Alongside James Blackshaw and Sir Richard Bishop, former Pelt man Jack Rose is one of the mainstays of the new wave of the Fahey/ Basho school of fingerpicking guitar. All three hark back to the dreamier, blues and folk influenced trances of Fahey’s Tacoma recordings. While Sir Richard Bishop looked East for inspiration to last years excellent Polytheistic Fragments, here Rose looks back to the Ragtime era of the 1890s. Joined by assorted friends, including Cul-De-Sac’s Glenn Jones, ex Pelt compatriot Mike Gangloff on banjo, Sean Bowles on occasional washboard and Harmonica Dan (I will leave it to you to guess what he contributes to the mix).

Rose’s incredible ability on both 12 string and lap steel is allowed to shine throughout the record, with his artistic foils helping to further highlight the fact that he is one of the most gifted guitarists in our generation. Weaving layer upon layer of fingerpicked blues, throwing in ragtime, jazz and a whole host of other influences, it is easy to get lost in the trance-like nature of his playing. When his ‘Pals’ join in, the free nature of his playing does conform more to the concept of the ragtime and bluegrass, as on ‘Soft Steel Piston’ and ‘Miss May’s Place’. The standout here however is ‘Walkin Blues’, where Rose’s is joined by Harmonica Dan, and his Lapsteel has a call and response conversation with the clearly talented Harmonica Dan’s Gob-Iron. Weaving in and out, the two instruments tell their story and evoke images of dusty trails and trainlines going on straight into the distance. This could quite easily be an off-cut from one of Harry Smith’s journeys into the American heartland. This isn’t simply traditionalism, however, and Rose brings his own, upbeat feel to the proceedings, with none of the overt seriousness that has perhaps been an image of the movement for some.

For those who prefer Rose’s undoubted genius to shine for itself,  2006’s self-titled solo album is included in the package (having previously gone out of print). Without doubt one of the highlights of his glittering career to date, these seven tracks of Rose alone in the studio, show a man at the top of his game, his fluid lines and distinctive slide style blurring notes and slurring into one another creating a mesmerizing listen. Together, this is an essential purchase for anyone with an interest in blues, the American Primitive guitar style or music in general.
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Links
Jack Rose [official site] [myspace]