Ghosts of West Virginia

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.^[1] 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.^[1]

Ghosts of West Virginia
Studio album by Steve Earle
Released	May 22, 2020 (2020-05-22)
Studio	Electric Lady (New York City)[1]
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[2]
Metacritic	82/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
American Songwriter	[5]
Classic Rock	[6]
Exclaim!	8/10[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]

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.^[3]

Accolades

Accolades for Ghosts of West Virginia

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
Rolling Stone	Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year	47	[9]

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)[10]	7
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11]	33
UK Albums (OCC)[12]	61
UK Americana Albums (OCC)[13]	1
UK Country Albums (OCC)[14]	5
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[15]	5
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[16]	8
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[17]	36
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[18]	7
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[19]	44
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[20]	48

References

1. "Steve Earle & The Dukes Announce Release Date For 'Ghosts of West Virginia'". American Songwriter. February 27, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
2. "AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
3. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
4. Deming, Mark. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
5. 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.
6. Yates, Henry (May 22, 2020). "Steve Earle's Ghosts of West Virginia: an undeniably powerful, angry work". Classic Rock. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
7. Mullin, Kyle (May 19, 2020). "Steve Earle and the Dukes Decry Blue-Collar Tragedy on 'Ghosts of West Virginia'". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
8. 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.
9. Schwartz, Danny (June 17, 2020). "Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of 2020 - Mid-Year". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
10. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
11. "Swisscharts.com – Steve Earle & The Dukes – Ghosts of West Virginia". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
12. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
13. "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
14. "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
15. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
16. "Steve Earle Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
17. "Steve Earle Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
18. "Steve Earle Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
19. "Steve Earle Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
20. "Steve Earle Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2020.