine. It distributes both within the UK and worldwide. It started in 1979.-The early years:...
(UK), Eclipsed (Germany), Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
(Germany), Metal Hammer (Poland), Free! (Finland), Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
(Mexico), Jam (Italy), and Allmusic.
In June 2008, the album was #1 in Prog Archives' Member's Albums of the Year chart and #474 in Rate Your Music
Rate Your Music
Rate Your Music is a metadata database where musical albums, EPs, singles, videos, bootlegs, and movies are rated and reviewed by users. This data is then used to generate recommendations for users and to create rated lists of albums...
's reader's albums of 2008. In October 2008, the album was #5 in the Eclipsed magazine's reader's charts. In January 2009, the album was rated #23 in the Eclipsed critic's end of year lists.
Formats
The album is available in a CD/DVD-A audiophile edition and comes in a digipack format with booklet and also features a 5.1 mix5.1 surround sound
5.1 is the common name for six channel surround sound multichannel audio systems. 5.1 is now the most commonly used layout in both commercial cinemas and home theaters. It uses five full bandwidth channels and one low frequency enhancement channel . Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS, and...
of the album, a photo gallery and videos for 3 songs. The first 2000 copies of the album obtained from the No-Man online store
Burning Shed
Burning Shed is an independent record label established in April 2001 by musicians Tim Bowness and Peter Chilvers, in association with duplication company manager and former Noisebox Records boss, Pete Morgan....
came with an exclusive 6 track, 20 minute, bonus disc of alternates and edits. It sold out within 2 weeks of the pre-release announcement.
Promotion
To promote the album, the band played its first performances for fifteen years in London, Düsseldorf and Zoetermeer. The London Bush Hall performance was recorded for the first No-Man's DVD, MixtapedMixtaped
Mixtaped is the first DVD release by British art rock group No-Man, consisting of a double DVD with a live performance filmed at the London's Bush Hall on August 29, 2008, and a retrospective documentary titled Returning directed by award winning journalist Richard Smith, amongst other features...
.
Track listing/Line-up
Music by No-Man, except "Beautiful Songs You Should Know" (Bowness / Erra) and "Song of the Surf" (No-Man / Murphy).All lyrics by Bowness.
- "All Sweet Things" - 6:47
- "Beautiful Songs You Should Know" - 4:26
- "Pigeon Drummer" - 6:18
- "Truenorth" - 12:48
- "Wherever There is Light" - 4:21
- "Song of the Surf" - 6:12
- "Streaming" - 3:32
- "Mixtaped" - 8:36
"Beautiful Songs You Should Know" was written by Bowness with Giancarlo Erra of the Italian band Nosound
Nosound
Nosound is an Italian progressive rock band that started as a vision by Giancarlo Erra. All of the early recordings were composed, played, produced, engineered, and released by Erra. As time passed, this music became more popular and the demand for live performances increased...
and the two recorded an alternative version of the song for the album called "Warm Winter" which they released under the moniker Memories of Machines
Memories of Machines
Memories Of Machines is a band formed by Tim Bowness and Giancarlo Erra in April 2006.-History:Memories of Machines emerged as a full project following Bowness' first collaborations with Nosound during the mid-2000s. This began with a song called "Someone Starts to Fade Away" which eventually...
. The song "Mixtaped" is a reworked version of a Tim Bowness solo demo called "Schoolyeard Ghosts". A proper recording of this version was later also included on "Warm Winter".
Bonus material
The original No-Man Store edition featured an exclusive 6 track, 20 minute, bonus disc of alternates and edits.- "Truenorth" Part 1 - strings - 1:50
- "Truenorth" Part 2 - alternate - 3:51
- "Beautiful Songs You Should Know" - alternate - 4:06
- "Pigeon Beater" - 3:04
- "Song of the Surf" - alternate - 3:49
- "Truenorth" Part 2 - video edit - 4:19
Personnel
- Tim BownessTim BownessTim Bowness is a singer/songwriter primarily known for his work as part of the band No-Man, a long-term project formed in 1987 with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson.-Music career:...
– vocals, musical boxMusical boxA music box is a 19th century automatic musical instrument that produces sounds by the use of a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc so as to pluck the tuned teeth of a steel comb. They were developed from musical snuff boxes of the 18th century and called carillons à musique...
, mellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, chime guitars, vocal loops. - Steven WilsonSteven WilsonSteven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
– piano, acoustic and electric guitarsElectric GuitarsElectric Guitars were formed early in 1980 by Neil Davenport and Richard Hall who were both studying English at Bristol University. The band soon increased to a five-man line-up, with Andy Saunders , Matt Salt and Dick Truscott , they also later added two backing singers: Sara and Wendy...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, harmony vocals, musical box, electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, harpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, harmoniumHarmoniumA harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
, percussion, drum programming. - Theo TravisTheo TravisTheo Travis is a British saxophonist and flautist.Travis received his degree in flute and saxophone from the University of Manchester and has worked among others with Robert Fripp, Gong, Porcupine Tree, The Tangent, Bill Nelson, Bass Communion, No-Man, Steven Wilson, David Sylvian, Harold Budd,...
– fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, soprano sax (tracks 4, 5 and 8). - Peter ChilversPeter Chilvers (musician)Peter Chilvers is a Cambridgeshire-based British musician and composer best known as a collaborator with Brian Eno and Tim Bowness.Chilvers is one of the three co-founders of the Burning Shed online record label, with Tim Bowness and Pete Morgan....
– samples from ‘surfacing’ (track 1). - Colin EdwinColin EdwinColin Edwin is a member of the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, where he plays both fretted and fretless bass guitar as well as double bass and guimbri. He joined the band in December 1993...
– fretless acoustic bass (track 2) - Rick Edwards – percussion (track 2)
- Marianne De Chastelaine – cello (track 2)
- Pat MastelottoPat MastelottoPat Mastelotto is a rock drummer who has worked with Mr. Mister and King Crimson, amongst others. For King Crimson he initially formed part of the "double trio" lineup, joining Bill Bruford on drums...
– drums, percussion (tracks 3 and 6) - Fabrice Lefebvre – yang t’chin (track 4)
- Andy Booker – electronic percussion (track 4), drum loop (track 7)
- Bruce Kaphan – pedal steel guitar (tracks 5 and 7)
- Pete Morgan – bass (track 7)
- Gavin HarrisonGavin HarrisonGavin Harrison is a British drummer and percussionist. He is best known for playing with the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree which he joined in 2002. As of 2008, he also plays with the band King Crimson....
- drums (track 8) - Strings arranged by Dave Stewart and performed by the London Session Orchestra.
External links
- No-Man's Official Website.
- Schoolyard Ghosts microsite at Kscope/Snapper Music.
- "A Confession" - No-Man Fan Site (includes a Schoolyard Ghosts microsite).
- No-Man MySpace Page (includes audio samples from the album).