Greg Dale - Winter's Ghost

Greg Dale

Winter's Ghost
self-released; 2017

​4.0 out of 5 

By Jamie Funk

Greg Dale is an artist from San Francisco who recently released a solo album entitled Winter's Ghost. Dale is no rookie to making music. He has played in groups like The Night Falls and Gary Floyd and the Buddha Brothers to name a few. 

​Winter's Ghost is an album to appreciate from many reasons but I felt Dale was as his strongest when the songs were covered in melancholy. Take for instance the heartfelt and emotionally resonant “New Morning.” The L.A. Noir vibe mixed with Pink Floyd is a great concoction.

​Even better may be “Rodeo” where Dale’s vocals really shine. He has a gritty, scratchy voice which at times has a resemblance to Bruce Springsteen. Finally, “White Factory Noise” is a slow moving, emotive tearjerker that gets into pretty epic territory. Don’t miss the ending to this track.

Dale can be unpredictable. The beginning of “Visitor” has a wonderful jazzy intro that seamlessly transitions into a riff that sounds more like rock/pop. As the song progresses it can be quite frantic and almost tribal with percussion and ghostly vocal harmonies. The song flirts with topics like aliens and existential questions. He sings, “way {from} way out in the stars come the visitors what do they see chaos and beauty have they been here all along (letting us do what we do).”

He closes with “Water Bearer.” Dale’s vocal performance is expressive and dynamic on this track. On top of that his lyrics are poetic and poignant. He sings, “I feel the wind of the past blow through the hollows of this empty crevice see a change need to come we are tearing at the seams Of a world undone.”

Winter's Ghost is a dynamic album. The energy is up and down which made it a pleasure to listen to in sequential order. Dale’s experience shows on this album and makes for an example of how multi-dimensional a solo album can sound. Recommended.

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