Larry Ludwick - Haunted

Hear The Track Here

As I've said (probably more than a time or two) one of my most favourite of musical genres is goth. More, I like the style and the attitude that goes with it too. If I was, say, 106 years younger I may even have been found dressed as one. Thank God that with great age, comes wisdom eh chums? Can't say it was that much of a surprise to see that Larry Ludwick (stalwart of Critics Corner and instigator of the now highly popular CC competitions) has turned his hands to the dark side. This is because Larry has covered a great many genres already and I'm sure there are many more to come.

Tell you what though, once the vocal started, it struck me just how familiar Larry's voice is becoming to me. Having listened to this track, his collaboration with The Dead Company makes a lot more sense. Either that or his work with TDC has influenced him more than a bit because this has the same dark desolation TDC are so good at. One thing that has always struck me abour Larry Ludwick's work is the high degree of literacy he brings to his songs. Little stories that grow stronger with each telling and - by the way - Haunted is an epic (it comes in just short of nine minutes)...

Gulp, yeah, I should say.

It isn't, to my ears anyway, strictly what I would call goth and indeed Larry uses the word 'gothic' to describe it. More House of Horror than emo that's for sure. The track is almost a ballad and you know I don't have a great deal of time for them, but Larry handles it surprisingly well, certainly not enough to make me as sick as usual, Larry's choice of instruments also helps, there is a Theremin sound in here that is perfect for the song. I think Larry's fans will definitely be happy with this but, at this length, I feel he'll be hard pressed to reach some quarters. Regardless of my own personal opinion, this is a very tasty piece of work and shows that Larry Ludwick's expertise is growing with each release.

Highly Recommended goth (as in gothic) tale.