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Five albums into his solo career and English-born, New York-bred Edward Rogers delivers a grand slam of a release with this offering, Kaye.  Dedicated to the late, great Kevin Ayers (of Soft Machine fame), aided and abetted with a laundry list of luminaries (James Mastro, Dennis Diken, Don Fleming, Sal Maida, etc.) and filled with intense, image-laden and melodic songs – this is as good as an album can get.

“My Street” opens the proceedings with a brooding, heavy textured background but so well executed in its structure; the vocals filled with yearning and emotion.  “After The Snow” reminds me of XTC at their best – poppy, eloquent, charming and memorable; “Street Fashion” has a wonderful Bryan Ferry-esqueness about it.  “Kaye” is a gentle, lilting number wrapped in a sweet guitar figure; “What Happened To The News Today” is a piece of perfect pop, complete with 12-string Rickenbacker-sounding intro and riff and “Peter Pan’s Dream” is eerily psychedelic-based.

It isn’t often that a musician can bring a “complete” work to realization – Edward Rogers has unquestionably done so with Kaye.  A must.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

http://www.edwardrogersmusic.com/

About the Author

Rob Ross

Rob Ross has been, for good, bad or indifferent, involved in the music industry for over 30 years - first as guitarist/singer/songwriter with The Punch Line, then as freelance journalist, producer and manager to working for independent and major record labels. He resides in Staten Island, New York with his wife and cats; he works out a lot, reads voraciously, loves Big Star and his orange Gretsch. Doesn't that make him neat?

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