Tim Rose
Band members Related acts
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- Tim Rose (RIP 2002) -- vocals, guitar
supporting musicians: - Clem Cattini -- drums, percussion (1970) - Tina Charles -- backing vocals (1970) - Herbie
Flowers -- bass (1970) - Fuzzy Knight -- bass - Russ Knukel (aka Russ Kunkle) -- drums - Pete Seers (aka Pete Sears) -- keyboards - Andy Sommers (aka
Andy Summers) -- lead guitar
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- The Big Three (Tim Rose)
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Genre: folk Rating: 2 stars ** Title: Love, A Kind of Hate Story Company: Capitol Catalog: ST
673 Country/State: Washington, D.C. Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: minor ring wear Available: 1 Catalog ID: 5569 Price: $20.00
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Admittedly I didn't know a great deal about Tim Rose when I stumbled across this album. I seemed to recall he was a Dylan-styled folky which made the cover showing Rose holding a telecaster kind of interesting ... That was underscored by the fact Shel Talmy produced the album. Well it was interesting enough for me to shell out a dollar.
Given those apparent discrepancies I wasn't sure what to expect from 1970's "Love, A Kind of Hate Story". The album title left me with visions of sentimental singer/songwriter material that would send English majors into spasms of self hatred. Luckily the album title was a misnomer. Kicked along by Rose's hard as nails voice and a top-notch band in the form of drummer Clem Cattini, bassist Herbie Flowers and keyboardist Alan Hawkshaw (all members of the Talmy-managed band Rumplestiltkin) about half of these tracks seriously rocked with at least three being worth the prices of admission ('Dim Light A-Burning', 'You Can't Stop Yourself' and 'Ode To An Old Ball'. Yeah, Rose's voice was an acquired taste. Imagine a slightly less spastic Joe Cocker, or a Kevin Coyne who was a little more mainstream and you'd be in the right neighborhood. The horn arrangements were another problem ...
Too rock oriented for folk fans and too folk for rock fans, his probably isn't the place to start checking out Rose's catalog. Still, the album has it's moments.
For some reason Capitol marketing elected to issue the album's UK release with alternative artwork (Capitol catalog number ST-22673).
"Love,
A Kind of Hate Story" track listing: 1.) I've Gotta Get a Message To You (Barry Gibb - Robin Gibb - Maurice Gibb) - 2:25 rating: * star Things certainly got off to a ragged start with an ill-advised cover of The Bee Gee's 'I've Gotta Get a Message To You'. Adding an overblown horn arrangement that only served to highlight his ragged voice, Rose managed to take a crappy song and make it even worse. Always wondered why Capitol tapped it as a single:
- 1970's 'I Gotta Get a Message to You ' b/w 'Jamie Sue' (Capitol catalog number P-3001) 2.) Dim Light A-Burning (Tim Rose) - 3:15 rating: **** stars 'Dim Light A-Burning' was one of the set's highlights. Great rocker and Rose's voice came off well. 3.) Where Do You Go To My Lovely (Peter Sarstead) - 6:20 rating: * star Why would anyone want to cover a fey piece of MOR crud like Peter Sarstead's 'Where Do You Go To My Lovely'? Yech ! 4.) You Can't Stop Yourself (Tim Rose) - 2:48 rating: **** stars The combination of dainty harpsichord and some of Rose's nastiest lyrics (some lady totally ticked him off), made 'You Can't Stop Yourself' fun to hear. 5.) Sad Song (George Clinton) - 4:40 rating: * star A martial paced ballad complete with bleating female back chorus, 'Sad Song' was one for the English majors ... Okay, okay, Rose turned in a nice lead guitar on the song.
(side
2) 'Georgia By Morning' was a nice ballad, but Rose's whining vocal (you were left wondering whether he'd make it through the song) effectively killed it. 2.) Ode To An Old Ball (Tim Rose) - 3:35 rating: **** stars While Rose's labored vocals were often hard to take, on the soul-ish 'Ode To An Old Ball' they were near perfect. Great track !!! 3.) Sympathy (Rare Bird) - 2:40 rating: * star Sounds strange, but 'Sympathy' sounded like a Gary Brooker and Procol Harum outtake. Unfortunately Rose should stay away from fey ballads. 4.) I Know These Two People (Tim Rose) - 3:25 rating: * star Well the harpsichord melody was nice, though I can't think of anything else to say about 'I Know These Two People'. 5.) Jamie Sue (Tim Rose) - 3:52 rating: *** stars The album closed on a positive note with the original 'Jamie Sue' serving as the set's most commercial and mainstream track (thankfully no horns).
