Tom Russell - The Rose Of Roscrae (2015)

Double CD, 52 track "cowboy folk opera" features a who's who of legendary Americana icons including Johnny Cash, Gretchen Peters, Guy Clark, Joe Ely, Tex Ritter, Dan Penn and many, many more.
For over four decades and 28 album releases Tom Russell has continued to live up to his status as "one of the best singer-songwriters of our time" (Washington Post). His previous two studio releases, Blood and Candle Smoke (2009) and Mesabi (2011), are considered his strongest composed works yet and were, in part, recorded with the groundbreaking roots band Calexico.

In the 1990s, Russell and Dave Alvin were hailed as the architects of what came to be known as "Americana" music after their Merle Haggard tribute, Tulare Dust, initiated the Americana charts in the U.S. and remained number one for a year. Russell's previous release, Aztec Jazz (2013), moved Americana into a new realm and his acclaimed song catalog into uncharted territory.

Tom Russell's songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Doug Sahm, Nanci Griffith, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Dave Alvin, Joe Ely, and others. The Rose of Roscrae is his third in a series of acclaimed folk operas, follows The Man From God Knows Where (1999) and Hotwalker (2005).

Tom Russell's anticipated double-album folk opera, The Rose of Roscrae, features a who's who of legendary Americana icons including: Jimmie Dale Gilmore, David Olney, Johnny Cash, Joe Ely, Augie Meyers, Fats Kaplin, Barry Walsh, Jimmy LaFave, Gretchen Peters, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Walt Whitman, Moses "Clear Rock" Platt, Jack Hardy, David Massengill, A.L. "Bert" Lloyd, Finbar Furey, Sourdough Slim, Blackie Farrell, Tex Ritter, Glen Orhlin, Pat Russell, John Trudell, Henry Real Bird, Thad Beckman, Maura O'Connell, Eliza Gilkyson, The McCrary Sisters, Ian Tyson, Bonnie Dobson, Lead Belly, Guy Clark, Dan Penn, Gurf Morlix, and Pat Manske.

Russell has also composed movie scores, including songs for the Monte Hellman movie The Road To Nowhere and published five books, most recently 120 Songs of Tom Russell. An accomplished fine artist, Russell's paintings are featured in: Blue Horse/Red Desert: The Art of Tom Russell.

TRACKLIST

CD 1
1.Overture
2.This Is The Last Frontier
3.Guilty/Johnny Behind-the-Deuce
4.Sam Hall
5.The Rose of Roscrae
6.Hair Trigger Heart
7.He’ll Be Dead Before He Hits the Ground
8.You Gotta Have A Dance/ St James Hospital
9.Ain’t No More Cane On The Brazos
10.The Last Running
11.Home On The Range/America
12.Just A Closer Walk (With Augie Blood)
13.Cowboy Voices Beyond The Campfire
14.He Wasn’t A Bad Kid, When He Was Sober
15.The Sidekick’s Last Testament
16.Johnny’s Campfire Soliloquy #1
17.The Unfortunate Rake/The Streets of Laredo
18.The Hands of Damien
19.This Is The Last Frontier/Campfire Soliloquy #2
20.Carrickfergus/The Water Is Wide
21.The Fairground Pugilist
22.Campfire Soliloquy #3
23.Campfire Ghosts/Cowboy Voices
24.Crazy Horse/Custer’s Luck
25.Johnny Behind-the-Deuce #2—Molokai
26.She Talks To God
27.Rock of Ages/Gunpowder Sunset Overture

CD 2
1.The Water Is Wide/Overture
2.I Talk To God
3.The Bear
4.The Railroad Boy
5.Resurrection Mountain
6.When The Wolves No Longer Sing
7.Just A Closer Walk With Thee/The Gospel of John, Chapter 4
8.Jesus Met The Woman At The Well
9.Damien (A Crust of Bread, A Slice of Fish, A Cup of Water)
10.Guadalupe/Valentine de la Sierra
11.Poor Mother Mexico
12.Gallo del Cielo
13.Soliloquy #1/Swiss Yodel Choir
14.En Canadien Errant
15.He’ll Be Dead Before He Hits The Ground #2
16.Doin’ Hard Time In Texas
17.When I Was A Cowboy aka Western Cowboy
18.West Texas Montage
19.Old Rattlebag Blues (Soliloquy #2)
20.Midnight Wine
21.Whiskey In His Blood
22.Tularosa
23.Irish Medley/The Stable
24.Isn’t It Grand?
25.The Rose of Roscrae