Tim Rose: The Musician

A nearly forgotten singer/songwriter of the '60s, Tim Rose's early work bore a strong resemblance to another Tim working in Greenwich Village around 1966-67, Tim Hardin. Rose also favored a throaty blues-folk-rock style with pop production flourishes, though he looked to outside material more, wasn't quite in Hardin's league as a singer or songwriter, and had a much harsher, even gravelly vocal tone. Before beginning a solo career, Rose had sung with Cass Elliott in the folk trio The Big Three, a few years before she joined The Mamas And Papas. Signed by Columbia in 1966, his 1967 debut album (which actually included a few previously released singles) is considered by far his most significant work. Two of the tracks were particularly noteworthy: his slow arrangement of "Hey Joe" inspired Jimi Hendrix's version, and "Morning Dew," Rose's best original composition, became something of a standard, covered by the Jeff Beck Group, the Grateful Dead, Clannad, and others. Some non-LP singles he recorded around this time have unfortunately never been reissued, and although he made several other albums up through the mid-'70s, none matched the acclaim of the first one.
-- Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Although 1975's The Musician was recorded several years after Tim Rose's 15 minutes of fame had officially ended, his voice is as gloriously ragged and raspy as ever, and the album contains several flashes of the brilliance that made Rose a Greenwich Village legend in the mid- and late '60s. Considerably less folky-sounding than his earlier records, The Musician contains heavy rock versions of the two songs with which Rose is most identified ("Morning Dew" and "Hey Joe") along with several originals and covers of generally high quality. Includes a cover of the Bobby Charles/ Rick Danko song "Small Town Talk."

Tracks

1. Morning Dew (Dobson/Rose)
2. 7.30 Song (Rose/Theobald)
3. Small Town Talk (Charles/Danko)
4. Musician (Dibbens/Shepstone)
5. Loving Arms (Jans)
6. Old Man (Young)
7. Hey Joe (Roberts)
8. It's Not My Life That's Been Changing (Rose)
9. Day I Spent with You (Rose)
10. Second Avenue (Moore)
11. Now You're a Lady (Bryant)
12. Where Is the Good Life? (Rose/Summers)