Customer Reviews

Roches

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Roches eponymous 1979 release is a unique blending of folk, punkishness, and guitar balladry. It features lovely harmonizing by the three Roche sisters backed by spare, uncluttered, but poetic instrumentation. It almost defies categorization and often ends up listed as "Alternative" music, given its playful but quirky guitar Fripp-isms (from producer Robert Fripp of King Crimson and Brian Eno collaborator fame). However, this doesn't sound like a Fripp album. Maybe this is best described as folk with a hard(er) edge.

First, the production quality continues to amaze. The recording engineers had their act together and every vocal nuance and instrument overtone is perfectly captured. The recording is totally realistic and there's not one drum maching hiding anywhere (thank goodness). The Roches would be a good candidate for an audiophile remastered release (anyone out there listening?). Summed up, the record abounds with aural pleasures.

Second, The Roches sound terrific together. Their harmonies blend completely and, at the same time, their interplay individually creates and releases emotional tension. They're actors in many songs, each playing special roles. A listen to the song "We" makes clear the personalities involved as each Roche sister does their obligatory introduction. The vocals never sound forced or unnatural or stagey.

Third, this is an outstanding collection of well written, diverse, and completely intelligent songsmithing. Every gem (and there are only gems here) illuminates some curious foible of the human condition. Everyone has their favorites. With each listen, you get more and more out of the songs. That's the hallmark of great writing.

In Summary: This is, hands-down, a 5-star collection of songs. Brilliant from start to finish. If you generally like singer-songwriters (in the Joni Mitchell or Carole King mode) and like guitars+accompaniment+vocals, then The Roches is for you.

The Roches never did anything finer than their first recording. It's pointless to say "if you like this kind of music, get it"--because there isn't really anything to compare it with. Sure, it's kind of folk, has some attitude, it's acoustic, etc. etc. but the musical content and lyrics cannot be pigeonholed. These songs are real compositions and are definitely not written according to any formula common to popular music. How three sisters so young could be so original is beyond me, but I'm happy because of it. If you listen carefully, you will notice that they don't do anything in a song the same way twice. The music is always developing, changing. That is one of the signs of great writing. The lyrics speak of commonplace things (relationships, jobs) in new, original ways. In "Hammond Song," we don't know exactly to whom they are talking nor do we know exactly where Hammond is. But it makes no difference. We can fill in the blanks, and to listen to what they do with the musical arrangement is spellbinding.

If you are just learning about the Roches this is the place to start. This and their other early albums are the place to start. Unfortunately some of their later efforts are weaker, in my opinion. They seemed to lose that touch of attitude and sass that made me call them "subversive" artists in their early recordings. They hook you in with their sweet sounds and then stick the knife in when you are off guard. There is definitely a touch of irony to their early work. Listen and learn!

Back in 1979 I saw the Roches for the first time on Saturday Night Live where they sang their a capella version of the Hallelujah Chorus. I was hooked. I went out and purchased this the next day and it didn't come off my turntable (LPs only in those days) for the next two weeks. This was such a refreshing sound - gorgeous three part harmonies given a mischievous and sometimes deep edge by the Roches' own quirks and Robert Fripp's spare but telling production. Though Maggie was always the major songwriter of the group, they all have their own songwriting styles which adds to the complexities of each album. With the exception of the unfortunate and virtually Maggie-less Another World and an equally undistinguished follow-up EP, all their records - and all the concerts of theirs I've been to - have been wonders. If this record remains my favorite it's because you can only be taken by surprise once.

Memorable sounds and songs. With subject matter ranging from begging for one's job back,("Mr. Sellack" to the relationship patterns we live out("Runs in the Family")to everyday hassle we all put up with("Commuter Train"), the Roche sisters' music runs a nice gamut from nutty to haunting to resigned back to wacko. Their harmonies stand firm against pressure from changing chords beneath, and the result is unforgettable. Their voices, while not necesarily "beautiful" in a traditional sense, are so expressive and, well, *real*. This trio can set you up for a heart-wrenching ballad, then skew off on a tangent of silliness. I have seen them perform live, and would probably sacrifice a kidney to do so again. You? Well,... you just give them an ear. :)

You have to understand, this album was released in 1979 in the teeth of the punk rock/new wave revolution. The Roche sisters played folk music on the streets of New York but somehow enlisted the help of Robert Fripp, who was a legendary musician and the heart and soul of college favorites King Crimson. This perverse combination produced a a subversive album for a subversive time. Subversive because it didn't sound like anything that had come before (or since, for that matter). But it was also beautiful, funny, and poignant. When Maggie and Suzzy sing to Terre in Hammond Song, "Where is on down the line, how far away?" your heart will ache.

