Search - Tim Rose :: Snowed in

Old Man & The Sea

12/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The late Tim Rose may be best remembered for his reworking of a certain old Blues tune now known as, "Hey Joe". After hitting the airwaves in '66, it soon "rose" to the hallowed heights of immortatlity in the hands of Jimi Hendrix. Arthur Lee's Love & The Byrds also delivered notable covers based on Rose's foundation. One would have thought this would have launched his career. Despite the same thing happening with similar rearrangements of "Come Away, Melinda" & "Morning Dew", the big time seemed to elude this former seminary student. All this being said, my introduction to Tim Rose came courtesy of Nick Cave's 1986 cover of "Longtime Man". Most recently, his old friend Robert Plant paid homage by covering "Morning Dew" on this year's, Dreamland.Snowed In is Rose's final word after his death this year(Oct 2003). Without a doubt, it's also his most satasfying album. Mournful, stark and reflective, the aformentioned, "Longtime Man" is revisted here to stunning effect. Other standouts include the doom laden, "Down In The Valley" & the haunting ghost story, "Hanging Tree". In terms of heartwrenching ballads, Rose's hard years of obscurity only serve to enhance the likes of "Come What May" & "Time Slips Away". The whole thing is bookended by a moving pair of surreal monologues that bring the work of playwright, Sam Shepard to mind. Throughout it all Rose's major gift remains his unmistakable voice---howling, gruff & tender. From his reworkings of older to unreleased material, Snowed In is the perfect introduction to a talent that never recieved it's due(outside a few royalty checks). In recent years, the European press went on to dub Rose "Rock's answer to Ernest Hemingway". A fitting moniker, so let this serve as his Old Man & The Sea. For Rose's full story check out Mark Brends' book, American troubadors."

Masterpiece

Wayne A. Cristaudo | Hong Kong | 02/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I came across the name of Tim Rose recently. Nick Cave liked him a lot - that was a good sign. I bought this and the double album which includes Tim Rose and Love - a Kind of Hate Story. The double album shows a great singer working with a mixed bag of songs - soem very good, some not - against some badly thought out productions.

This, though, knocked my socks off. It is superb. In a world where more people listened with their souls this album would have picked up every grammy going. The songs are great, the production perfect and the voice, the voice - this is a burning soul near its extinction but souling out in glory - is amazing. It's full of pathos, hurt, compassion, rage, humour - the lot is expressed in 40 minutes."