Tripping Through the Past

THE GREEN PAJAMAS
Ghosts of Love
(Get Hip)
Originally released in 1990 on vinyl and cassette only, Ghosts of Love gets new lease on life via Get Hip, bringing much-deserved attention to the Green Pajamas, one of America's greatest underground bands. The Seattle-based psych rock combo has been gracing us with luminous slices of paisley pop since the early 1980s, and Ghosts of Love is the apotheosis of their sound. Leader Jeff Kelly and his cohorts are complete masters of their form, easily surpassing the efforts of the more highly-touted L.A. Paisley Underground, which was dissolving about the time this album came out. There's a blatant folk influence running through the record, not so much in form (though that's present as well) as in the understanding of what makes a song last through generations. Melody reigns supreme here, as the arrangements use spaced-out effects only when absolutely necessary, and then only in support of the songs themselves. And what songs they are—"Angles of Passion," "The Death of Molly Bernard," "Melancholy Sun," "Emily Grace" (a bonus track originally released as a single) and the title tune make a strong case for Kelly as one of America's great unsung tunesmiths. Ghosts of Love is superbly written, strongly performed and, yes, even haunting. Michael Toland

For fans of: the Bevis Frond, Rain Parade, the Coffee Sergeants