August 10, 2017 – Most of us can’t escape the music of our youth, and in many cases – unless perhaps you were born in LA during the unfortunate 80s “hair” band era – there is no reason to flee it.
The singer and songwriter Josh Rouse was born in 1972, a very fertile time in music history when R&B, rock, soul, funk and all manner of hybrids could be heard on commercial radio. And in 2003, for his fourth album 1972, Rouse revisited the period with a stellar group of Nashville studio musicians. While it didn’t chart, the record is lushly produced and finely tuned, with superb musicianship all around and lyrical depth. A lost gem, indeed.
August 10, 2017 – Most of us can’t escape the music of our youth, and in many cases – unless perhaps you were born in LA during the unfortunate 80s “hair” band era – there is no reason to flee it.
The singer and songwriter Josh Rouse was born in 1972, a very fertile time in music history when R&B, rock, soul, funk and all manner of hybrids could be heard on commercial radio. And in 2003, for his fourth album 1972, Rouse revisited the period with a stellar group of Nashville studio musicians. While it didn’t chart, the record is lushly produced and finely tuned, with superb musicianship all around and lyrical depth. A lost gem, indeed.
We feature here two tracks, “Come Back (Light Therapy)” and “James,” where Rouse fully indulges his R&B jones. The former has a funky, sinuous bassline that grabs you by the shirt collar from the opening seconds and won’t let you go; and the latter is the tragic, falsetto tale of a father who leaves his family for the barstools of Atlanta. Both also feature absolutely sublime flute playing, sometimes paired in unison with electric lead guitar, which is something you don’t hear often in popular music. Enjoy.
By Robb Patryk