Ghosts of West Virginia | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 22, 2020 | |||
Studio | Electric Lady (New York City) [1] | |||
Length | 29:46 | |||
Label | New West | |||
Steve Earle chronology | ||||
|
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.7/10 [2] |
Metacritic | 82/100 [3] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
American Songwriter | [5] |
Classic Rock | [6] |
Exclaim! | 8/10 [7] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
Ghosts of West Virginia is the twentieth studio album by American country musician Steve Earle, credited to Steve Earle and the Dukes. It was released on May 22, 2020, under New West Records. [1] Most of the songs were written for the off-Broadway play Coal Country about the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in 2010. Earle collaborated on the play written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, drawing on interviews with survivors and families of the miners. [1]
Ghosts of West Virginia was met with "universal acclaim" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 82, based on 10 reviews. [3]
Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Rolling Stone | Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year | 47 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Heaven Ain't Goin' Nowhere" | 1:39 |
2. | "Union, God and Country" | 2:23 |
3. | "Devil Put the Coal in the Ground" | 2:53 |
4. | "John Henry Was a Steel Drivin’ Man" | 3:28 |
5. | "Time is Never on Our Side" | 2:55 |
6. | "It's About Blood" | 4:33 |
7. | "If I Could See Your Face Again" | 2:57 |
8. | "Black Lung" | 3:19 |
9. | "Fastest Man Alive" | 2:51 |
10. | "The Mine" | 2:48 |
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Scottish Albums (OCC) [10] | 7 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [11] | 33 |
UK Albums (OCC) [12] | 61 |
UK Americana Albums (OCC) [13] | 1 |
UK Country Albums (OCC) [14] | 5 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [15] | 5 |
US Folk Albums (Billboard) [16] | 8 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [17] | 36 |
US Top Album Sales (Billboard) [18] | 7 |
US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [19] | 44 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [20] | 48 |
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