Customer Reviews

The Rose Hotel

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been listening to an advance copy of this album for the last month. After many, many spins, I can say with conviction that this is the best album of Robert Earl Keen's celebrated career.

The record really displays Robert's impressive songwriting talent. With each new album, it becomes more apparent that Robert is keeping alive the tradition of great Texas songwriters. The torch has now been passed from Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Willie Nelson and Billy Joe Shaver to Robert Earl Keen. There are very few modern writers who consistently turn out songs of this quality.

These new original songs, which include Rose Hotel, Something That I Do, Throwin' Rocks, Village Inn and Wireless in Heaven, are all good examples of the clever song pictures that come from the mind of REK. A number of different influences are found in his songs. There is a mix of traditional country themes, Robert's twisted humor and a dash of the darkness of Cormac McCarthy combined in his personal view of the world. Robert is able to take common events and turn them into songs that say a lot about the world we inhabit. He is able to avoid the chiches that are found in most country songs being written in Nashville these days.

Having been familiar with most of the original songs on the album in earlier acoustic versions, it was exciting to hear them with the backing of the band. If you have seen Robert's live show, you know that the players in his band are very talented. Rich Brotherton (guitar) and Bill Whitbeck (Bass) are fans and students of great music and their playing reflects it. Marty Muse has great touch on the steel guitar. Tom Van Schaik always lays down a solid foundation with the drums. Their inspired playing at the live shows has finally been captured on an album.

Here are some of my impressions of the new songs. The album opens with Rose Hotel, which contains some vintage REK story telling. I really like the chorus of Sometimes you run/ Sometimes you fall/stall. There is a nice transition on the break from Rich (lead) to Marty (steel guitar). Robert has always had great affinity for the songs of Townes Van Zandt. Flyin' Shoes really fits his voice. The playing of the band and especially Bill's bass at the beginning is excellent. Compare this cut to Steve Earle's covers on Townes and Earle's work is exposed for the boring crap that is it. Throwin' Rocks sounds like it could have been on Farm Fresh Onions. It has great keyboards and backup singing. Something That I Do is a nice example of Robert's whimsical song writing. On The Man Behind The Drums, Robert sings about the great Levon Helm. What's not to like about that? Village Inn is probably the best song ever written about a motel. It has a very pretty melody that reminds me of Road To Nowhere/Carolina on Walking Distance. Wireless in Heaven is a nice piece of REK wit. It is funny as hell.

If you are already a Robert Earl Keen fan, you are going to love this album. If you are not familiar with his music, this is a good place to start. Check in to The Rose Hotel today!

I have waited several weeks to review this, while listening to the CD, hoping it would grow on me. I have long been a huge fan of Robert Earl Keen, and generally can listen to his CD's over and over without growing tired of them, but I am sad to say that this CD, with the exception of 'The Rose Hotel' and 'Wireless in Heaven' really does not do much for me. I have never before had to try to let one of his CD's 'grow' on me, I have always loved them at first listen.

The song '10,000 Chinese Walk Into A Bar' I cannot stand to listen to. I have to skip that track, something I have not done since I skipped Yoko Ono's tracks that were in-between John Lennon's on one of his albums. 'Village Inn' sounds like it was composed by reading an advertisement of the place. 'Something I Do' may be true, but it is a yawner. I do not find myself singing any of the songs during the day, or thinking about the lyrics.

There is one thing that is absolutely outstanding on the CD, and to me it makes it well worth buying- and that is the banjo playing. The banjo player has to be the very best I have ever heard, and he is the bright spot and the salvation of the CD.

It is a shame that there are not any songs that I truly love, songs like 'What I Really Mean', 'Feeling Good Again', 'A Border Tragedy', 'Let the Music Play', 'Gringo Honeymoon', and on and on I could go....

The Amazon exclusive version contains the song Deep Blue Summer but omits the song Village Inn which IS on the hard CD version. The apple version is a $1 more but has a 12th song Little 67 172....and has the digital booklet.... its sad you cant get all 13 of these songs on a "complete version" of this record. I don't know if this is the record company thinking it can make a few extra bucks, but it stinks.

If you like Keen's sense of humor it is present aplenty in The Rose Hotel. While there's nothing groundbreaking on this outing, it is solid for the most part. The players are in top notch form and Keen gives them an opportunity to stretch out for a change.

