• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

May 08, 2023 Web Exclusive By Mark Moody

Considering that Garden Party is Rose City Band’s fourth album in as many years, it’s safe to assume that songwriter/guitarist Ripley Johnson (who also leads Wooden Shijps and Moon Duo) has chosen this vehicle as his primary mode of transport. And that’s a particularly fine choice. Given the outfit’s country leaning approach, as underpinned by pedal steel maestro Barry Walker, the tracks where Walker appears take on the economy of the instrument’s traditional genre. The addition here of keyboardist Paul Hasenberg (who is described as a member of the group’s live band), unfortunately leads Johnson into some jammier flights of fancy where the two tussle over extended air space.

The album starts gamely enough with a trio of the album’s finest tracks. The tongue in cheek chorus of opener “Chasing Rainbows” leads with the line “you sing high in a low song.” And though the song rambles along at a mighty fine pace, it’s also marked by spare licks on guitar, pedal steel, and keys. The jauntier course of “Slow Burn” belies its title with some classic country “chicken pickin’” turns, while the title song is more of an ultra-laid back affair that recalls the soothing sounds of Garden Party predecessor, Earth Trip.

Though not at all a knock on Hasenberg’s proficiency, the tracks where Walker sits out drift into spacier territory that may make for a soundtrack for a relaxing night out, but aren’t as engaging for active listening. Case in point being the companion tracks “Moonlight Highway” and “El Rio” that close out the album. The former is built on a riffing vamp that borrows a Bo Diddley “Who Do You Love” beat, but gives way to the barely there meander of “El Rio.” Slighter still is the earlier “Mariposam” which walks the line between the Burt Bacharach melody of “Walk On By” and Archie Bell’s “Tighten Up,” but at too leisurely a pace.

Maybe it was inevitable that Johnson’s Rose City Band would drift into extended noodles over time. A threat that Earth Trip neatly avoided until its closing moments. Even that album’s centerpiece, “In The Rain,” steered clear of excesses in spite of running longer than anything here. Garden Party is as pleasant as its title promises, with its extended passages custom made for sipping and supping as the day fades. Whether letting go of the reins to spin out into less chartered territory is your cup of tea will come down to how you like it served. (www.rosecityband.org)

Author rating: 6.5/10