Review:
'ROACH, AJ'
'Revelation'
- Label: 'New Folkstar Records (www.ajroachmusic.com)'
- Genre: 'Alt/Country'
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Our Rating:
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First time round, with "Dogwood Winter", I didn't really get AJ.'s thing; it was all a bit low-key and introspective for my taste.
Well, now I can make up for lost time because "Revelation" has grabbed my attention in a big way. This man grew up with Appalachian folk and gospel music all around him, but flirted with rock and relocated to California before rediscovering his roots and started producing his own music springing directly from those roots."Revelation" opens with "Clinch River Blues", a suicide song in the fine tradition of all those old murder ballads, delivered with a pace and intensity that grips you tight, and you think to yourself that this guy means business.
The guy in the song takes the notion of washing away your sins in the river to an extreme length and the religious imagery returns throughout the album, as does the self-loathing; the song "Chemicals" celebrates the healing power of whisky as it riffs on "The Lord Is My Shepherd": "So whiskey's my shepherd/Oh and I shall not want/It maketh me lay down/ In a strange woman's bed/ It maketh me talk/ Out of both sides of my mouth/ Maketh me feel/ Like I'd be better off dead".
Whereas Dog wood Winter's songs tended to meld together with the similarity of their arrangements, here AJ's assembled some pals to colour in the background, and multitracked his vocals to give some depth to the performance. The big surprise is "Devil May Dance" which owes it's sound far more to Crosby Stills and Nash than to Appalachia, and is quite sumptious. Otherwise AJ's gift to us is to bring us elements of that mountain gospel music and the famed "high lonesome sound" without ever getting po-facedly "authentic" about it; for a tradition to live and breathe it needs writers and performers who are prepared to innovate from within the tradition.
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The most impressive thing with this collection of songs is the immense care taken over the writing; he uses pretty strict rhyming schemes with his lyrics but the rhymes never seem to obstruct the flow of his story, but rather give it a rhythm that he emphasises with his singing.
The words play tag with each other, too; a word will be re-used in a new context in successive phrases so that the listener's brain has got the rhythm of the rhyme as well as the rhythm of the repeated word to engage with. Clever, well-worked stuff that rewards close attention and many hearings.
"Revelation" is the closing song, and is a storming sermon on the subject of the day of judgement, when "every man is judged/ by what he's really worth". You don't have to share the creed to be impressed by the ferocity of the message, with the whole band going full tilt. Fantastic stuff, and well worth the three year wait. AJ's playing around Britain this October and November with Nels Andrews; can't wait, myself.
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author: John Davy
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The Nels Andrews and AJ Roach Duct Tape and Whisky Tour Dates are
Leicester Oct 19, The Musician Clyde Street 0116 251 0080 Doors 8:00pm
Berwick Upon Tweed, Oct 20 Barrels Ale House 59-61 Bridge Street TD15 1ES 01289 308013 Doors 8:00pm
Coventry Oct 21 The Tin Angel Medieval Spoon Street CV1 3AX England Box Office 024 76227264
Aberdeen Oct 24 The Lemon Tree North West Street Aberdeen AB25 5TA 01224642230
Inverness Oct 25 Hootananny The Bothy (Grass Roots at Hoots Autumn Se...shortened comments
------------- Author: medicinmusic
20 October 2006
Glasgow Oct 26 Fallen Angels Club £9/£10 Lauries Bar 34 King Street Glasgow G1 5QT
Edinburgh Oct 27 Lonesome Highway Cabaret Voltaire 36 Blair Street EH1 1QR
Cardiff Oct 29, Chapter Arts Centre Market Road, Canton, Cardiff. CF5 1QE. 02920311050
Swansea Oct 30, Monday The Chattery 59 Uplands Crescent Uplands SA2 OEZ 01792 473276 Doors 7.30pm Ticket: £8
------------- Author: medicinmusic
20 October 2006
Swindon Bee Hive Oct 31st 55 Prospect Hill 01793 523187 post@bee-hive.co.uk
Nottingham Nov 1st The Maze @ Forest Tavern Forest Tavern 257 Mansfield Road, Nottingham NG1 3FT
Belfast Nov 2, The Real Music Club @ The Errigle Inn Ormeau Road , BT7 2GE 028 9064 1410 Doors 8:30pm
Dublin Nov 3, Back Room @ The Cobblestone Smithfield 7, Ireland 01-8721799 8:30 pm Doors
------------- Author: medicinmusic
20 October 2006
Dublin Nov 4 The “Armoury” Balbrothey Inn Booking 8.15 0184131000
London Nov 5, Sunday (Twickenham Folk Club) Coach & Horses 183 London Rd Isleworth TW7 5BQ
Sheerness (Isle Of Sheppy) Nov 6th Minster Folk Club, Union Road , Minster On Sea , Sheerness , Kent ME12 2HW 01795 872 457
London Nov 8 What's Cookin' The Sheep Walk 692 High Road, Leytonstone, London E11
020 8556 1131 Doors: 8.30pm (voluntary contribution)
------------- Author: medicinmusic
20 October 2006
dates for the Trio in June
June 13th What's Cookin'
Leytonstone Ex-Servicemen's Club
Harvey Road
Leytonstone, London E11
020 8539 2954 (By donation)
8:30
June 15th Barrels Ale House
59-61 Bridge Street
Berwick Upon Tweed, TD15 1ES
01289 308013 £7
9:00
June 16th The Annexe
9a Stewartville Street
Partick, Glasgow G11 5PE
0141 357 6747
£7
7:30
June 17th Mad Hatters (Upstairs at Hoots)
67 Church Street
Inver...shortened comments
------------- Author: medicine music
20 May 2007
More dates
June 20th Tin Angel @ Taylor John's House
Coal Vaults, Canal Basin
Coventry CV1 4LY £8
024 76227264
June 21st The Maze
257 Mansfield Road
Nottingham NG1 3FT
0115 9475650 £8
7:30
June 22nd Cambria Arts Center @ The Talbot Hotel
The Square
Tregaron, Ceredigion
01974298965
£7
9:00
June 23rd The Chattery
59 Uplands Crescent
Uplands Swansea SA2 OEZ
01792 473276
£8
9:00
June 24t...shortened comments
------------- Author: medicinmusic
20 May 2007
We are pleased to welcome John "Biscuits And Gravy" Davy to www.nessmp3.com/music/biscuitsandgravy You can hear mp3's by AJ and more of the artists John has reviewed at ness please stop by, tune into the biscuits and gravy station on ness http://www.nessmp3.com/music/bands/811/radio.php .
Rob Ellen
Resident Pulicist
------------- Author: www.nessmp3.com
14 February 2008
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