Sure, there a couple of weak cuts but there are quite a few that will become staples of his live shows. The guest contributions by Greg Brown and Billy Bob Thronton fail to add to the mix. Brown's composition seems out of place alongside Keen's songs. The vocals by the aforementioned guest artists only serve to make Robert Earl's voice sound a lot better than it really is. Maybe the inclusion of these two gravel-voiced gents was really a storke of genius. Is it live or is it Memorex? Maybe it's just that Marianne Faithfull wasn't available.

I am not a Robert Earl Keen completeist and confess to owning only a couple of other Keen recordings. But I picked this up recently because I happened to be in Austin at Waterloo Records on the day of its release. Well, while The Rose Hotel doesn't top albums like West Textures, it does offer the listener lots to enjoy with a good variety of moods and tempos to go along with the generally well-written songs.
Here's what I like best: the solid title cut; Throwin' Rocks (except for the lame background vocals); the humorous, rollicking 10,000 Chinese Walk Into A Bar; Laughing River; and the corny, upbeat Wireless In Heaven which is chock-full of references to icons of modern life.
Overall, The Rose Hotel is a very listenable album without a single cut that will have you wanting to use it as a Frisbee. If you are a rabid Keen fan already, then no doubt you'll be buying this soon. If you are a sometimes Keen fan like myself then feel assured that buying this is money well spent.

I think this is my 12th REK album, and like all of the others, there are songs I really like, and songs I skip. Of course, there are Townes Van Zandt (Flying Shoes) and Greg Brown (Laughing River) covers, and while these are never my favorites, they are respectable, as usual. I find myself turning up the volume for Rose Hotel, Throwing Rocks, Something That I Do, and On And On, and down for 10,000 Chinese Walk Into A Bar. Wireless In Heaven would be a throwaway, except for the excellent banjo play.

In general, I find it a little too easy-listening. I prefer the inspired lyrics of his early albums or the utterly surprising experimentation of Farm Fresh Onions. I think three stars is low, but I can't give it four.

I have been listening to Robert Earl Keen for over 20 years and he never fails to amaze me with his ability to consistently write great songs that a very diverse group of people can relate to. Whether they are his creative story songs or his narratives on life and love, Keen is more than just an observer in life. The Rose Hotel is another great offering that is worth purchasing for the title cut and his amazing reworking of the classic Townes Van Zandt ballad, "Flyin' Shoes" alone. The CD is more rhythmically driven than any of his other records, with driving and locking bass and drums giving the songs a sense of urgency and movement. There are also more vocal parts on this CD than any other Keen release that I can remember. He has streamlined his lyrics to the point of where he says more with less and they are a little more generic than on past releases (which is not necessarily a bad thing). I give it 4 stars instead of five because it is a little uneven in places, but it's still worthy of Keen's best work (in areas) and has a number of wonderful songs on it. This music can still be considered of the Americana genre, with the kind of country roots that Keen always pays homage to. It was produced by Lloyd Maines, the great pedal steel player and producer,(and, yes, he's Natalie's father). Keen's band headed by Rich Brotherton is still providing solid support and they play brilliantly yet again on this release. If you are a fan of Robert's, this is a must purchase and a logical progression to where he seems to be going as a songwriter. If you are new to Robert Earl, you might want to pick up The Walking Distance and Farm Fresh Onions first and then progress to this release because it will make more sense. Thanks, Robert, for your continued excellent contribution to the Great Americana Songbook!

Robert Earl returns after a 4 year absence with his strongest in years...Rose Hotel is a well rounded effort with his great story songs, a rocker or two, and a song called "10000 Chinese Walk into a Bar". Guest spots by Greg Brown, and Billy Bob Thornton. Worth the money. Highly recommended

I've got 'em all, and this is far and away his best effort. I've been giving this CD a lot of air time on KFOK LP-FM, Georgetown. CA.

At first listen, as I've found with several REK offerings, this CD didn't do much for me. Now that I've given it a spin a few times, I'm really into it - in fact I enjoy every single song. Like any of his other albums, this one has a slightly different feel to it from anything else he's done. It has a very clear, natural sound, and REK seems very much in his element. The songs are varied, and for the first time I can recall four of the songs are written by other songwriters (albeit two from Bill Whitbeck from his band). I highly recommend getting the extra tracks from Amazon and Apple both - Village Inn is one of my favorite songs from the album, as is Deep Blue Summer Day (which is a whole different style for REK by the way, but he pulls it off very nicely).

The production by Lloyd Maines couldn't be better, REK is at the top of his game, and the musicians are nothing but top notch - Danny Barnes on banjo is most noticeably outstanding. I also particularly enjoyed the duet with Greg Brown on his song Laughing River very much. Hopefully REK can put off his trip to Laughing River another couple of decades.