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Ghosts I–IV

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Untitled

Ghosts I–IV (also known as Halo 26) is the seventh studio album by Nine Inch Nails and was released on March 2, 2008. It contains 36 instrumental tracks and was recorded in ten weeks of autumn 2007 and is the first Nine Inch Nails album released without a record label contract.[1][2][3] Initially expected to be a five-track EP[citation needed], the album is presented in the form of four nine-track EPs. The tracks do not have names, and are only identified by their track listing, position, and album art on the EPs.

The album's initial release on the official Nine Inch Nails website suffered problems as the website crashed upon the album's release, and was not fully operational until March 4, 2008 because, according to Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, they needed to add extra servers to the site to handle the influx of downloaders. The album is also available for download on Amazon MP3. A 40-page PDF document of the album's liner notes was included with the official downloads. The PDF can also be requested for download at the official website. A week after the album release, the official Nine Inch Nails site reported over 750,000 purchase and download transactions, amassing over 1.6 million dollars in sales.[4]

Release

Ghosts I–IV was released online on March 2, 2008 on the official Nine Inch Nails website, without any prior advertisement or notice. Physical versions of the album will be released via RED Distribution on April 8, in both double CD and 4-LP formats.[1][2][3]

The album is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license.[5][6] Reznor states that an "exciting partnership and experience regarding this release" will be announced soon. Reznor has also stated that "more volumes of Ghosts are likely to appear in the future."[7]

Ghosts I–IV was released in a number of different formats at various price points:

  • Ghosts I (no halo number) — free
Contains the first nine tracks, available for free online from either the official Nine Inch Nails website or officially from various BitTorrent trackers, including The Pirate Bay. If downloaded from the official site, it also includes a 40-page PDF and additional wallpapers, web banners, and icons.[8]
  • Digital Release (Halo 26) — US$5 to download directly from NIN
The entire album in DRM-free formats, including high bitrate MP3 (320kb/s), FLAC and Apple Lossless available to choose from for download. Also includes the same extras as the free version.
  • Two-Disc Release (Halo 26 CD) — $10
Include two CDs and a sixteen-page booklet. Set to ship on April 8, 2008. Includes a web key for an immediate download of the album (see Digital Release above).
  • Deluxe Edition (Halo 26 DE) — $75
Includes two discs, a data DVD containing multitrack files for use with audio editing software, a 48-page hardback book with photographs, and a Blu-ray Disc with the album in high-definition 96 kHz 24-bit stereo and accompanying slide show. Set to ship on May 1, 2008. Pre-orders available at ghosts.nin.com and ainr.com. Also includes a web key for an immediate download of the album (see Digital Release above).
  • Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition (Halo 26 LE) — $300
Includes all features in the deluxe release — including a web key for an immediate download of the album (see Digital Release above). as well as 4LP vinyl, and two exclusive limited edition Giclée prints. Limited to 2,500 pieces, numbered and signed by Trent Reznor.[1][5] Pre-orders of this edition sold out within hours of its release.[9]

Film festival

On March 13, Reznor announced via the Nine Inch Nails' official website the creation of a user-created "film festival" as an accompaniment to the album, hosted at the official Nine Inch Nails Youtube channel. It was further revealed that the album was stripped of much artwork and song titles to provide a "canvas as blank as possible" for the project.[10] Reznor stated this endeavor is not a contest, but is "meant to be an experiment in collaboration and a chance for us to interact beyond the typical one-way artist-to-fan relationship."[11]

Critical reception

Critical reception to Ghosts I–IV has generally been favorable. Seth Colter Walls of Newsweek described the album as "the kind of absorbing musical experience that the surviving ranks of know-it-all record-store clerks would be pushing on customers, if only they could offer it for sale."[12] IGN gave the album an 8.7/10, and stated that "The music is so engrossing and encompassing that time ceases to be a factor – at least until the music finally stops."[13] Popmatters, who gave the album an 8 out of 10, stated that the album has "36 tracks, but no songs." The review goes on to call the release "dark, brooding...haunting."[14] However, Sputnikmusic's review of the album disagreed with fans and critics, calling the album "Byrne and Eno on training wheels", and "it collapses in its own strive for originality."[15]

The album's unorthodox distribution method has garnered much news sources' attention, such as Eliot Van Buskirk of Wired who labeled it a "remarkably extensive release,"[16] while The Wall Street Journal hypothesized that music executives could learn a lot from the Nine Inch Nails frontman’s experiments with online business models."[17]

Track listing

All songs written by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, except where noted.

