Al Rose Press Quotes
"Al Rose is certainly
one of the best songwriters of his time...[Pigeon's
Throat is] an album that contains some of the finest instrumental, vocal,
lyrical and original content that well deserves international attention."
-Downeast Reviews
"...a platinum wordsmith who
specializes in stacking realities one on top of another. His sublimely incoherent
rant and roll sends images splattering like paint on a Jackson Pollack canvas."
-Manhattan Mirror
"Overall, Naked
is hypnotic, swelling and receding like the tide. It's influenced by folk,
jazz, psychedelic rock, blues, county, gospel, and music from the Far East,
but it sounds like nothing else. Rose is a talent to watch."
-Swing
"Naked
In A Trailer is one audaciously entertaining ride. He scores with
moments of surreal insight and a bemused outsider's wit. Oddly charming melodies
emerge from a varied bed of settings, incorporating everything from gospel
to progressive jazz."
-Chicago Tribune
"The lyric refuses to cohere
into a simple sense, yet remains sensible. Rose can also support an extended
voyage into the heart of his challenging musical and lyrical universe. His
music is a strange, sometimes dissonant, melange of folk and rock, but the
main attraction is his perverse talent for molding assemblages of twisted
lyrical cliches into surprising new configurations."
-Crossroads
"He once again proves himself
a poet, creating strong images with meanings that are not literal. Trying
to label the music leads only to furrowed brows and complexity. Rose knows
well what it means for form to follow function."
-Strong Coffee
"Rose has managed to keep
true with his musical views. The tunes are very earthy, organic and, at times,
hypnotic. There is a sense of darkness to all of Rose's songs. But that's
what gives the music its charm."
Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
"...an irreverent stream of
consciousness that plays off the rhythm of words as much as their meaning..."
-Chicago Tribune
"The tunes on this collection
are engaging and fun, and illustrative of Rose's quirky style of songwriting...off-kilter
viewpoints, creatively delivered by Rose's rough-and-tumble voice in a variety
of musical styles ranging from rock and country to reggae and soul."
-Illinois Entertainer
"A jazzy explosion of musical
inventiveness."
-Windy City Times, Chicago
"...a meaty blend of bleak
Midwestern desperation and spoken-word folk."
-New City, Chicago
"With a pungent, bemused
view of the world that translates into some really great songs, Rose manages
to convey the possibility of hope without denying the gritty reality of right
now. And he's groovy as hell; he'll make you dance your pants off."
Chicago Magazine
"Rose's imagination does
not end with his lyrics...the arrangements on his songs are phenomenal."
-River Cities Reader
"A funky, jazzy and rocking
romp...this album is a blast..."
-Rock Central, Madison,
Wisconsin
"[On] Information
Overload Rose mixes the sounds of jazz, rock, and Latin and Caribbean
rhythms. The result is simply mesmerizing."
-The Observer, Augustana
College, Rock Island
"This upbeat release almost
sounds like a gospel Midnight Oil."
-Tail Spins, Chicago
"His honest, poetic lyrics
paint an often too vivid picture of our society. But...Rose's calm, trusted
voice soars above the words and assures you everything's really going to be
alright."
-The Argus, Illinois Wesleyan
College
"Like a caffeine buzz, this
disc is humming with energy."
-Rock Island Argus
"...a compelling brew of folk-jazz..."
-Chicago Sun-Times
"If folkie Al Rose led a heavy
metal band, he would truly be dangerous. Rose writes lyrics like a deranged
mental patient wandering down the street spouting epithets that either fascinate
passers-by or makes them recoil in horror."
-Oil