Description
Guadalupe is a solo album by the American singer and songwriter Michael Roe of The Seventy Sevens fame, Kickstarter-funded and independently released on Lo-Fidelity Records in June 2014.
Remixing old material is easy. Reinventing it, now, that’s more difficult. But I can’t think of anyone who has turned revisiting his own past into an art form the way Michael Roe has.
Roe is the guitarist and singer for the 77s, one of the best rock bands you’ve never heard. His last album of original material was 2004’s Fun With Sound – since then, he’s alternated between covers albums celebrating his influences, and reworkings of past material. With just about anyone else, I’d be complaining about a lack of new work. But Roe has found so many different mirrors onto his past lately that I haven’t been bored or upset by any of them.
The streak holds with Guadalupe, his new album. The 30-minute affair contains one new song, seven new versions of older Roe tunes, and one cover that should be familiar to fans. But what could have been a rehash is actually the most beautiful thing Roe has given us in years, a glorious sequel to his 2002 acoustic album Say Your Prayers. I’ve always said that Mike Roe alone with an acoustic guitar can break your heart. Here’s the proof.
Guadalupe begins with the new song, and it’s lovely. «U U» is a poem of faithful companionship, sung to both God and his fans. In less than two minutes, Roe sums up his career – all the songs he’s written, he says, he did not write alone. “I did it all with you, you…” His voice is weathered, but remains a tender instrument, and his guitar playing… well, it’s simply magic. I’ve been in the room and watched Roe do this, pull beauty from the air, and it’s life-changing.
The spell remains for the rest of the album. Every song is recast in acoustics, and each one is more beautiful than the last. Some have always been pretty – «Come and Gone» is one of Roe’s most tender songs, and «Come Down Here», his marvelous prayer (written for the Lost Dogs), is his entire career in miniature. But even these are made more heartbreaking. «Dig My Heels», from the 77s EP Direct, has transformed from a Tom Petty-ish mid-tempo rocker to a yearning folk song, and the change is glorious.
The album’s title track is pulled from Fun With Sound, and is dedicated to the late, great Gene Eugene. Its tribute is even more heartfelt here, Roe’s whispery voice cracking over blissful guitars. «I Need God», a full-on gospel number on Safe as Milk, is here a stop-you-in-your-tracks confession. But it’s the two songs from 1994’s Drowning With Land in Sight that benefit from the new treatment the most. I’ve been hoping for a good version of «For Crying Out Loud» for years, and here it is. And «The Jig Is Up», one of the finest 77s songs, sounds like a miniature epic here, Roe pulling out his electric for a soaring solo. It’s phenomenal.
Guadalupe ends with a brief run through Stephen Foster’s «Hard Times Come Again No More», a song Roe has covered with the Lost Dogs. It’s a perfect coda to a gorgeous collection. Even if you’ve never heard of any of these songs, this record will move you. And if you’re a longtime fan, Guadalupe will fill your soul. Word is that Roe is writing original tunes for a new record now. That’s a good thing, but Guadalupe proves that returning to the well as often as he has can yield delightful dividends too. [Andre Salles, Tuesday Morning 3 a.m., April 2013]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/guadalupe/925015965)
CD tracklist:
01. U U – 1:49
02. Come And Gone – 2:40
03. Dig My Heels – 4:08
04. Come Down Here – 3:01
05. For Crying Out Loud – 2:59
06. I Need God – 3:18
07. Guadalupe – 4:58
08. The Jig Is Up – 5:28
09. Hard Times Come Again No More – 1:58
Note: Also released as a Limited Edition 12-inch heavyweight translucent gold vinyl LP featuring a bonus track not found on the CD; “Ache Beautiful”. Available at Bandcamp: https://michaelroe.bandcamp.com/album/guadalupe
Here’s the story behind the project – Michael Roe’s release notes from the Kickstarter website:
In 2002, I released a quiet, contemplative folk-styled album called Say Your Prayers. In the liner notes, I referred to it as a ‘sketch pad for future developments’ and noted how I often prefer sketches and demos to finished works because of their directness and simplicity. Ever since its release, my fans have expressed more joy and gratitude to me for it than any other album I have ever done. This surprised me, but it also confirmed my new direction as a singer/songwriter/recording artist during this quieter, more reflective time in my life. In conversations with folks who loved the record, I promised them that I was more than anxious to do another one along similar lines soon…
Fall breaks and back to winter and here I am eleven years later with that promise still unfulfilled. Grappling for answers as to why, I remembered back upon the early months of 2002 and realized that Say Your Prayers came from a time when I was at home in a quiet mood, looking upon my life and surroundings every morning with an attitude of reflection and thankfulness. That peaceful space is in sharp contrast to the whirlwind ups and downs of constant touring I have had to do ever since in order to support myself and my family. I love traveling, meeting fans, playing concerts and getting to watch audiences enjoy themselves, but all of that frenetic activity leaves very little time for self-examination and soul searching, much less writing songs during that process and then recording them. All this not to mention the tremendous expenses incurred while trying to do all of the above by myself. Recently, I became determined to break my relative silence with some beautiful new music, but I needed a plan.
My first idea was to record a ‘fund raiser’ album of previously released tunes of mine in the same style as Say Your Prayers. Recently, I asked a bunch of my Facebook fans to share with me what songs of mine had meant something important to them. The response was overwhelming, as were the stories about why certain tunes had an impact. This inspired me to revisit some of them in a quieter, simpler way, much as I had done on Say Your Prayers. As I was casting about for a title for the project, I realized that it had been 13 years since the passing of my beloved friend Gene Eugene. I suddenly waxed nostalgic as I recalled rumors of Gene’s unfinished Adam Again album to be titled “Guadalupe” and how it inspired me to write a song with that same name. The lyric is filled with remembrance and longing for my grandfather and all the places we went fishing together, but somehow the song was about Gene as well. Upon rehearing, it reminded me of so much unfinished business we have with others, ourselves and our life’s work – things we should or could have done but never got around to. This certainly applies to many songs I’ve recorded over the years that I felt I could have represented better or with a different approach. At this point in my life, that usually means simpler, with less clutter and ornamentation.
It was in that spirit that I recorded and now proudly present to you my “Guadalupe”, and it foreshadows both in theme and mood the kind of recording project I wish to follow it up with containing all new material. I can’t wait to get back to the kind of space that I created Say Your Prayers in, and am anxious to see where it will lead me this time, particularly lyrically as I have grown up quite a bit since 2002 (although my close friends and family may wish to challenge that opinion!)… I may be creating and recording this project all by myself, but I have to confess that I truly cannot do it alone. This is where you come in…
Where most music-related Kickstarter campaigns are seeking to raise funds for a yet to be recorded album with the new record as the “reward”, I’m going to be doing this a bit differently. Your financial support will be rewarded with my most current unreleased solo project “Guadalupe” described above, complete with packages from the simple to the all-out ridiculous, and in so doing, if we meet our financial goal, it will allow me the time I need to reflect, record, and in the near future deliver an all new solo record to you, the fans (which will not be included as a “reward” for this campaign).
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