The Roches

Moonswept is a 2007 album by The Roches. The album begins audaciously enough with "Us Little Kids," a shuffling slow rock tune by Suzzy. It sounds like a tome to a lost love and it is, but of a different kind because there's too much innocence in it. This

Moonswept

Us Little Kids

Only You Know How

No Shoes

Family Of Bones

The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane

Long Before

Piggy Mask

Stop Performing

Gung Ho

Instead I Chose

September 11th At The Shambhala Center

Jesus Shaves

Another World

It's hard to blame these gifted sisters for trying something new on their second album, but the album was still a disappointment after their brilliant debut. Part of the problem is the arrangements -- much of it is either bland folk/rock ("Bobby's Song" "Louis") or strained New Wave ("Nurds" - like the B52s on angel dust). The failed musical accompaniment was particularly striking if you heard these same songs performed live -- which I did 2 or 3 times during this period; the songs were always superior live (and I'm not a purist who prefers the Roches with just guitar/voice -- I love some of their later "arranged" work.) The other problem was that half of the songs were rather weak -- except Maggie's "One Season" (one of their best-ever songs) and "This Feminine Position" and Terre's funny/scary "My Sick Mind." Their a cappella cover of Cole Porter's "It's Bad for Me" is also wonderful, underscoring the beauty of their collective voices, and in keeping with their own wry/slapstick humor. After this album, they returned to the more spare sound of their debut (and to Robert Fripp as producer) and recorded one of their best albums -- KEEP ON DOING. NURDS is not their worst album - SPEAK and CAN WE GO HOME NOW are much weaker - but unless you're a completist you're better off with THE ROCHES, KEEP ON DOING and A DOVE (followed by ANOTHER WORLD if you can find it). 


Nurds

The harmonies of the Roches are singular. Their songwriting talents also are remarkable, and for me, KEEP ON DOIN' is the best of both worlds. Here, find their signature acapella version of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus"; their best original song (by my lights), "Losing True," whose remarkable harmonies combine with tricky but artistically perfect wordplay to create a masterpiece about heartbreak and longing (Robert Fripp's embellishing guitarwork also is wonderful here); "Want Not," a brilliant companion piece (albeit inadvertent) to Tim Miller's HOW TO WANT WHAT YOU HAVE; the stunning rendition of the folksong "On the Road to Fairfax County"; the title track "Keep On Doin'/Jerks on the Loose," which truly is an anthem for any contemporary idealist; well, it goes on and on (the cryptic but evocative "Scorpion Lament" and "Steady with the Maestro"; the hilarious/poignant "Sex Is for Children"; etc.).
I was very, very fortunate to see Maggie and Suzzy in concert at Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, PA on 16 December 2000. Although "Want Not" isn't something they perform frequently these days, they tried it (at my prodding) and did a stupendous job. (I also requested "Losing True," but Maggie said she'd "have to sit down" in order to try that one--the harmonies are taxing--but it was not meant to be that particular evening.)

The Roches deserve far more popular recognition than they have received. Check out their entire oeuvre: none of their work disappoints; all of it surprises; and each song is crafted with such love and attention, you'll wonder why you never realized that "The Married Men" was THEIR original song!



Keep On Doing

With a series of '80s albums for Warner Brothers, Maggie, Terri, and Suzzy Roche invented a tart fusion of barber shop, doowop, and vaguely Celtic singing styles. Their voices could rise and dart around each other with the instinct only sisters possess, and their original material is by turn strangely funny and darkly evasive. Produced by the surprising choice of experimental guitarist Robert Fripp, the debut is their freshest recording, and a good avenue for new listeners to enter their captivating vocal world. 


<Rhino Hi-Five: The Roches>是The Roches于2007年8月28日发行的专辑。

Rhino Hi-Five: The Roches

The Collected Works Of The Roches [Digital Version]

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Moonswept

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Moonswept

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