Customer Reviews

Etienne de Rocher

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How I came to write this review:

Having acquired a couple of new guitars in the past year, I decided to sell off a few of my older ones. One of these, a 1967-era Framus 6-string acoustic, I listed on our local Craig's List and heard from Etienne the same day. Within hours, we met at an outdoor mall near my home ( he told me I would be able to recognize him as he is told he resembles Jackson Browne - and he DOES!), where he tried (and played, to my delight, quite a bit) decided to buy the guitar and took it to his car. I gave him a break on the asking price and he gave me, in turn,a copy of this CD.

Etienne is a musician, composer and performer. He has written the 15 tunes he performs on this CD and they run a broad range of musical genres from straight acoustic instrumental, to accompanied songs with his own vocals - some are of the 'classic' folk-type, one or two even mildly describable as 'protest' or 'opinion' songs - all smooth, well crafted and highly personal. I had never heard of him before this, but have listened to the CD many times in the past two months - liking it better each and every time.

As a musician, his fretboard work is both clearly defined and delicate; as a singer, his voice is soothing, honest and yet humanly imperfect and as a composer and writer, his blend of old style with new and personal themes is outstanding. Amongst my most favorable comments is that this CD is NOT overproduced. Etienne actually coproduced it with Dan Prothero and their production touches are light- giving the total listening experience more the qualities of listening to a live performance in a small, intimate venue than that of a heavily engineered studio-produced and re-edited piece. This is definitely a guitar-centered album, and while it sounds as though there are other instruments on some of the pieces, no other performers are listed on the jacket - so I must infer that the other instrumental sounds are either synthesized or recorded by Etienne himself and then dubbed into the primary track. I simply don't know.

For those of you interested in the specifics of the cuts, they are as follows:

1. Meditation # C.O.B.

2. Juniper Rosa

3. The Lizard Song

4. Providence

5. Six Feet

6. Big Black Wall

7. There's Real and There's Moonshine

8. Bama Bino Goodbye

9. You Became A Knife

10. Come Twilight

11. Everybody Thinks You're A Smash

12. Goodnight

*** promo only solo tracks***

13. Cerebro

14. The Lizard Song

15. Everybody Thinks You're A Smash

This is how I like it and probably why I am so taken with the CD as a whole. Having had some personal contact with the artist - I must admit - probably influences my relationship to the music.

The CD can be found in the catalogue of Fog City Records, catalogue number FCCD 008.

If you like your music honest, real and human - I think there is a good chance you will enjoy the work of Etienne de Rocher and this particular CD.

Excellent songwriting and delivery. Etienne absorbs multiple genres seamlessly to interpret each individual composition, yet this is an album rather than a collection of songs. My personal favorite is "Goodnight": it's one of those songs that just captures a time and place perfectly. Finally, Etienne does not come across as the tortured artist, squeezing out agonizing notes from despair, but as someone who is completely comfortable in his own skin and presents music that tends to make the listener feel relaxed and reassured, grateful for companionship and good music, happy to be alive.

Just heard Etienne on 'The Loft' - xm radio - and...,the rest is history. An immeadiate 'Turn On'! A definite purchase.

Check out his website: http://www.etiennederocher.com

*** Keep an eye on this Rising Star!!

I can't really say this was a surprise in that I had already heard this artist's splendid XM Radio live performance in '08. I immediately set out to purchase this. This is one of the few debut CDs I own that does not sound overproduced or overworked. It doesn't set out to be perfect, so much as it succeeds in being just that. I've heard his style described as deeply rooted in 70s singer songwriter territory, but I don't completely see it. It's a little more ambitious than that, personal in its way, but not anguished. These songs seem to flow from their creator, and create a listenable, yet rich and complex musical landscape. It doesn't really beg to be categorized. I sense that De Rocher takes his musicality seriously, but perhaps doesn't take himself so much that way.

'Juniper Rose' is a work of art - heard it for the first time on my local radio station (KFOG), and bought this album immediately thereafter. One great song after another; just listen! What more can I say?

I just purchased this cd in Louisville KY, after hearing "Juniper Rose" on our local NPR music station WFPK 91.9

There is not a bad track on the whole cd. Etienne is a master at moving effortlessly through musical genres. I look forward to his next offering. Buy this CD!