Billy Roberts and the Rough Riders - Southern Sessions
A few years ago, when The Huffington Post was still owned and operated by Ariana Huffington, prior to Verizon purchasing it and rebranding it as HuffPost, along with turning it into a stylized pseudo-intellectual touchy-feely gnostic publication, I reviewed an album called Greenbah on The Huffington Post.
Billy Roberts and the Rough Riders
The last sentence of the review read: “Greenbah makes my list of best albums of the year.” And it remains one of my all-time favorite albums.
The album was released by a band – Billy Roberts and the Rough Riders – from Australia. Billy and crew just dropped a new album, entitled Southern Sessions. When they recorded Greenbah, the band was made up of Roberts (vocals, guitar), Alex Quinn (lead guitar), Billy Anderson (piano), and Rory Facione (drums). I am assuming the lineup is the same on Southern Sessions, but can’t be sure, simply because it’s difficult to find any current info on the band.
There’s something special about Billy Roberts and the Rough Riders, a soothing meandering sound that worms into your ears.
Containing 10-tracks, the album starts off with “Hillbilly Blues,” a bluesy country rock-flavored tune topped by Roberts’ distinctively textured voice, featuring bawling horn accents and a haunting guitar. Standout tracks include “Special,” traveling on Leon Russell-like slide and steel guitars, creamy and oozing melancholic aromas, as Roberts’ voice, vaguely reminiscent of Bob Dylan, infuses the lyrics with tantalizing sonic timbres.
“Kayla” opens on soft glittering guitars and an emerging piano and then flows into a measured indulgent rhythm, driven by the piano. Chock-full of nostalgic savors, the tune ambles on low-slung easy harmonic surfaces. “With You” rides an Eagles-like SoCal soft country rock melody, only more folksy in nature, tender and coruscating gently with tinges of lost romance.
“I Was Young” features slowly undulating hoe-down flavors, as if a bunch of good old boys got together at a barn dance to play for the crowd.
My favorite track on the album is “Seen It All Before,” simply because of the sinuous flow of the music, as well as Roberts’ deliciously Dylan-esque tones, infusing the lyrics with watchful, rueful feelings. The lowing organ on this track is wonderfully suggestive.
There’s something special about Billy Roberts and the Rough Riders, a soothing meandering sound that worms into your ears.
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