Ghosts I

  1. "1 Ghosts I" — 2:48
  2. "2 Ghosts I" — 3:16
  3. "3 Ghosts I" — 3:51
  4. "4 Ghosts I" — 2:13 (Alessandro Cortini, Reznor, Ross)
  5. "5 Ghosts I" — 2:51
  6. "6 Ghosts I" — 4:18
  7. "7 Ghosts I" — 2:00
  8. "8 Ghosts I" — 2:56
  9. "9 Ghosts I" — 2:47

Ghosts II

  1. "10 Ghosts II" — 2:42
  2. "11 Ghosts II" — 2:17 (Reznor, Ross, Cortini)
  3. "12 Ghosts II" — 2:17
  4. "13 Ghosts II" — 3:13
  5. "14 Ghosts II" — 3:05
  6. "15 Ghosts II" — 1:53
  7. "16 Ghosts II" — 2:30
  8. "17 Ghosts II" — 2:13 (Cortini, Reznor, Ross)
  9. "18 Ghosts II" — 5:22

Ghosts III

  1. "19 Ghosts III" — 2:11 (Reznor, Ross, Cortini, Brian Viglione)
  2. "20 Ghosts III" — 3:39
  3. "21 Ghosts III" — 2:54
  4. "22 Ghosts III" — 2:31 (Reznor, Ross, Cortini, Viglione)
  5. "23 Ghosts III" — 2:43
  6. "24 Ghosts III" — 2:39
  7. "25 Ghosts III" — 1:58 (Reznor, Ross, Adrian Belew)
  8. "26 Ghosts III" — 2:25
  9. "27 Ghosts III" — 2:51 (Reznor, Ross, Belew)

Ghosts IV

  1. "28 Ghosts IV" — 5:22
  2. "29 Ghosts IV" — 2:54 (Reznor, Ross, Cortini)
  3. "30 Ghosts IV" — 2:58
  4. "31 Ghosts IV" — 2:25
  5. "32 Ghosts IV" — 4:25
  6. "33 Ghosts IV" — 4:01 (Reznor, Ross, Cortini)
  7. "34 Ghosts IV" — 5:52
  8. "35 Ghosts IV" — 3:29
  9. "36 Ghosts IV" — 2:19

Personnel

  • Trent Reznor — performance, production, art direction
  • Atticus Ross — programming, arranging, production
  • Alan Moulder — engineering, mix engineering, production
  • Alessandro Cortini — guitars (4, 11, 17, 20, 24, 28), bass (4), dulcimer (22), additional electronics (19, 22, 29, 33)
  • Adrian Belew — guitars (3, 4, 7, 10–11, 14, 16, 21, 25, 27, 31–32, 35), electronics (25), marimba (30)
  • Brian Viglione — drums (19, 22)
  • Tom Baker — mastering
  • Rob Sheridan — art direction, photography, visual and physical elements[7]
  • Artist in Residence — art direction, photography, visual and physical elements[7]
  • Phillip Graybill — photography
  • Tamar Levine — additional photography

References

  1. ^ a b c Cortney Harding and Jonathan Cohen (2008-03-02). "New Nine Inch Nails Album Hits The Web". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  2. ^ a b Dan (2008-03-02). "Nine Inch Nails release digital album". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  3. ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (2008-03-02). "Nine Inch Nails Surprise Fans by Web-Releasing New Ghosts Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  4. ^ Greg Kot (2008-03-12). "Reznor's one-week take for Ghosts: $1.6 million". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
  5. ^ a b Phillips (2008-03-02). "New Nine Inch Nails Album Available NOW". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2008-03-02. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |firs= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "Ghosts — FAQ". Nine Inch Nails. 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  7. ^ a b c Reznor, Trent (2008-03-02). "Ghosts — More Info". Nine Inch Nails. Retrieved 2008-03-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Nine Inch Nails (2008-03-03). "Nine Inch Nails — Ghosts I (2008)". The Pirate Bay. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  9. ^ "Reznor makes $750,000 even when the music is free". Ars Technica. 2008-03-05. Retrieved 2008-03-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Nine Inch Nails official website". 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Nine Inch Nails Announces Fan Film Festival". Cinema Blend. 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Walls, Seth Colter. "Nine Inch Nailed". Newsweek. Retrieved 2008-03-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Thompson, Ed. "IGN: Ghosts I-IV Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-03-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ Price, Mark A. "Nine Inch Nails: Ghosts I-IV". Popmatters. Retrieved 2008-03-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Dillon, Jared W. "Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV Review". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2008-03-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Van Buskirk, Eliot (2008-03-03). "Nine Inch Nails Gets Creative With Radiohead-Style Release". Wired. Retrieved 2008-03-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Worthen, Ben (2008-03-03). "Internet Lessons from Nine Inch Nails and Obama". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-03-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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