Rags Rosenberg Song of the Bricoleur Review by Gary Hill
This is quite an intriguing album. The main vibe here is old-school folk music. There are some variants, though. It gets more rocking at times. There are also excursions toward things like jazz and progressive folk. Then there is the closing tune that is a full-on beat music thing. All of this is delivered with a faithful and genuine style, and it all works really well.
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Track by Track Review
Bullfrogs
Country leaning folk music is the idea here. This tune has a real classic folk music vibe at its heart. It’s potent and a great way to start things in style.
California Bound
Not a big change from the opener, this is more effective folk music.
Catherine's Song
This is mellower and more stripped back. I suppose it’s a folk ballad, but in some ways, everything we’ve heard so far qualifies as ballad.
Eye On You
Even slower, this has a bit of a rocking anger to it. Yet, it’s still folk rock. It gets some electric guitar and some horns later. This is one of the standout cuts. It has some real meat on its bones.
Flower Time
Piano and vocals is the main arrangement here. This has some horns, too. It’s an intriguing and very balladic piece.
John Doe
Acoustic guitar work is at the heart of this thing. It’s country leaning folk music, It’s also effective.
Smokey Joe's
I like the singer-song-writer meets folk vibe on this.
Song of the Bricoleur
Café music, powerful folk and more are on the menu on the title track. This reminds me a little of early Billy Joel for some reason.
These Bones
Now this is intriguing. It has some electronic elements that bring it toward art music. As it continues there are world music vibes at play along with symphonic ones. I’d almost consider this progressive folk, really. It’s a powerful tune that might be my favorite on the disc. The soaring female backing vocal later lends so much emotion.
Ticket To The Game
Folk music is still the driver, but this has a lot of blues and jazz built into it. I love the piano on this thing. This is definitely another highlight of the disc. The acoustic guitar solo is another highlight, as is the horn work late in the tune. The female lead vocal later lends its own flavor of magic.
True Believer
More country music based, this is old school folk music. It still has some horn at times, lending a little jazzy edge. The pedal steel reinforces the country angle to it.
The Code
Some Beat styled music serves as the backdrop for a spoken reading. The music drops further back as it continues. This is art music that definitely fits as “beat.” In fact, an alternate title for this might be “Beat Observations of the Modern World.” Either way, it’s an unexpected pleasure.
