(TV) New Richard Lloyd album

[Joe Hartley <jh@brainiac.com>]

I was fortunate enough to get an advance listen to Richard's new album
"Roseland" and wrote a review.


Richard Lloyd has always challenged musical expectations.  When punk was forming and the trend was for short songs with minimal soloing, Richard and his bandmates in Television were spinning dual-guitar tapestries that would play out over the time the Ramones would fit 5 songs into.  With his solo work, he turned out finely crafted rock songs with some hints of pop in all the right places, then took a hard left turn and recorded an album of Jimi Hendrix songs.

I should have kept Richard's habit of shattering expectations in mind when I put on Roseland.  I'd expected something along the lines of “The Cover Doesn't Matter” (his album from 2000 that's a favorite of mine). but  what I got was completely different.  Sonically, this album brings a crunch that's different from past Lloyd productions, but still sounds fantastic.

The album starts off with “Crystal Mountain”, with a great herky-jerky rhythm that keeps you off-balance, and “The Word”, which is more raw rock with some great wordplay.  And then we're into “I Want You” which is a lovely blues-rock ballad that Richard belts out with conviction.  “Every Time it Rains” has a rising verse progression leading into the chorus that I really like.  “Tasting Quicksand” is pretty bluesy as well, and then we get to “Murder Boogie”.  Richard's isn't the first guitar player you'd think of when it comes to plaing a boogie, but he owns it in this track.

The last four songs on the album are all classic examples of Richard's songwriting.  “The Real Girl” is a sweet tune that is followed by the harder-edged “Easy”, which is immediately recognizable as a Lloyd composition.  “Devil's Desire” keeps things moving right along, and “Tired Old Morning” wraps it up beautifully, with Richard giving a vocal performance that conveys a weariness that is unusual in a Lloyd vocal, even as he brings the usual power to it.  It's great to hear new music from Richard.  Seek him out on Facebook to get yourself a copy of this disc!


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       Joe Hartley - UNIX/network Consultant - jh@brainiac.com
 Without deviation from the norm, "progress" is not possible. - FZappa
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