Rags Rosenberg – Song of the Bricoleur
I’ll say this for Rags: he takes old traditional forms & manages to reshape them into something with musical sensibility. Some of the tunes are older than others. The opener may be a bit too deep for average listeners, but it has good folky elements, a chorus of great, soulful voices, & a display of Rags’ strong, provocative originality.
On “California Bound,” he mixes folky repetition & embodies it with soulful backup voices. That’s creative. There are 12 pensive tracks to Song of the Bricoleur (Drops Sept 19/Coyote Gulch Records/55:23). A bricoleur is an ordinary person who patches things together with what’s at hand; creates something new out of the broken & no longer useful. Produced by Rags (guitars/vocals) & Jesse DeCarlo (guitars), it’s filled with unfussy melodicism & Rags’ distinctive voice. The storytelling can be intense or poignant, with a voice that’s not as friendly as Gordon Lightfoot, or as radical as Phil Ochs, but applied with a folkier, compelling blend of Leonard Cohen.
“Eyes On You” has a Brian Stock horn that punctuates with jazzy notes while soulful backup (Lauri Hofer & Malinda De Rouen) adds immediacy with exceptional tonality throughout the LP. Each song has a different degree of tuneful glory. Care has been taken in composing these pieces. “Flower Time” is poetically narrated & unlike many folk singers, Rags uses horns (flügelhorn/trumpet) with finesse. The soulful voices add a unique advantage. It’s like a painter who uses both oil & watercolor to create an atmospheric image. The showboating is in his skill as a songwriter & someone who can penetrate the heart as well as the mind.
Rags is a California-based artist who isn’t shy about tackling a darker topic with a hint of humor. “John Doe” is a hoot. The subject is dead, has a toe tag, & no one’s claimed him. He recounts how they found him. There is nothing mediocre about Rags Rosenberg’s showcase. He can be contemporary in his material or respectfully old-fashioned like John Prine with his fine narration in “Smokey Joe’s.” Wonderfully entertaining. May one day be a standard saloon tune, just before last call.
From the engaging “Song of the Bricoleur” to the Tom Waits weird “These Bones,” Rags sets up a good contemporary Lord Buckley rap. Cool. Can you dig it? I do.
Musicians – Bob Furgon(violin/piano), Mike Shannon & Danny Frankel (drums), Marcie Chapa (percussion), Zach Westfall (electric bass), Steve Uccello & Janie Cowan (upright bass), Gar Robertson (pedal steel/dobro), Charlie Wallace (pedal steel/Weisenborn guitar), Lucio Menegon (electric guitar), Kyle Kovalik (guitar), Mike Marotta & Heike Binder (accordion), Jeff Paris & Bill Spencer (piano), Richard Hall (organ), & George Altziebler (harmonica).
Highlights – “Bullfrogs,” “California Bound,” “Eyes On You,” “Flower Time,” “John Doe,” “Smokey Joe’s,” “Song of the Bricoleur,” “These Bones,” “Ticket To the Game,” & “The Code.”
A 24-page lyric insert is enclosed. Color image courtesy of Rags’ website gallery. CD @ Apple & Amazon + https://ragsrosenberg.com/
