Rosetta West - s/t
(self-released 1996)
Rosetta West - s/t
(self-released 1996)
From Aural Innovations #23 (April 2003)
I reviewed the latest Rosetta West CD, IO Pan in the last Aural Innovations and it is still a CD that I play often. This is the very first Rosetta West CD. There are two more CDs called Crusade and Deeper Than Magic, which I have not heard. The CD opens with the great "Boneyard Blues", a highly emotional foot stomping blues number. The bands raw sound really adds to the emotional impact that Rosetta West pack. The vocals are delivered in a special way, like Tom Watts, but James sounds nothing like Tom. "Slave Song" is a bluesy, rhythmic number with great interplay between the bass and guitars, which have a strange tuned down sound. "Midnight" starts with droning feedback of the instruments before a riff kicks in and takes you back to the psychedelic 60s. "Phantom Train" begins as a cry for help but is a special ballad. Reminds me of one of the songs on Zakk Wylde’s acoustic CD. "Low" is a powerful, distorted blues number with some emotional guitar and vocals. The only real heavy number on the CD. "The Flag" opens with a sample from a movie (I think?) and is a blues foot stomping psychedelic freakout number. The CD closes with the "Jack O’ Lantern". Psychedelic blues at it’s best! Everyone deserves to hear Rosetta West. Highly Recommended!
This album and the other 2 are available at the following address for $10 each: Rosetta West, P.O. Box 807, Geneva, IL 60134, USA.
Reviewed by Scott Heller