It was 1979. For those of us looking for a way out of the mainstream that led to the punk rebellion, but also wanted an alternative to the angry young men of New York and London, this was an epiphany. In their own way, the Roches were the soft side of punks -- inventing their own style of music and pouring their hearts out with every song. But what beautiful punk music this was.

Alas, this was their last great moment (Maggie and Terre recorded a splendid album a few years prior to this one.) Savor it for what it truly is, one of the finest recordings of the 1970s or any other decade. One that surely made "deepest New Jersey" proud.

This gets my vote for the best album of the 70's. No kidding. I can't think of another album of that era with the sheer magic of this one.

This classic of both humor and gorgeous harmony was put out in 1979 by the inimitable Roche sisters--Maggie and Terri and Suzzy, as they so memorably explain on the introductory song, "We":

"We are Maggie and Terri and Suzzy
Maggie and Terri and Suzzy Roche,
We don't give out our ages
And we don't give out our phone numbers . . .
And as a point of interest,
We spell our last name R-O-C-H-E."

What makes the Roches' songs so memorable is a potent combination of loopily poetic lyrics and the harmonious purity of sound that can only come from long years of singing together--not to mention the handy device of actually being related.

Their voices blend magnificently without sounding overly trained or contrived. And really, the lyrics just can't be beat--in "The Married Men," they concisely capture the predicament of being a married man's mistress by characterizing themselves as "just an arrow passing through." On "Mr. Sellack"--what should be the rueful anthem of waitresses and ex-waitresses everywhere--they capture the job with all its boredom and nastiness ("I'll get down on my knees and scrub behind the steam table") while simultaneously providing a delicately colored etching of the yearning behind it ("I've waited for some things that you would not believe . . . let the other forty million, three hundred and seven people who want to, get famous"). Every song is a gem of articulate, urban folk singing.

... just buy this album.

If you are reading these reviews before buying, it means that your exposure to the Roches has been limited or hasn't happened yet. Take this step and change your life. Anything these three sisters have done together should be in your collection. The more you listen, the more the beauty, intricacy and sheer genius will unfold.

Turn your mind loose and count yourself lucky ... but be careful. You still have to go to work. You still have to pay your bills. You still have to interact with your family. It's possible that these recordings should be banned as a dangerous substance--seriously, don't operate heavy equipment while listening to the Roches. Just sit back, close your eyes, breathe slowly and deeply, and bask in your good fortune.

Oh, alright, this is supposed to be a review.

Let's see ...

Lead Vocals: Clean and lovely by each of them

Harmonies: Simply without peer

Lyrics: Clever and refreshing

Musical Composition: Some of the best ever produced

But wait ... I'm describing all of their albums.

Sorry to use so many superlatives but, if I thought it over, I would probably only add more.

There will never be anything like the Roches again. Their work should be required study in university music programs.

This debut album is an absolute masterpiece but get ready because it's not the only one.

This record was probably the best of Fripp's productions because he didn't do much. He absolutely made the right call by recording it in close-miked fashion, and let the sisters' music do the rest. The Roches were a staple at the old Bottom Line club in NYC, which closed last year. This remains lively and fresh every time I listen! ESSENTIAL.

The Roches is the best debut album ever made. And it all starts, and ends, with three voices and a couple of acoustic guitars. Loudon Wainwright or Robyn Hitchcock might be funnier; the Indigo Girls might be more passionate; but nobody blends humor and passion like these sisters from "deepest New Jersey." Listen to the swelling dynamics of the harmonies on Hammond Song, Damned Old Dog and Runs In the Family. Just when you think a song is a total lark, it turns a corner into bathos - that overused word "epiphany" strikes me as appropriate in several instances. "The Married Men" is typical of a Roches-crafted song. It's a song that has a definite point of view, whether it is the songwriter's own experience or that of a fictional character. It combines the wistfulness of the "other woman's" situation with the wry self-awareness of her predicament. There are no bass and drums on this album, and very few instruments other than the guitars. Yet there's a whole orchestra of harmony and emotion. I could go on and on about this album. Instead, just buy it.