Pale Green Ghosts

Pale Green Ghosts
Studio album by
John Grant
ReleasedMarch 11, 2013
GenresSynth-pop, soft rock
Length60:40
LabelBella Union
ProducersBirgir Þórarinsson, John Grant
John Grant chronology
Queen of Denmark
(2010)		 Pale Green Ghosts
(2013)		 Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
(2015)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.3/10
Metacritic83/100
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStar
The Daily TelegraphStarStarStarStarStar
The GuardianStarStarStarStarStar
The IndependentStarStarStarStarStar
MojoStarStarStar
NME8/10
Pitchfork7.0/10
QStarStarStarStar
Record CollectorStarStarStarStar
Uncut8/10

Pale Green Ghosts is the second solo album by former Czars frontman John Grant, released on March 11, 2013, on the Bella Union label. Recorded in Reykjavík and produced by Icelandic musician Birgir Þórarinsson, the album features a range of local musicians alongside Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor providing backing vocals.

The title refers to the Russian olive trees that stand along the I-25 highway near Grant's childhood home in Parker, Colorado. The track "Pale Green Ghosts" includes a string arrangement inspired by the second movement of Prelude in C-sharp minor by Rachmaninoff. Pale Green Ghosts was chosen as Album of the Year 2013 by Rough Trade.

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Grant.

Pale Green Ghosts track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Pale Green Ghosts"6:04
2."Black Belt"4:18
3."GMF"5:13
4."Vietnam"5:29
5."It Doesn't Matter to Him" (featuring Sinéad O'Connor)6:27
6."Why Don't You Love Me Anymore" (featuring Sinéad O'Connor)6:10
7."You Don't Have To"5:51
8."Sensitive New Age Guy"4:40
9."Ernest Borgnine"4:53
10."I Hate This Town"4:01
11."Glacier" (featuring Sinéad O'Connor)7:34
Disc 2
No.TitleLength
1."Black Belt" (Hercules and Love Affair Remix)7:48
2."Black Belt" (Gluteus Maximus Vocal Remix)8:24
3."Pale Green Ghosts" (Nivolt Remix)5:20
4."Pale Green Ghosts" (No Ceremony /// Remix)4:48
5."Why Don't You Love Me" (Nivolt Remix)5:48
6."Why Don't You Love Me" (Bon Homme Remix)7:39

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Pale Green Ghosts
Chart (2013) Peak
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)42
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)122
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)68
Irish Albums (IRMA)16
Scottish Albums (Official Charts)20
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)42
UK Albums (Official Charts)16
UK Independent Albums (Official Charts)2
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) 28

Year-end charts

2013 year-end chart performance for Pale Green Ghosts
Chart (2013) Rank
Icelandic Albums (Tónlist) 1

References

  1. ↑ "Pale Green Ghosts by John Grant reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Reviews for Pale Green Ghosts by John Grant". Metacritic. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  3. ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "Pale Green Ghosts – John Grant". AllMusic. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
  4. ↑ Brown, Helen (March 19, 2013). "John Grant, Pale Green Ghost, album review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
  5. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (March 7, 2013). "John Grant: Pale Green Ghosts". The Guardian. London. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  6. ↑ Montgomery, Hugh (March 9, 2013). "CD of the week: Album: John Grant, Pale Green Ghosts (Bella Union)". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
  7. ↑ "John Grant: Pale Green Ghosts". Mojo (233): 86. April 2013.
  8. ↑ Levine, Nick (March 8, 2013). "John Grant – 'Pale Green Ghosts'". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  9. ↑ Hopper, Jessica (May 16, 2013). "John Grant: Pale Green Ghosts". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  10. ↑ "John Grant: Pale Green Ghosts". Q (321): 112. April 2013.
  11. ↑ Staunton, Terry (April 2013). "John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts". Record Collector (413). Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  12. ↑ Mulholland, Garry (March 21, 2013). "John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts". Uncut. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Lynskey, Dorian (March 3, 2013). "John Grant: 'I wanted to let some of the anger out'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  14. ↑ Cragg, Michael (January 22, 2013). "New music: John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts (No Ceremony Remix)". The Guardian. London. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Rachmaninoff remixed: one composer's enduring influence". London Philharmonic Orchestra. 2015. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2013". Rough Trade. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Ultratop.be – John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography John Grant". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 17/3/2013 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – John Grant – Pale Green Ghosts". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 17/3/2013 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 17/3/2013 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  25. ↑ "John Grant Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Árslisti Tónlist.is 2013 - Plötur" (in Icelandic). Tónlist. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2022.