Kelsey Waldon Every Ghost
With Every Ghost, the new album by Kelsey Waldon, we are treated to a collection of songs that live in a place that, like the most appealing music, is indefinable. Sure, the sounds of country are well represented by pedal steel guitar and Kentucky fiddle but so are the deep blues of the Eastern Kentucky mountains with Kelsey’s lonesome vocals and the bluesy-twang of baritone and acoustic guitars. The late, great John Prine, who signed Kelsey to Oh Boy Records in 2019, would give his nod of approval and might even add his perfectly imperfect warble if he were still with us. Every Ghost is a bold and deeply personal record that stares down grief, addiction, and survival with clarity and soul with plenty of grit.
The album opener, “Ghost of Myself,” announces its intentions and toughness from the opening guitar run and the mix of half-time bluesiness that breaks into a heady country two-feel with push-pull of guitar , Kentucky fiddle, and pedal steel. “Falling Down” portrays addiction and a person in a cycle they can’t escape. “It’s about someone who just can’t quit,” Waldon says. “They’ve pushed everyone away, and now it’s just them and their addiction keeping each other company. It’s lonely, painful — and sometimes, no one is coming to save you. You have to save yourself.”
Cars (“Comanche”), birds (“Tiger Lilies”) and family (“My Kin”) are wistfully written about through reflections of the past and where she’s going. Every Ghost closes with the bluesy waltz of Hazel Dickens’ “Ramblin’ Woman,” bringing the album’s indefinable characteristic full circle in way of a tribute to Kelsey’s fellow Kentuckian.
Every Ghost was produced by Kelsey Waldon and Justin Francis. Kelsey and her acoustic guitar are aided and abetted by the band affectionately known as The Muleskinners: Junior Tutwiler (electric, baritone, high-strung, and lead acoustic guitar), Cooper Dickerson (pedal steel guitar), Blakely Burger (Kentucky fiddle), Erik Mendez (bass, Fender Rhodes, and Wurlitzer piano), and Evan Kesel (drums and percussion). Recorded and mixed by Justin Francis at Southern Grooves in Memphis, Tennessee; La La Land in Louisville, Kentucky; and The Pine Box in Nashville, Tennessee with additional recording by Anne Gauthier and Matt Ross-Spang. The album was mastered by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Sound in Nashville, Tennessee.
Kelsey has received numerous honors, including her recognition as a Kentucky Colonel and a feature in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2024 American Currents exhibit. Every Ghost, her sixth album, is a wonderful addition to a career that has been filled with a penchant for truth and deep emotional power.
Find the music here: https://kelseywaldon.bandcamp.com/album/every-ghost
Enjoy our previous coverage here: REVIEW: Kelsey Waldon “No Regular Dog”