Ghost
Psychedelic mystery nomads from Japan led by Masaki Batoh, Ghost has slowly built a following among psych, post-rock, mope-rock, shoegazing and hippie crowds with their Amon Duul-ish acoustic jams that often (d)evolve from Nick Drake sadness (and bells) into howling frenzy. The intensity of their performances can astound, and you can certainly hear their influence on the Elephant 6 collective and bands such as Tower Recordings. This first LP from 1990 (not released domestically until 1997), sounds like the others, and, like Amon Duul I, if you like it you'll like them all. Of course all the AD I records came from a single performance.--D. Strauss