Tom Russell - The Rose Of Roscrae (MP3@320) [FrankFoo]

Tom Russell - The Rose Of Roscrae (MP3@320)

Label: Proper Records PRPCD130

Included: NFO, PLS, M3U
Covers: Front Back
Tags: ID3 v1.1, ID3 v2.3

CD 1

01. Overture
02. This Is The Last Frontier
03. Guilty/Johnny Behind-the-Deuce
04. Sam Hall
05. The Rose of Roserae
06. Hair Trigger Heart
07. He'll Be dead Before He Hits the Ground
08. You Gotta Have A Dance/ST James Hospital
09. Ain't No More Cane On The Brazos
10. The Last Running
11. Home On The Range/America
12. Just A Closer Walk (With Augie Blood)
13. Cowboy Voices Beyond The Campsite
14. He Wasn't A Bad Kid, When He Was Sober
15. The Sidekick's Last Testament
16. Johnny's Campire Soliloquy #1
17. The Unfortunate Rake/The Streets of Laredo
18. The Hands of Damien
19. This Is The Last Frontier/Campfire Soliloquy #2
20. Carrickfergus/The Water Is Wide
21. The Fairground Pugilist
22. Campfire Soliloquy #3
23. Campfire Ghosts/Cowboy Voices
24. Crazy Horse/Custer's Luck
25. Johnny Behind-the-Deuce #2
26. She Talks To God
27. Rock of Ages/Gunpowder Sunset Overture

Playing Time:......... 01:13:26


CD 2

01. The Water Is Wide/Overture
02. I Talk To God
03. The Bear
04. The Railroad Boy
05. Resurrection Mountain
06. When The Wolves No Longer Sing
07. Just a Closer Walk With Thee/The Gospel of John, Chapter 4
08. Jesus Met The Woman At The Well
09. Damien (A Crust of Bread, A Slice of fish, a Cup of Water)
10. Guadalupe/Valentine de la Sierra
11. Poor Mother Mexico
12. Gallo Del Ciello
13. Soliloquy #1/Swiss Yodel Choir
14. En Canadien Errant
15. He'll Be Dead Before He Hits The Ground
16. Doin' Hard Time In Texas
17. When I Was a Cowboy
18. West Texas Montage
19. Old Rattlebag Blues (Soliloquy #2)
20. Midnight Wine
21. Whiskey In His Blood
22. Tularosa
23. Irish Medley/The Stable
24. Isn't It Grand?
25. The Rose of Roserae

Playing Time:......... 01:14:29

Review:

Spanning two-and-a-half hours it takes a fascinating look at the history of the American West and traditional cowboy and folk music.

What makes it all the more interesting is the fact that it is told through the story of a young Irish lad aged 16 from Templemore, Co. Tipperary, who travels to America in the late 1880s to become a cowboy, leaving behind his first love - the rose of Roscrae.

The dramatic opening features the lone haunting voice of Texan Jimmie Dale Gilmore soon giving way to the distinctive deep tones of Russell describing the young man’s departure from Templemore.

Track five, the album’s title track is a great stand-alone song with whistle running through it and the hook line "as I walked all night from Roscrae to Templemore". It’s one of those tracks you just have to play again.

The first disc has 27 tracks although some are very short but important links for stories.

Apart from the aforementioned, there are some truly memorable tracks such as Jimmy Le Fave singing Ain’t No More Cane On The Brazos and Tom’s brilliant The Last Running - a great story wonderfully told.
Finbar Furey also appears as a guest singing Carrickfergus.

The other Irish guest singer Maura O’Connell, performs The Water is Wide which then slips gently into The Red River Valley instrumental by The Norwegian Wind Ensemble.

Maura follows that with I Talk to God, another powerful track.
Along with Maura this second album features more female singers such as Eliza Gilkyson, Gretchen Peters and Bonnie Dobson.
Russell kicks up a storm with the driving country rock Hard Time in Texas while Whiskey in his Blood evokes memories of the great Waylon Jennings sound.

The album closes with The Rose of Roscrea again, but this time by Maura O’Connell.
This was an inspired move as her magnificent voice puts the finishing touches to a remarkable work that will be hard to beat as my album of the year.

Tom Russell has done it again.


MultiTracker @ FrankFoo