from the Deseret
News, March 29, 1997
'Elecoustic' style mixes folk and
rock in 'Naked in a Trailer'
Chicago singer/songwriter Al Rose
has a style that can be classified as "elocoustic."
The use of both electric and acoustic
instruments give the songs a homestyle feel with a fray of modern rock. Although
he's been playing professionally since 1989, his name isn't as familiar as,
say, another Chicago band - the Smashing Pumpkins. But he has found airplay
on Salt Lake's own KENZ (the End) and KRCL.
"Naked
in a Trailer" is Rose's second album. (His first, "Information
Overload," was released in 1994). And Rose has managed to keep true with
his musical views. There's no reverb in the voice mixes and the tunes are very
earthy, organic and, at times, hypnotic.
When the bluesy opening cut, "Visionary
Tractor Man," bends out of the speakers, the listener will be tempted to
assume the style will flow throughout [the] rest of the album. Consequently,
they'll assume wrong.
There's an improvisational porch-jam
feel to the tune "Channel to Channel,"
a dark tribal tone to "Vote For Me"
and an explosive mid-America gospel rip through "Mister
Bigger."
Each song on the album has its
own atmosphere. "21st of June" is
carried by a commune- fitting aura while "Wander
Blind" brings to mind hobos catching a free ride on [a] chugging train.
Then there's a dirt-road waltz of "Reasons
To Bleed" that run into the dark-room meander of "Sun
On Black Vinyl."
There is a sense of darkness to
all of Rose's songs. But that's what gives the music its charm - if that's what
you call it. "Naked in a Trailer" bridges the gap
between rock and folk in a neat, moody package.
-Scott Iwasaki