Customer Reviews

Roll

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"In the valley of the darkness, in the valley of night, I saw my baby swingin' in the pale moonlight," is the relatively simple lyric that starts my favorite track on "Roll," McCue's "Hangman." With its pulsing rhythm, McCue's burning slide guitar, and the distortion on the vocals, it is an incredible track that rocks maliciously. I focused on this CD after reading that Lucinda Williams was a fan; and Lucinda's got taste! Another favorite of mine is the title track with McCue's stinging guitar lashing the melody, "I feel alright for someone who was kicked out of school; I feel alright for someone who was told she was a fool." Perhaps rightly criticized as more strong in musical construction than lyrics, McCue still turns an unsettling word as on "Ghandi," "I wanted to be like Buddha but I turned out like Nixon, betrayed the trust of the common man, Don't look down, there's so much blood on my hands." It's an bitter lyric coming from this Sydney, Australian's point of view, but the track throbs with a pulsing beat and a kind of 80's "Talking Heads" sensibility on the "Ghandi yeah" chorus. While those are my favorites, others have listed the first three tracks as the strongest. "I Want You Back" churns with a rootlessness, "I think I'm goin' down slowly; yes, I think I'll lose control." "Nobody's Sleeping" is another midtempo rocker with McCue's bold guitar painting a haunting picture. "Stupid" is a twangy-Byrdslike folk/rock track, "I almost listened to what the prophets had to say..." No one can tell you about this set without mentioning the credible job McCue does on Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun" with her guitar stinging like a raw music channeling session. "Roll" may be a bit uneven in places, but it is never boring. There are so many incredible tracks on this disc that it is becoming one of my favorites in 2004. Enjoy!

Anne McCue is a tiny woman with a large voice who really pours every ounce of her being into her music. She reminds me of Janis Joplin and can play the guitar like Jimmy Hendrix. This is a great CD worth adding to any collection.

Former guitarist with Melbourne's Girl Monstar, Anne McCue is nowadays US-based, where she has much of that country's music press - plus other musicians - in a tizz. Lucinda Williams raves about McCue every chance she gets, and features her as opening act whenever possible, while Billboard Magazine claims McCue is "...a potent singer, thoughtful songwriter and tough guitarist."

McCue certainly warrants the "tough guitarist" rap - there's plenty of ballsy axemanship on Roll, but the one that's got everyone talking is her take on `Machine Gun', the Jimi Hendrix number from Band Of Gypsys. On the 4-track bonus disc that comes with initial copies of Roll, McCue also covers Hendrix's `Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)' - "This song's by a boy from Seattle, who never really grew old, and it sorta goes like this," is her intro to a live display of guitar virtuosity that Jimi could only have loved.

Roll`s three opening tunes present a light roots/pop blend, (perhaps aiming for some Waifs-style radio airplay), before pegging slightly with `Crazy Beautiful Child'. After this McCue begins to let loose with some of her guitar heroics: `Hangman' is one of the album's highpoints; `Roll' is a medium-tempo rocker straight out of the Girl Monstar stylebook; `Ghandi' has some lovely menacing guitar; on `Ballad Of An Outlaw Woman' McCue displays plenty of slide, which is perhaps her greatest joy.

"A fifty dollar whore,
Could solicit more respect,
Than I gave to myself,
Knowing who you are..."
(`50 Dollar Whore')

Roll's lyrics first prompted me to think of Robert Earl Keen - the man described as the Thinking Person's Country Musician. (Not that McCue is a country artist) "Yeah, I like making people think a little bit - myself included," she told me. "I like to be challenged a bit when I'm listening to something."

"I was born, so here I am,
Not too bad for the unintended,
The one too many in a crowded room..."
(`Roll')

Roll suffers at times from its own variety, but that's just nitpicking - it still finished 2004 on a large number of influential Albums Of The Year lists.

Kim Porter
Forté Magazine, Australia

We, too, saw Anne open for Heart. The show we saw was in Seattle. Had no idea who she was prior to her walking out on stage. By the 2nd song, she had the entire crowd mesmorized. Just her and her guitar the whole way through. We bought all 3 of her CDs afterward (she signed them all) and we chatted with her briefly.

As for those who HAVE to delve into what motivates her lyrics...who cares?! Anne has a great voice to support her guitar-playing talent.

I'm a new fan and I wish her every success. Any 1 of her 3 CDs is a good purchase.

