Browse by Artist: ROSE, JACK

Artist:	ROSE, JACK
Title:	The Black Dirt Sessions
Label:	3LOBED
Format:	LP
Price:	$20.00
Catalog #:	3LOBED 066LP

"Let's get the dirty work over with first. The Black Dirt Sessions is, all hyperbole aside, Jack Rose's most complete and telling work to date. Those who have been following this Philadelphia wanderer's development and growth as a solo artist (both live and on record) know that such a statement is strong praise, as Rose's catalog is certainly not devoid of unqualified classics. The album takes its title from the studio where it was recorded -- Jason Meagher's Black Dirt Studios located in Westtown, New York. Old friends Rose and Meagher developed a good working relationship and full understanding of each other's work habits and styles over the course of a spring 2008 joint tour between Rose and one of Meagher's bands, D. Charles Speer & The Helix. Rose, that eternal road warrior, booked some time at Black Dirt between tours in August, September and October of 2008 to lay down some new and fully realized material. This album is the complete result of those sessions. Rose's prior albums have tended to both pick and remain true to a musical theme. The Black Dirt Sessions excels by displaying fully-honed examples of all of Rose's various styles and themes -- traditional, raga and ragtime. Central to the album's spirit is the absolutely epic 'Cross the North Fork.' This thirteen-minute revisiting of a track first laid down on the great Kensington Blues is a winding, thoroughly engrossing journey. This new version is the product of Rose's perfectionist streak, which constantly pushes him to re-explore and re-visit his prior works. As presented on The Black Dirt Sessions, the 'new' track is full of rich nuances from Rose's years of additional scrutiny of the original composition. Much like Rose himself, 'Cross The North Fork' is certainly comfortable in its skin and helps make it a welcome neighbor to the album's other splendid joys ranging from the jaunty and infectious 'Fishtown Flower' (featuring a guest appearance from D. Charles Speer & The Helix's Hans Chew on ragtime piano) to the pensive and appropriate melancholy punch of 'Box Of Pine.' The album's artwork is somewhat of the yin to the yang of Rose's 2008 release on Three Lobed Recordings, I Do Play Rock And Roll. Bearing the same overall design aesthetic as that prior release, albeit presented in a contrasting white with black print, The Black Dirt Sessions features a photo of Rose performing in New York in 2006. The LP is pressed on 180g RTI vinyl and housed within an 'old style' high gloss Stoughton cover. The record is from a one-time pressing of approximately 2,000 copies."

Artist:	ROSE, JACK
Title:	Dr. Ragtime And His Pals
Label:	TEQUILA SUNRISE RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	TS 12007LP

LP version. Limited edition of 960. Domestically-pressed vinyl, housed in a European manufactured hard board inner-sleeve slipped inside a matte board jacket with j-card style obi. Jack Rose's full-length Dr. Ragtime And His Pals, was originally issued on CD by Tequila Sunrise in April 2008. "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 78s to the 1920s 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)." --Charles Fourier, Tequila Sunrise Records

Artist:	ROSE, JACK
Title:	Dr. Ragtime And His Pals/Jack Rose
Label:	TEQUILA SUNRISE RECORDS
Format:	2CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	TS 5006/7CD

Domestic version of Jack Rose's new full length, Dr. Ragtime And His Pals, coupled with a reissue of last year's self-titled CD/LP housed in a custom designed and fabricated off-set printed card cover with j-card style obi (there is also a jewel case version on the UK label Beautiful Happiness). 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 78s to the 1920s 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

Artist:	ROSE, JACK
Title:	Luck In The Valley
Label:	THRILL JOCKEY
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	THR 229CD

"Like all pre-war recordings and all of Rose's releases, this album was recorded live. It was not created using overdubs but rather by recording a few 'takes' and selecting the best performance out of those. Rose stated, 'I wanted the songs to have an immediacy and spontaneity as they were being recorded. All the musicians chosen for the record know how to play the songs without overworking the material, but at the same time creating memorable accompaniments on the spot.' Several of the songs are in fact the first takes like 'Blues for Percy Danforth', 'Lick Mountain Ramble' and 'Woodpiles on the Side of the Road'. Also included in the set are three covers: 'St. Louis Blues', 'Everybody Ought to Pray Sometime' and 'West Coast Blues'. All of these pre-war classics are Rose's unique arrangements. The album title refers to the old red light section of St. Louis and was a code for procuring the services of a prostitute. Says Rose 'I read about it on some liner notes to a reissue of pre-war St. Louis recordings and I liked the ring of it.' An avid record collector with an encyclopedic knowledge of pre-war American music, Rose has been acknowledged as a rising star among contemporary guitar players. Luck in the Valley finds Rose at his best surrounded by like-minded friends on a recording that is enriched by a sense of history but entirely new, vibrant and warm."

Artist:	ROSE, JACK
Title:	Luck In The Valley
Label:	THRILL JOCKEY
Format:	LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	THR 229LP

"Limited repress of 500 copies on RTI 180 gram vinyl presented in an old-style tip-on jacket with a hand-pasted letterpressed cover. Includes download coupon. Like all pre-war recordings and all of Rose's releases, this album was recorded live. It was not created using overdubs but rather by recording a few 'takes' and selecting the best performance out of those. Rose stated, 'I wanted the songs to have an immediacy and spontaneity as they were being recorded. All the musicians chosen for the record know how to play the songs without overworking the material, but at the same time creating memorable accompaniments on the spot.' "

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