The Roches - 1979 - The Roches

 

The Roches started in the early 1970s as a duo of sisters Maggie and Terre. Hailing from Park Ridge, New Jersey, they took jobs at a folk club in Greenwich Village and sometimes got to perform. They were noticed by Paul Simon, who was so taken with them, he hired them to perform backup on his There Goes Rhymin' Simon album in 1973, and helped them get a label, where they released their only album as a duo, 1975's Seductive Reasoning. In 1979, they released this masterpiece, this time as a trio, as their youngest sister Suzzy joined. Produced by Robert Fripp of King Crimson, it does not feel like it belongs to any genre exclusively. I discovered it, like many of my generation, when Spin Magazine's quintessential album guide to alternative music that came out in the mid-1990s gave it a10 out of 10 rating. Rolling Stone, to it's credit upon it's release in 1979, gave it four stars, equating it to the punk rock vibe of folk music of Greenwich Village. A somewhat confusing, though apt, description. I listen to this album probably every other year, and sometimes more. The Roches kept releasing music for many years, though finally ceased in 2017 due to Maggie's death from breast cancer at age 65. A great record, and I hope you dig it.

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