TS-5006/5007
JACK ROSE
DR. RAGTIME AND HIS PALS/JACK ROSE 2CD (2008)
*domestic version
of jack rose’s new full length, ‘dr. ragtime and his pals’, coupled with a reissue of last years ‘self-titled’
cd/lp housed in a custom designed and fabricated off-set printed card cover with j-card style obi. limited edition of 1000.
The Appalachian Trail runs 2175 miles south from Mount Katahdin in Maine
to Springer Mountain in Georgia, though there are those who want to stretch it further, into Alabama, because the mountains
go there. Why not extend it? Trails are made for that. But there's another Appalachian Trail, too - one that goes through
time, extending from unfinished studios in Williamsburg, NY, winding down the grooves of ancient 78's to the 1920's or even
earlier, past Stephen Foster's wet dream to a place beyond the compass of change.
If
you're hiking on *that* trail, you're likely to run into a lot of post-grad Parsifals with inscrutable hair and de-tuned banjos
- these days, you can't swing a cat around without hitting one! But if you're lucky, you might stumble across a clearing somewhere
south of Lily Dale, where revolutionists stop for orangeade and Dr. Ragtime hangs out with his pals. If you ask him politely,
he might offer you a taste of his elixir - made from codeine, sarsaparilla, and goat-gland extract - guaranteed to restore
memories that never were. And if you're quiet, he might let you stay and listen to the music: Ethiopian novelties, characteristic
marches and parlor favorites - bittersweet slices of Methodist pie, familiar tunes, at least in those sections where the square
dance has not yet been supplanted by the fox-trot.
And if you have a
couple of dimes to rub together in your pocket, you'll want to purchase his newest, electrically-recorded phonograph recording,
entitled "Doctor Ragtime and his Pals." The Doctor, who hitherto has recorded only on his own, is joined here by
Micah Blue Smaldone (who has been compared to both Tiny Tim and Kierkegaard), Glenn Jones (of Cul de Sac, last seen around
these parts urging college students to contemplate the prospect of their own death on a balmy September evening), Michael
Gangloff (late of Pelt and the Black Twig Pickers), Nathan Bowles (also of the Black Twig Pickers as well as the Spiral Joy
Band) and the mysterious Harmonica Dan (from Pennsauken, New Jersey by way of ethereal caminos).
This
release is conjoined with a recording by Jack Rose, the Mike Morgan of the American minimalist neo-primitive sub-underground.
This recording, entitled "Jack Rose" - previously available to the buying public only in severely limited forms
- is here presented as a bonus to the consumer and perhaps as an act of folly for the producer.
-- Charles Fourier, Tequila Sunrise Records
REVIEWS AQUARIUS
RECORDS
A new Jack Rose disc is always cause for celebration around
here. Along with James Blackshaw, Ilyas Ahmed, Richard Bishop and a few others, Rose is one of the new modern masters of the
steel string guitar, helping to reinvent and redefine neo-Appalachia or modern folk or whatever you want to call it. But this
disc is even more exciting, because not only is it a brand new album (recorded last year), it also includes as a bonus disc,
the long out of print s/t album originally released on aRCHIVE, now available only in this set. Let's first talk about this
new record. No huge changes, we're happy to announce, just more of Rose's gorgeous steel string beauty, gossamer sheets of
buzzing shimmer, droning ragas, traditional bluegrass, slippery slide, melancholy melodies, jaunty pick and strum, the mood
occasionally dark and ominous, sometimes playful and festive, and other times dreamy and serene, it's as much about the sound
as the songs. To see Rose play live is pretty mindblowing, his mastery of the guitar is truly humbling, his playing incredibly
physical, but so fluid and seemingly effortless. And the sounds that emerge from that chunk of wood and steel are consistently
breathtaking. Which is true even on record, those sounds well removed from the actual recording, but retaining much of the
physical act of the performance, the energy and the emotion, the sound vibrant and LIVE. This new disc is no different. Sonically,
well in line with the rest of Rose's recorded works, but like every new Rose record that comes along, it manages to subtly
expand and progress, sonically and compositionally, while continuing to sound classic and timeless. Fans will obviously need
Dr. Ragtime, but for folks who have yet to discover the magic of Jack Rose this is a perfect place to start, and odds are
those same folks will very likely find themselves wanting and perhaps even needing more! As we mentioned above, this double
disc set also includes the long out of print self titled Jack Rose aRCHIVE release. Here's what we had to say about that disc
when we first reviewed it way back when: By now, Mr. Jack Rose should need no introduction. Numerous releases on Eclipse,
VHF, Tequila Sunrise, tons of amazing shows (including a killer instore right here at AQ) every performance totally spellbinding,
with a repertoire that runs the gamut from classic bluegrass to drone drenched ragas to neo-Appalachia and probably to some
styles of playing he just made up. In fact Rose was seemingly the first to not just ape the music and style of John Fahey,
instead choosing to create his own sound and style, due in no small part we'd guess, to his continuing membership in drone-raga
ensemble Pelt, and that raga vibe most certainly informs all of his playing, which just might explain why we find Rose so
much more interesting than many of his contemporaries. This disc collects a handful of studio recordings recorded over the
last year, featuring Rose exploring the slide guitar, and as always, it's positively divine. From twangy countrified bluegrass
breakdowns, to dense tangles of elaborate finger picking, his slide so slipper and fluid, totally emotional and moving, every
song so complex and technical, but at the same time so goddamn simple and beautiful. The highlight would have to be the 12+
minute "Spirits In The House", with its amazing harmonics over a warm backdrop of buzzing low end overtones. The
main melody so completely captivating, shimmery and wavery, sounding very Eastern and very much like a sitar, the perfect
blend of wistful bluegrass melancholia and buzzing Eastern style raga. So gorgeous. And as with pretty much every Rose record,
absolutely essential. (There is an import jewel case version, but this is the domestic, super limited (only 1000 copies) version
with much more deluxe packaging, an oversized booklet style sleeve, a Japanese style obi, and more...)
