Rose Laughlin

REVIEWS
“Rose Laughlin is a true folk music chanteuse. Her new CD, Souvenir, is more a song cycle than a focused collection. Produced by Dennis Cahill, Souvenir’s ten selections are collected from many sources, but each becomes the sole property of Rose, as she interprets them in a highly personal fashion.

Her distinctive singing style is immediately evident with the initial selection, the traditional “The Month of January.” With her rapid vibrato, she appears to skip effortlessly over the melody of a traditional Irish song learned from Chicago musician Michael Kirkpatrick. It is followed by Bill Staine’s oft-performed classic “Roseville Fair.” Her voice caresses the classic tune of love and happiness.

The variegated nature of Souvenir is further enhanced by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart’s classic “Tennessee Waltz.” Again Rose’s vocal style enhances the timeless nature of this classic melody. Perhaps the finest moment is Rose’s rendition of the popular parting song, “Red is the Rose.” Her vulnerable vocal quality teamed with the restrained backing makes for a breathtaking performance.”
Sing Out!

“New young female vocal talent from Chicago. She has the right company in Dennis Cahill, Liz Knowles & John Williams, and some fine songs, but her voice is her most arresting feature- solid, sensuous, and bittersweet.”
fRoots Magazine

“Seattle-born, Chicago-based singer Rose Laughlin combines traditional folk and American ballads with more recent compositions by contemporary singer/songwriters from both sides of the pond, including Bill Staines and Gerry O'Beirne. Most of the material is well-trodden territory, but Laughlin does a creditable job of giving it her own individual take. Dennis Cahill's production is nicely understated, with guests including Kat Eggleston on harmony vocals, John Williams on accordion and Cahill on guitar, mandolin, bouzouki and bass."
HotPress Magazine

“She brings such a rich tapestry of American folk, country, and blues Into each Irish tune--and yet, each song remains perfectly Irish in its truth. She doesn’t deny her musical roots of America…”
Chicago Irish American News


"Excellent rendering of lesser known songs, such as a modern version of Gerry O'Beirne's "Shades of Gloria" or beautifully sung standard "Red is the Rose", is the proof of greatness of the vocalist, whom I hadn't known before."
Folkowa Art (Polish Radio)

“Rose Laughlin lives at the intersection of Irish and country music, happiest with slower songs that tug at the heart. Accompanied by some excellent people, she has perhaps chosen material that's already well-trodden, finding herself compared to some powerful versions. But Laughlin is a wonderful, sensual singer with a real connection to the music, and producer Dennis Cahill has brought out the best in her. There's a great future ahead for Laughlin.”
globalvillageidiot.net

"The album Souvenir by the singer Rose Laughlin is here to entertain. This Lady from Chicago does possess deep talent for folkmusik."
"Rose is a passionate interpreter of folkmusik and original tunes from the American Songbook."
"The album opens with a spirited interpretation of the traditional song “The Month of January.” Rose is able to deeply engage her soul in these types of songs with new and pure interpretations."
"Folkmusik lovers, enjoy this lady from Chicago!"
MassMusikaS-Belgian Webzine (Translated)
- Sing Out, fRoots,Hot Press,Chicago Irish American News,Folkowa Art,Global Village Idiot,MassMusikaS-

" The Chicago Sessions"
It’s a gently intimate but also immensely powerful record, replete with warmth and an involving sense of presence, on which Rose’s gorgeous voice is given exemplary prominence within imaginative, sublimely minimal yet full-toned musical settings. Rose responds intuitively and clear-sightedly to her chosen material, delivering the songs with a solid confidence and a sensuous intensity that’s born both of thorough preparation and deep understanding. In doing so, she’s not afraid to take a risk or two, and this invariably pays off. For instance, on the opening track, interestingly the disc’s only non-folk item, to which the immediate reaction might be “aagh, not another version of Gershwin’s Summertime!”, but what Rose and Mike do with it is genuinely different and wholly inspired (Rose’s perfectly poised vocal rendition entirely unexpectedly ushers in a fiddle-and-guitar jig for counterpoint midway through). Rose’s version of Cold Rain And Snow, set to strange organ chordings and an ominous bodhrán tattoo, is quite literally chilling, whereas her well-judged acappella rendition of The Unquiet Grave is no less compelling for its pithy economy. Let No Man Steal Your Thyme is brilliantly matched with some eerie, resonant electronic treatment, and Barbara Allen receives a majestic and refreshingly punchy reading. I also really loved Rose’s stylishly beautiful take on the Carter Family classic Storms Are On The Ocean. The last-mentioned three songs also benefit from Kat’s wondrous vocal harmonies, by the way. On the majority of the tracks, it’s Mike’s crystalline guitar work that forms the predominant signature in the backdrop to Rose’s individual and personal interpretations. It glistens and gleams, its flowing undercurrents carrying both singer and listener along unerringly – the sustained seven-minute timespan of The Snow It Melts The Soonest being a prime example of the way his artistry complements and inspires Rose’s own.
Folk and Roots UK David Kidman 2-09
- Folk and Roots UK

