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Inside Tracks #7 - Josh Rouse
Artist: Josh Rouse
Album: Nashville (Rykodisk, 14th February 2005)
Song: Track 8: Sad Eyes
Background to the album: An ode to his adopted hometown of 10 years (before he relocated to Spain), Nashville has become Rouse's most complete album to date. Like much of Rouse's work it's sprinkled liberally with melancholy but it resists lapsing into an introspective bout of yawnsome blues through sumptuous melodies and Rouse's simple and crisp choice of lyrics.
Rouse's 2003 break-through album 1972 was a splendid mid-tempo affair that walked the line beautifully between the chart-friendly singer/songwriter and the alt-country troubadour. Nashville was a little different. The gradients between melancholy and optimism were greater (just compare the likes of Winter In The Hamptons with Sad Eyes) whilst Rouse found a consistent theme (in the form of Nashville, Tennessee) through which he could thread the narrative of all his songs. It gave him a platform to craft some of his most pertinent songs to dates.
Why this song? An unashamedly epic piano-ballad that shifts deliciously from a stark opening piano line to a swollen, big-hearted final flourish which echoes with all the emotional potency of a Springsteen rally. Rouse's lyrics are also at their most poignant; a tale of a woman's rudderless existence and Rouse's vow to "take her into the light/ make it okay" they slot neatly into an arrangement that draws much from the extravagant operatics of Rufus Wainwright, albeit with an everyman touch.
Nashville ultimately builds to the point of Sad Eyes, it's the album's pinnacle and many have argued the following final two tracks (Why Won't You Tell Me What and Life have lost much of their potential impact having been forced to live in the shadow of such a richly-melodic and emotionally-ladened opus. You can't help but agree. It is an utterly jaw-dropping listening experience.
What the critics said about Sad Eyes:
Monsters And Critics: "The melodies on Nashville are catchy and gorgeous. Songs like 'Streetlights', 'Sad Eyes' and 'Saturday' already stand out as among his best work....As Rouse himself says 'its about songs, its not about looking cool'." http://www.monstersandcritics.com/music/reviews/article_6670.php/Album_Review_Josh_Rouse_-_Nashville
Uncut: ""Sad Eyes" is a big piano ballad, a restructuring of timeless motifs in the manner of Rufus Wainwright, complete with strings and a tricksy middle eight which highlights Josh's knack for grace."
http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/josh_rouse/reviews/8549
Stylus: "From beginning to end Nashville is a satisfying listening experience. Whether Rouse is penning upbeat sing-a-longs like "Middle School Frown" or piano driven ballads like "Sad Eyes", he stuffs his songs with keenly observed details and enough fat hooks to bring a smile to even the most curmudgeonly indie rock snot. Nashville is a success if for no other reason than the fact that it exists as such a pronounced, focused step in Rouse's career. This is a record that announces him as a singer-songwriter of note, and worthy of the accolades that will come."
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/josh-rouse/nashville.htm
Watch Live version of Sad Eyes from Sao Paulo from August 2008. Click Here
Photo taken by Stephen Dowling. www.stephendowlingphotography.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephendowling/
Album: Nashville (Rykodisk, 14th February 2005)
Song: Track 8: Sad Eyes
Background to the album: An ode to his adopted hometown of 10 years (before he relocated to Spain), Nashville has become Rouse's most complete album to date. Like much of Rouse's work it's sprinkled liberally with melancholy but it resists lapsing into an introspective bout of yawnsome blues through sumptuous melodies and Rouse's simple and crisp choice of lyrics.
Rouse's 2003 break-through album 1972 was a splendid mid-tempo affair that walked the line beautifully between the chart-friendly singer/songwriter and the alt-country troubadour. Nashville was a little different. The gradients between melancholy and optimism were greater (just compare the likes of Winter In The Hamptons with Sad Eyes) whilst Rouse found a consistent theme (in the form of Nashville, Tennessee) through which he could thread the narrative of all his songs. It gave him a platform to craft some of his most pertinent songs to dates.
Why this song? An unashamedly epic piano-ballad that shifts deliciously from a stark opening piano line to a swollen, big-hearted final flourish which echoes with all the emotional potency of a Springsteen rally. Rouse's lyrics are also at their most poignant; a tale of a woman's rudderless existence and Rouse's vow to "take her into the light/ make it okay" they slot neatly into an arrangement that draws much from the extravagant operatics of Rufus Wainwright, albeit with an everyman touch.
Nashville ultimately builds to the point of Sad Eyes, it's the album's pinnacle and many have argued the following final two tracks (Why Won't You Tell Me What and Life have lost much of their potential impact having been forced to live in the shadow of such a richly-melodic and emotionally-ladened opus. You can't help but agree. It is an utterly jaw-dropping listening experience.
What the critics said about Sad Eyes:
Monsters And Critics: "The melodies on Nashville are catchy and gorgeous. Songs like 'Streetlights', 'Sad Eyes' and 'Saturday' already stand out as among his best work....As Rouse himself says 'its about songs, its not about looking cool'." http://www.monstersandcritics.com/music/reviews/article_6670.php/Album_Review_Josh_Rouse_-_Nashville
Uncut: ""Sad Eyes" is a big piano ballad, a restructuring of timeless motifs in the manner of Rufus Wainwright, complete with strings and a tricksy middle eight which highlights Josh's knack for grace."
http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/josh_rouse/reviews/8549
Stylus: "From beginning to end Nashville is a satisfying listening experience. Whether Rouse is penning upbeat sing-a-longs like "Middle School Frown" or piano driven ballads like "Sad Eyes", he stuffs his songs with keenly observed details and enough fat hooks to bring a smile to even the most curmudgeonly indie rock snot. Nashville is a success if for no other reason than the fact that it exists as such a pronounced, focused step in Rouse's career. This is a record that announces him as a singer-songwriter of note, and worthy of the accolades that will come."
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/josh-rouse/nashville.htm
Watch Live version of Sad Eyes from Sao Paulo from August 2008. Click Here
Photo taken by Stephen Dowling. www.stephendowlingphotography.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephendowling/
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