BSPH: Alan Vega - Ghost Rider

New versions of the old songs are nothing new. Usually, it is a shameless cash-in on one's glorious past, an exploitation of the devoted fanbase. But sometimes an artist manages to subvert the original and reinterpret it in a way that brings a couple of new shades to the original and somewhat changes its substance.

Case in point - Alan Vega's solo version of "Ghost Rider".



"Ghost Rider" is a song written by Alan Vega and Martin Rev of legendary synth punk band Suicide. It was originally released on the band's 1977 eponymous album. Alan Vega had released his version of the song in 1981 on an album titled "Collision Drive".

This version is a slight elaboration on the original with a couple of new flourishes, an expanded lyrics and a completely new sonic aesthetic that somehow manages to fit the theme and the tone of the song even better than the original. It is a weird example of the successful reinvention of the song by its author. The song retains the intensity of the original, but manages to be distinct enough to hold on its own and build upon the original.

In its core, the "Collision Drive" version of "Ghost Rider" is a rockabilly song. Unlike the monotonous solid drum machine grooves slashed by the thudding synth vamp of the original version, "Collision Drive" version is played by actual musician and that brings a completely different dynamics to the song.

The song is rolling with that rockabilly straitjacket swing. In fact, its skeletal primitivist arrangement owes a lot to early The Cramps stuff.

The monotonous stomp of the song consists of the one track mind drums, detuned piano, constipated guitar lines and thumping bumbling bass.

The song starts and ends with the pitch sweeping whopping wailing drone - an allusion to the revving engine. It is joined by 4x4 permabasskick polka dot beat that creates a rock solid groove underlying of the song. The drums are on the offensive in a meat mincing way.

Over the course of the song, the drums are joined by clapping. This brings some reminiscence of the classic Stooges stompers. In a way, it sounds as if the song was submerging into a quicksand substance with those claps.

The bass part is weird. It plays the iconic three note motif so sloppily it merges into a subsonic quakes - it is not as much a bass line as a melodic undercurrent as it is a physical pushing of the song forward with its groove. Funny thing is that at times the bass player gives up on playing the motif and he just plays along some stuff that sometimes sticks out of the tune. This bass combined with morose detached drums creates a beat to behold. It is disjointed and yet it works due to its ferrocious tenaciousness.

The other elements of the groove are manic guitar and honky tonk detuned piano. Both guitar and piano are playing simple two note rambling riff that goes on top of the song as if it was attached to it with a duct tape. They work as a background flashing behind - a sonic wallpaper. They ignore everything that goes on in the song.

The lyrics are slightly expanded with a couple of more phrases fleshing out the title character of the song - The Ghost Rider. There are more references to the Ghost Rider being on fire, swinging the chain and being an utter force of destruction blazing away. No mentions of the blue jumpsuit though. I guess it was out of fashion then. Weirdly enough, the way the lyrics are structured resemble a good old Delta Blues chantey. It boomerangs around - goes for a walk on the theme and then goes back to the central refrain.