In September 2002 Rose underwent surgery for cancer. Only 62, he died from resulting complications.
There are a couple of nice Tim Rose websites:
The official website is located at: http://www.tim-rose.co.uk/
Longtime friend/fan Brian Mathieson also has a nice site at: http://www.bmathieson.freeserve.co.uk/tr/index.html
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Genre: rock Rating: 4 stars **** Title: Unfinished Song Company: Tiger Lily Catalog: TL
14055 Country/State: Washington, D.C. Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: still in shrink wrap (opened) Available: 2 Catalog ID: 1025 Price: $425.00
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Self-produced, musically1976's "Unfinished Song" was a major departure for Tim Rose. Although released in 1976, the album's history is ill defined and confusing. Depending what references you use, the material was recorded in 1970, or 1975. Judging by the songs and the overall album vibe, I'd go with the 1975 recording date, but who knows. Similarly, there are different stories explaining how the material landed in the hands of Morris Levy's tax scam Tiger Lily label. One story I've read has the master tapes being stolen and sold on the cheap to Levy. Another has the studio where the recordings were made going bankrupt at which time the tapes were sold to Levy. Regardless, it's one of the rarer releases in Rose's catalog, and is one of the holy grails in the Tiger Lily catalog. In fact this is the only copy of the LP I've ever seen. Having mentioned I had a copy on an online forum, before I'd even listed it for sale a couple of high end dealers had contacted me about buying it. Reportedly an attempt to expand his repertoire and audience beyond folk by recording a real rock and roll collection, about all you can say is he succeeded with flying colors. Backed by a small group of studio musicians including Fuzzy Knight, keyboardist Russ Kunkle (erroneously listed as Russ Knukle) and Andy Summers (mis-spelled as Andy Sommers), Rose seemed to be having a blast across these eight tracks. Perhaps because it was little more than a personal experiment that was never intended for broad release, the performances were uniformly upbeat and enthusiastic. On tracks like the opener 'Outrageous Mary', the bossa nova-tinged 'Givin'' and 'The Day I Spent with You', Rose sounded like he was having fun in the studio. Hard to imagine for a folky who trafficked in pain and despair. In fact, I can only think of one negative thing to say about this album - clocking in at less than thirty minutes, it was simply too short.
"Unfinished
Song" track listing: 1.) Outrageous Mary (Tim Rose) - rating: **** stars So
anyone who thinks Rose was nothing more than a run of the mill folky needs
to hear this fuzz guitar powered rocker. The combination of Rose's
blistering voice, Andy Summers fuzz guitar, and the Knight and Kunkle rhythm
section was simply devastating. The track's always reminded me
of a good Stephen Still rocker. For
a moment the acoustic guitar opening gave you the impression 'Givin''
was a return to folk, but it wasn't. Instead the song featured a
surprisingly enjoyable bossa-nova vibe with a touch of Flamenco guitar
thrown in. Unfortunately, the song faded out
prematurely. Opening
up with some squealing Andy Summers (the liner notes list him as Andy
Sommers) lead guitar, 'The Way I Spent with You' was a straightforward
rocker. Seemingly inspired by a one-shot dalliance with a married
woman, about all you can say is she must have been one amazing
woman. My pick for the album's best performances. Another out-and-out fuzz guitar propelled rocker. You were left to wonder why the man didn't do more of this stuff !!!
(side
2) To
be honest, the title track was probably my least favorite performance.
Showcasing Pete Sears on keyboards (the performance credits listed him as
Pete Seers), this one sounded like sub par Spooky Tooth track.
Showcasing
Venetta Fields and Clydie King on backing vocals, 'Mine for a Night' sounded
like a good Spooky Tooth rocker. Probably
the album's prettiest tune, 'Empty People' featured another killer Summers
guitar, while showcasing some interesting facets in Rose's gruff
voice.
With
a blazing rock melody, 'Where
Is the Good Life?' simply served to underscore how good Rose could sound in
a conventional rock setting. One of the album's most FM-friendly
tunes.
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