Fine album by underrated artist
Nicolas S. Martin | Indianapolis, IN United States | 09/22/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a superb album on several levels. Roden is a powerfully emotional singer who is not prone to self-indulgence. The songs are well chosen and concisely performed. There is no doubt that this is one of the ignored gems of what was the rock era. Sadly, Jess Roden has 2 even better albums that have never made it to CD: The Player Not the Game and Stonechaser. These are gorgeous albums. Please, Island Records, release these titles on CD!"
Brilliant Northern Soul
J.L. Smith | Detroit | 01/01/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first heard this soul drenched vocalist with the Butts Band. Rising from the wreckage of the untimely, yet immenent demise of Jim Morrison.The Doors John Densmore & Robbie Krieger enlisted Jess as the vocalist on the first release. Obviously, I was impressed enough with Roden to seek out his follow up material. Unfortunately there are precious few out there. This is one that is worth seeking out.
All that being said, let's get to the meat of this marvelous audio treat.
Released in 1974, this gem takes on all comers in the arena of blue-eyed soul. My only complaint with this release, is that it comes in pitifully short at only 36 min. There is truly not a bad track on this entire disc.Tho I must admit, I had reservations with the first track "Reason To Change". As it intros with a Framptonish lead that made me cringe. Thinking Oh No! No more!!!! But alas my fears were eased as that voice accompanied by a funky groove, put to rest my concerns.
7 of the 8 tracks penned by Roden demontrate his considerable chops. His spin on that old warhorse "On Broadway" is in this critics ears, an essential cover that begs one to find a more heartfelt soulful version.My personal favorite is the quirky "Ferry Cross".Back to back these two tracks define this release as: Absolutely Killer!
Do yourself a favor,if you enjoy the blue-eyed, northern soul sound. Pull out all the stops and grab this up. It has been re-released under the Universal Music Archive Collection. Making this wonderful finger snappin', toe tappin' slice-o-soul available again at a resonable price."
Updating Nicholas Martin
HTC | Perth, WA Australia | 10/18/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Thank you for your info regarding JR's 2 other albums. Thought that you might be interested to know that JR has another album titled "Keep Your Hat On" - Joe Cocker sang on that one too. I have the LP but just like yourself, waiting for someone to release it on CD. It is an excellent album with the outstanding tracks such as Blowing (Top Hits in the UK Chart) and Mama Roux. The rest of the tracks are excellent too. Five Stars too."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1