The cover for the soundtrack of the film "Ghost World" makes you believe that the contents of the music would consist of hip and cutting edge modern rock and pop music. But, for anyone who has seen the film, this collection is anything but that. This great movie spotlights the unlikely friendship between Enid (Thora Birch) and the nerdy and insolated 78 RPM collection Seymour (Steve Buscemi). Enid is surprised to find that she likes the sound and lyrics of a 78 record that Seymour sells to Enid; "Bye Bye Baby Blues" by Little Hat James. We begin to hear various cuts of many different and original 78 recordings by various artists. Some tracks are recent re-recordings of classic 78's, but the modern and slick sound doesn't take away from the power and soul of the original songs. After a few listens to this collection, we begin to find the same charm in these recordings that Seymour loyally embraces in the movie.
The main bulk and focus of these recordings show off the blues and blue grass sounds that were prevelant in the 1920's and 30's. For some strange reason, the opening credits of the movie features "Jaan Pehechaan Ho" by Indian "rocker" Mohammed Rafi. Recorded in 1965 for an Indian feature film, the song is oddly "hip" and just as fun as the other surf rock hits that have made a comeback over the last few years. What's great about the old recordings here, is that you hear much of the blues sound that inspired artists like The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and even early Pink Floyd. One of my favorites here, "Devil Got My Woman" by Skip James, shows off some very impressive blues guitar picking. James' soulful and almost falsetto vocals are the basic groundwork for all of the basic blues and jazz recordings over the last seventy years. In a way, this simple soundtrack is the base of all the great popular music we know of today. Not all of this is blues or jazz inspired either. "Las Palmas De Maracaibo", an instrumental by Lionel Belasco, contains some wonderful percussion and horns that give this calypso flavored samba song plenty of charm and passion. Of the newly re-recorded 78's, "Scalding Hot Coffee Rag" by Craig Ventresco features some very intense yet inspired guitar playing that would rank up there with many of the great acoustic guitar players around today. Since this was originally "a rag", it was probably first recorded on piano in similar fashion to many of the great Scott Joplin recordings of the 1910's and 20's. Arguably the most interesting addition here is "C-h-i-c-k-e-n Spells Chicken" by The McGee Brothers. Possibly the most catchiest number here, the song proves that political correctness wasn't in "vogue" during this time! Ironically, this song relates well to Seymours collection of old restaraunt signs from that same era (you'll have to rent the movie to see the relationship). The cd finishes off in great fashion. Besides "C-h-i-c-k-e-n..", "Bye Bye Baby Blues" by Little Hat Jones is masterfully sung while he picks away on acoustic guitar; "I try to love my sweet woman, but she didn't understand... but I know she'll realize the trouble since she met another man...". Your basic "woman done me wrong" blues lyrics, somehow the meaning rings more true when heard on a scratchy 78 recording.
Easily one of my favorite movies of last year, "Ghost World" is well written, acted, and the subject matter is a fresh alternative to the one dimensional scripts that you see in the majority of movies that are churned out regularly. The choice of interesting and forgotten songs that accompany this movie is another reason to applaud the originality of this work.
