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With his latest Lost Highway album, The Rose Hotel, Keen re-confirms his place among the Lone Star State's great storytellers, capable of painting rich, poignant landscapes worthy of Cormac McCarthy and spinning satirical yarns that'd do Kinky Friedman proud. The disc's rough-hewn tone -- it's one of the more immediate, organic efforts in Keen's varied catalog -- emphasizes both ends of that emotional spectrum.
But you have to get all the songsReviewed by T. Johnson, 2010-02-11
At first listen, as I've found with several REK offerings, this CD
didn't do much for me. Now that I've given it a spin a few times,
I'm really into it - in fact I enjoy every single song. Like any of
his other albums, this one has a slightly different feel to it from
anything else he's done. It has a very clear, natural sound, and
REK seems very much in his element. The songs are varied, and for
the first time I can recall four of the songs are written by other
songwriters (albeit two from Bill Whitbeck from his band). I highly
recommend getting the extra tracks from Amazon and Apple both -
Village Inn is one of my favorite songs from the album, as is Deep
Blue Summer Day (which is a whole different style for REK by the
way, but he pulls it off very nicely).
The production by Lloyd Maines couldn't be better, REK is at the
top of his game, and the musicians are nothing but top notch -
Danny Barnes on banjo is most noticeably outstanding. I also
particularly enjoyed the duet with Greg Brown on his song Laughing
River very much. Hopefully REK can put off his trip to Laughing
River another couple of decades.
REK -- how could you?Reviewed by John E. Vandenberg, 2009-12-28
This was my most disappointing CD purchase of 2009, and I buy alot of music. I love Robert Earl Keen and this loser was a mishmash of styles, bar music, and just lousy songwriting. I listened to it a few times, and then threw it away without putting it on my IPOD.
Not Great, But Not Bad EitherReviewed by Ogg Oggelby, 2009-12-21
If you like Keen's sense of humor it is present aplenty in The Rose
Hotel. While there's nothing groundbreaking on this outing, it is
solid for the most part. The players are in top notch form and Keen
gives them an opportunity to stretch out for a change.
Sure, there a couple of weak cuts but there are quite a few that
will become staples of his live shows. The guest contributions by
Greg Brown and Billy Bob Thronton fail to add to the mix. Brown's
composition seems out of place alongside Keen's songs. The vocals
by the aforementioned guest artists only serve to make Robert
Earl's voice sound a lot better than it really is. Maybe the
inclusion of these two gravel-voiced gents was really a storke of
genius. Is it live or is it Memorex? Maybe it's just that Marianne
Faithfull wasn't available.
Check in anytimeReviewed by R. Kyle, 2009-12-16
Was it worth waiting four years for this CD? Heck yes. Robert Earl
Keen's obviously been busy working that writing talent in his
recording hiatus.
Clearly, Keen's sense of humor is still intact. "Is there Wireless
in Heaven" had me laughing so hard, I had to wipe my eyes. Keen
always asks the questions the rest of us would like to know. For
that matter, so's "10,000 Chinese Walk Into a Bar."
"Throwing Rocks" is vintage Keen with the kind of picking and
incongruous Gospel chorus that makes it exceedingly listenable.
Then, there's "The Man Behind the Drums" which is a paean to Levon
Helm, the 'heart-beat' of The Band.
Hope I don't have to wait for another four years for another Robert
Earl Keen CD, but I'm definitely going to be enjoying "Rose Hotel"
for longer than that.
Rebecca Kyle, December 2009
Ahh, Robert Earl Keen, my FAVORITE singer.Reviewed by Pearl Ann Curran, 2009-11-24
This is my 14th Robert Earl Keen "album". I do declare, his stuff is the best!
