a r t i s t : Jack Rose
t i t l e : Jack Rose
d a t e : 2007
l a b e l : Tequilla Sunrise
c a t : TS12006
s o u r c e : Vinyl
g e n r e : Folk
r l s. d a t e : Jul/2007
t r a c k s : 07
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 47,8 MB
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Jack Rose has become one of those figures who in a very short
space of time has become synonymous with his music scene - you
like the new wave of Takoma revivalists? Well look to Jack
Rose, people will tell you, and they'd be right on the money.
His 'Kensington Blues' shook us up something rotten on its
release last year, and here we have something of a followup, a
self titled full-length on the bespoke and defiantly
independent Archive label. Some of you may have heard of the
label before, probably from trying in vain to track down their
excruciatingly rare Earth, Boris and Sunn O))) releases, and
if you've heard of them you will know not only how incredibly
rare their releases are, but also how absolutely lovely they
look. This time around they've pulled out all the stops for
the Virginia guitar God and we have a thick rough paper
sleeve, embossed and die-cut with a photo of two of the
musician's musical family members looking rather fetching in
suit and tie. Of course this all sets the scene perfectly for
the musical delights held within, and I may as well begin by
saying that this is possibly Rose's most successful collection
of work to date, surpassing even the great 'Kensington Blues'
in pure spontaneous emotion and skill. All of the tracks are
performed using the lap steel (rather than Rose's more obvious
signature instrument the 12 string) so we finally get to
experience this sound which was previously more of a treat for
those of us lucky enough to see the man perform live, and the
tracks fall somewhere in-between John Fahey (of course) and Ry
Cooder's crucial soundtrack to Wim Wenders' 'Paris Texas'.
Don't think this is bleak though, not a chance - this is hard
whiskey drinkin' and car playin' music, for the simpler times
in life and for those moments when there's nothing left to do
but lie back and let the world's worries pass over you. Of all
the nu-Takoma guitarists Rose is very quickly proving himself
to be one of the most versatile, and on this self titled
release we have not only an exercise in skill but a cracking
collection of heart-stopping tunes. This is already sold out
at the source and is limited to 1000 copies for the world so
you'd better be quick if you want to make sure you get a copy.
Lovely.
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a1-Levee [03:03]
a2-Revolt [02:53]
a3-St Louis Blues [04:14]
a4-Miss Marys Place [02:43]
a5-Gage Blues [03:49]
b1-Spirits in the House [12:48]
b2-Dark Was the Night [03:55]
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33:25 min