The Music Box: Rosewood Ghosts’ Self-Titled Debut

Track Listing:

1. Anjali
2. Hey Justine
3. Too Late
4. Barry Dime
5. Cape Cod
6. Rashers Of A Wanton Touch
7. Store Bought Drugs
8. Passing Cabs And Footsteps
9. Paid in Full
10. Walking Lightly
11. I Warned You
12. Golden

The Band:

Hoboken, NJ is where Rosewood Ghosts houses its base of operations.  This seven-piece refers to itself as a Post-Classic Rock band or “music from the people who bought the records of the people who brought you classic rock.”

Rosewood Ghosts, like a phoenix, rose from the ashes of another Hoboken act, The Bill Owens Five.  Last year, Jamie DiTringo, Joe Montague, Adam Weissman, and Steve Brown, met up with Matt Teitelman, Saul Slotnick, and Eric Walden.  What was bred from this collaboration needed rebranding…and Rosewood Ghosts began haunting the East Coast.

Before delving any deeper, let’s meet Rosewood Ghosts:

Release Date: 5/22/10

The Review:

Rosewood Ghosts fused the classic sounds of such southern rock acts as the Allman Brothers’ Band and Lynard Skynard with a more modern musical styling comparable to that of The Black Crowes to create its self-titled debut.

The Hoboken seven-piece definitely placed its best foot forward beginning this 12-track collection with “Anjali.”  This song’s tempo alternation between the verses and chorus successfully aids in conveying that the protagonist’s love for his Anjali is like a bumpy voyage down a dirt road in the backwoods of Jersey.  It has its inclines and steep drop offs but there’s no other highway or byway he’d rather trek.  “My Anjali is a long promenade/on the town,” sings Joe Montague, “My racing heart settle down, settle down/I could stay here forever.”  Such is love I suppose.

“Anjali” by Rosewood Ghosts

The tender caress of Adam Weissman upon his electric eighty-eight is most evident on “Too Late,” a song in which this key master assisted in crafting the instrumentals and earned full lyric writing credits.  This track strikes me as a Billy Joel inspired tune.  The guitars are laid on thicker than  anything found within Joel’s catalogue, but “Too Late” definitely appears to have been crafted after a serious Piano Man listening session.

“Hey Justine” is another staple in the opening fourth of this record.  It’s another song that tackles the idea of love and what a person will do to grow a relationship into something more.  “I can be whatever you want,” sings Montague, “Whatever you need I’ll be.”  Listen to the story behind the band’s name and how “Hey Justine” came to be in the video below:

The rest of this album is full of solid Southern-Rock type tunes, but none quite as prominent as those incorporated in the opening set.  If you’ve enjoyed this sampling of Rosewood Ghosts you can purchase the album on Itunes or Amazon.  However, if you’re still on the fence you can hear the album streaming for free on Rosewoodghosts.com

And, if you’d like to hear what the band is going to do with all the cash it rakes in from this release, take a look at the video below, it’s rather hilarious:

Stay tuned in to the band’s Youtube account “rosewoodghosts” for more live videos coming soon.

And be sure to catch Rosewood Ghosts at The Court Tavern in New Brunswick this Friday night.

Rating: 3/5

(All videos used in this review were taken from the band’s Youtube account “rosewoodghosts”)