Ghosts of West Virginia - Misplaced Pages

2020 studio album by Steve Earle

Ghosts of West Virginia

Studio album by Steve Earle

Released

May 22, 2020 (2020-05-22)

Studio

Electric Lady (New York City)

Length

29:46

Label

New West

Steve Earle chronology

Guy
(2019)

Ghosts of West Virginia
(2020)

J.T.
(2021)

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.7/10
Metacritic	82/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
American Songwriter
Classic Rock
Exclaim!	8/10
Rolling Stone

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. 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.

Critical reception

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.

Accolades

Accolades for *Ghosts of West Virginia*
Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
Rolling Stone	Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year	47

Track listing

*Ghosts of West Virginia* track listing
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

Charts

Chart performance for *Ghosts of West Virginia*
Chart (2020)	Peak position
Scottish Albums (OCC)	7
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	33
UK Albums (OCC)	61
UK Americana Albums (OCC)	1
UK Country Albums (OCC)	5
UK Independent Albums (OCC)	5
US Folk Albums (Billboard)	8
US Independent Albums (Billboard)	36
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)	7
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)	44
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)	48

References

^ "Steve Earle & The Dukes Announce Release Date For 'Ghosts of West Virginia'". American Songwriter. February 27, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
"AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
^ "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
Deming, Mark. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
Horowitz, Hal (May 20, 2020). "Steve Earle Pays Tribute to West Virginia Coal Miners on Tough, Raw and Moving Album". American Songwriter. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
Yates, Henry (May 22, 2020). "Steve Earle's Ghosts of West Virginia: an undeniably powerful, angry work". Classic Rock. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
Mullin, Kyle (May 19, 2020). "Steve Earle and the Dukes Decry Blue-Collar Tragedy on 'Ghosts of West Virginia'". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
Bernstein, Jonathan (May 21, 2020). "Steve Earle & the Dukes' 'Ghosts of West Virginia' Offers a Powerful Image of American Tragedy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
Schwartz, Danny (June 17, 2020). "Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of 2020 - Mid-Year". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
"Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
"Swisscharts.com – Steve Earle & The Dukes – Ghosts of West Virginia". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
"Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
"Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
"Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
"Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
"Steve Earle Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
"Steve Earle Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
"Steve Earle Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
"Steve Earle Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
"Steve Earle Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2020.

v t e Steve Earle
Studio albums	Guitar Town Exit 0 Copperhead Road The Hard Way Train a Comin' I Feel Alright El Corazón The Mountain (with the Del McCoury Band) Transcendental Blues Jerusalem The Revolution Starts Now Washington Square Serenade Townes I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive The Low Highway Terraplane Colvin & Earle (with Shawn Colvin) Ghosts of West Virginia J.T. Jerry Jeff
Compilation albums	Early Tracks Essential Steve Earle Ain't Ever Satisfied: The Steve Earle Collection The Devil's Right Hand: An Introduction to Steve Earle Sidetracks 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Steve Earle
Live albums	Shut Up and Die Like an Aviator BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert Together at the Bluebird Café (with Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt) Just an American Boy Live from Austin, TX Live at Montreux 2005
Notable singles	"What'll You Do About Me" "A Little Bit in Love" "Hillbilly Highway" "Guitar Town" "Someday" "Goodbye's All We've Got Left" "Nowhere Road" "Sweet Little '66" "Copperhead Road" "Six Days on the Road"
Other songs	"Devil's Right Hand" "When You Fall in Love" "Sometimes She Forgets" "Galway Girl"
Related articles	Discography E-Squared Records The Steve Earle Show Justin Townes Earle Stacey Earle

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