“The richness of Laughlin’s voice paired with the incredibly solid guitar work of Mike Kirkpatrick creates a warm and generous feeling throughout the album. I found myself flowing along with the music. Even in “Unquiet Grave”, the richness of the story fills the space. It has a definite presence to it.
Laughlin is a gifted storyteller. I’m most taken by the different and refreshing arrangements to many old favorites. Changing Gershwin’s “Summertime” to 6/8 time and adding a jig for the instrumental break, is inspired. “Cold Rain and Snow”, “Wild Mountain Thyme”, “Storms are on the Ocean”, “Barbara Allen” all have been renewed and touched with Laughlin’s creative talent. They tend to tease around with my sense of what I expected to hear and the surprise in what I actually hear. It’s exciting to experience a different and new perspective to something so familiar. Laughlin is backed throughout the CD by Mike Kirkpatrick on guitar, vocals and electronics (?). In fact, Kirkpatrick also produced the CD, recorded it and mixed it. Despite that, there was still room for some excellent vocals by Kat Eggleston and some fiddling from Devin Shepherd. It’s all very well blended together for a truly lovely effect. I guess it’s a good think Mike can wear so many hats. For Rose herself, she could easily make that difficult step from regional presence to national popularity. She has a husky sweet voice that can draw you in and demand attention. Her solid grounding in Celtic and Old-Time tunes create a promising blend of the two genres. It’s all there, and exciting to contemplate. Rose Laughlin is someone to watch. Go out and see her. Buy her CD, and I’m sincerely hoping she starts playing out more.
(Matthew Moeller, Victory Review, November 2008)

- Victory Review 11-08

“Rose Laughlin has one of the most beautiful emotive voices I've heard and whether it's the Celtic tinged "Craigie Hill" or more traditional offering of "Barbara Allen", Rose's vocals shine throughout her wonderful new release, "The Chicago Sessions". The instrumentation is wonderfully spare which allows the focus to fall squarely on Rose and the gorgeous harmonies with Kat Eggleston... just where it should be! A true delight from start to finish!”
(Mark Michaelis, WGDR Community Radio
Host- Acoustic Harmony, 91.1 FM Plainfield, Vermont August, 2008)
- Acoustic Harmony-91.1FM

This record starts a bit unusually (atypically) at least as far as a folk record. Gershwin’s Summertime is not part of usual repertoire of the musicians but the version proposed by Rose Laughlin sounds like dark folk blues. Brilliant arrangement and good idea for vocals are basis for success. Today you can talk about this song as an American standard. That’s why this Chicago style record of an artist from Seattle should start just like that.
Despite American accents, it’s a very British like record. Rose’s guitarist has a big part in that. Mike Kirkpatrick working with bands like ‘The Drovers’ or Fonn Mohr has in his small finger patents (talents) characteristic for Celtic music. Rose used mainly traditional repertoire on her record. Despite the fact that they’re old songs, their character is new on this record. If you want, you can compare classic version of the song ‘Cold Rain’ and ‘Snow’ with Joan Baez’s version.
Besides those above, I would add "Storms are on the Ocean", "Unquiet Grave", "Barbara Allen to my favorites. Without them the record wouldn’t have as much character.
(Folkawa Art, August, 2008)
- Folkawa Art 8-08