I had the opportunity to see Anne in Boise at Alive After Five (a little gem every Wed in the summer) and both myself and my wife really enjoyed her performance and bought this CD. ROLL is a great collection of songs...
I hope she'll come back Boise soon so we can catch her performance again.

This album rules. Anne is better on here than any of the alternative chicks from the 90s and today to whom she might be compared. The songs on here contain some of the best lyrics of any album I've ever heard, and they're backed up by good instrumentation, especially great bass lines. Here's the winners, which are most of the tunes:

I WAnt You Back
Nobody's Sleeping
Stupid
Hangman - fantastic song with one of the heaviest and best bass lines ever

50 Dollar Whore - song about a woman who's hitting the bottom

Gandhi - awesome song. Has political/social/historical/personal meaning crammed into not even 3 minutes.

Outlaw Woman

Machine Gun - homage to Jimi Hendrix. Anne shows that she can really play with the best.

Already a fan of her first independent release "Amazing Ordinary Things"--a jewel of sweet art pop--I was intrigued (and a tad skeptical) when a friend recommended Anne McCue's "Roll" as a great ROCK album. Well, after several listens, I get it. NO, this is not a slamming rock album like The Donnas "Spend the Night" (all fire with little brimstone), McCue is one of the least gimmicky, most genuinely talented singer/songwriter/guitarists in the business. "Roll" is her inaugeration into a pantheon that includes Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin and Anne's most arch supporter, Lucinda Williams. "Roll" rocks hardest on the incindiary 8+ minute version of Hendrix' "Machine Gun", but it's the mid-tempo blues/rock numbers that cast the most penetrating spell. Check out the anxious yearning of "Milkman's Daughter", the gorgeous folk-rock of "Crazy Beautiful Child" and the dead-pan brilliance of "Stupid", a song about soullessness in today's consumer society. Instead of preachy pretensions, we get deeply felt ruminations that hang in the mind as easily as the catchy melodies. Even the darkest material (like "Where the Darkness Grows") glows with performances that are equal parts seriousness and fun. Every element of these mostly live studio recordings just fit. There's not one bad track of the thirteen here. A note on sound: Another refreshing surprise here is the open natural spaciousness of most of the album. In a competitive pop/rock landscape that is fighting to be the loudest thing on the radio, squashing the sound with studio limiting/compression has ruined the fidelity of the sonic art. It's time to get back to honest songs and honest sound. Whatever happened to "the band in your living room"? If you've missed that truthfulness as much as I have, this is the album of the year. I can't wait to see her play live again!

I first heard Anne McCue when she opened for Lucinda Williams a couple of years ago. Her first song had me interested, her 3rd song (These Things) had me on the verge of tears, by the end of her show she had included Bessie Smith's "Empty Bed Blues" and Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" and I was hooked! Needless to say, I was very happy to finally see her long awaited first US release "Roll". There isn't one bad song on this CD and after a few listens you will find a McCue song going through your head when you least expect it. One of my personal favorites is "Hangman" and of course, she has added Hendrix's "Machine Gun". Two songs that you will want to crank up. Anne McCue is a talented guitar player, an intelligent songwriter and a woman who ROCKS! If you like this combination in an artist...BUY this CD! One more thing, I am a woman and I can identify with a lot of Anne's song, but because of Anne's guitar playing (you can tell she LOVES the guitar!) and gritty songs like "Hangman", this is a CD that both sexes will enjoy!

I also recomment her Live CD, "Ballad Of An Outlaw Woman" and "Amazing Ordinary Things". These are hard to find but may be available on her website.

I first heard some of Rolls material in early 2004 when it was still in its raw stages and performed like spontaneous combustion.
Now that it is available on CD it confirms that she is not a kookie cutter artist. Back in Texas we felt advantaged because we were able to hear the best of both music worlds. Blues & Rock. Roll allows listeners to be in two places at once. Listening to the beautiful folky falsetto melodies backdropped against periodic acid crunching guitars. Anne also reveals a little more of herself in the Hendrixs tune, when searching for more notes to play in the solo delves into a little Coltrane. Who would of thunk it? That is why before I go to Ralphs or to the airport I grab Anne McCues ROLL, you just never know...

Anne McCue is truly a diamond in the rough. Her skills on the electric and steel guitars are simply amazing. I've had the pleasure of seeing her in concert and have purchased more than one of her albums. This one, in part because it includes her cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun," is, in my opinion, her best.