Ghost of a Dog

Ghost of a Dog
Studio album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
Released	October 30, 1990 [1]
Genre	Alternative rock, jangle pop, folk-rock
Length	53:29
Label	Geffen [2]
Producer	Tony Berg [3]
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians chronology
Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars (1988) Ghost of a Dog (1990) Stranger Things (2006)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B− [6]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[2]

Ghost of a Dog is the second album by American alternative rock band Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, released in 1990. ^{[7] [8]}

In the printed lyrics that accompany the album, each song has a word with a single letter missing. In order, they spell out "ghost of a dog."

The album sold about 500,000 copies. ^[9] After a tour in support of the album, the band decided to take an indefinite hiatus. ^[10]

Production

The album was produced by Tony Berg. Unlike on the debut, where many tracks used session musicians, the New Bohemians play throughout Ghost of a Dog. ^[11]

Critical reception

The Los Angeles Times thought that "Brickell and the Bohemians band do a reasonable job of recycling the soothing elements of ‘60s pop-folk, but her own views are so childlike and her images so often pointless that it’s hard to work up any feeling for them." ^[12] Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Brickell can write lyrically about the difference between the desire for romantic independence and desire itself. But just when she starts to show some grit, she’ll drift toward smiley-faced ditties like 'Oak Cliff Bra' — songs so cloying they make you wonder if Brickell underwent a lobotomy between tracks." ^[6] The New York Times declared that none of the songs recaptured the charm of the first album's "What I Am". ^[13] The Chicago Tribune wrote that Brickell's "ability to write wisely about the bad stuff of romance with a marked lack of anger toward the opposite sex makes her unique and-for postmodern romantics-endearing." ^[14]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Mama Help Me"	Edie Brickell, Kenny Withrow, John Bush	4:02
2.	"Black and Blue"	Edie Brickell	3:55
3.	"Carmelito"	Edie Brickell, Kenny Withrow, Wes Burt-Martin, Brad Houser, Matt Chamberlain, John Bush	4:12
4.	"He Said"	Edie Brickell	5:24
5.	"Times Like This"	Edie Brickell, Kenny Withrow	2:56
6.	"10,000 Angels"	Edie Brickell, Kenny Withrow, John Bush	6:06
7.	"Ghost of a Dog"	Edie Brickell, Kenny Withrow	1:34
8.	"Strings of Love"	Edie Brickell, Kenny Withrow	4:13
9.	"Woyaho"	Edie Brickell, Kenny Withrow	2:34
10.	"Oak Cliff Bra"	Edie Brickell	1:28
11.	"Stwisted"	Edie Brickell	5:09
12.	"This Eye"	Edie Brickell	3:18
13.	"Forgiven"	Edie Brickell, Kenny Withrow, Wes Burt-Martin, Brad Houser, Matt Chamberlain, John Bush	5:35
14.	"Me By the Sea"	Edie Brickell	3:03

Personnel

The New Bohemians

• Edie Brickell – vocals, acoustic guitar
• Kenny Withrow – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro, slide guitar, backing vocals
• Wes Burt-Martin – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, backing vocals, string arrangements (9)
• Brad Houser – bass
• Matt Chamberlain – drums
• John Bush – percussion

Additional musicians

• Tony Berg – keyboards, guitars, string arrangements (9)
• Paul Fox – keyboards
• Danny Timms – acoustic piano (1)
• Jo-El Sonnier – accordion (3)
• Paul "Wix" Wickens – keyboards (8)
• David Mansfield – acoustic guitar (8)
• Larry Corbett – cello (9)
• Novi Novog – viola (9)
• Sid Page – violin (9)
• John Lydon – backing vocals (8)

Production

• Tony Berg – producer, mixing (5, 14)
• Chris Lord-Alge – recording
• Susan Rogers – recording, mixing (7, 12)
• David Thoener – recording
• Ken Jordan – additional recording
• Greg Goldman – assistant engineer
• Mike Reiter – assistant engineer
• Bob Clearmountain – mixing (1–4, 6, 8–11, 13)
• George Marino – mastering
• Robin Sloane – creative director
• Lyn Bradley – design, layout
• Janet Wolsborn – design, layout
• Ann Cutting – photographic tinting

Studios

• Recorded at Bearsville Studios (Bearsville, New York); The Village Recorder and Zeitgeist Studios (Los Angeles, California).
• Mixed at A&M Studios (Hollywood, California).
• Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York).

Charts

Album – Billboard (United States)

Year	Chart	Position
1990	The Billboard 200	32 [15]

Singles – Billboard (United States)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1990	"Mama Help Me"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	26
1990	"Mama Help Me"	Modern Rock Tracks	17

Notes

1. "October see onslaught of boxed sets, star releases" (PDF). Billboard . 6 October 1990. p. 84. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
2. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 81.
3. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 158.
4. Ghost of a Dog at AllMusic
5. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 831.
6. "Ghost of a Dog". EW.com.
7. "Edie Brickell & New Bohemians | Biography & History". AllMusic.
8. "Sings Like an Angel, Laughs Like a Texan". Christian Science Monitor. December 24, 1990 – via Christian Science Monitor.
9. "She'll take songs over spotlight". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
10. "What It Is". www.austinchronicle.com.
11. "The Garden of Edie". New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. November 12, 1990 – via Google Books.
12. "1/2 EDIE BRICKELL & NEW BOHEMIANS "Ghost of a Dog" Geffen". Los Angeles Times. October 28, 1990.
13. Holden, Stephen (December 16, 1990). "Review/Music; Rock by Edie Brickell and New Bohemians (Published 1990)". The New York Times– via NYTimes.com.
14. Willman, Chris (10 January 1991). "WHAT IS SHE?". chicagotribune.com.
15. "Edie Brickell". Billboard.