SEPTEMBER OF HIS YEARS…Louis Rosen: Life After Before

Throughout his career that has had him on fifteen albums, Louis Rosen has been consistent in being that rare and almost extinct breed of singer/songwriter. Not only does Rosen live in that unique world, but the subjects that he writes and sings about are ones that make you ponder where you are in life. He puts Aesop-like proverbs and fables to music.

Building a catalogue of themed albums ranging from Americana to COVID, Rosen delves into a topic that is sorrowfully rarely addressed in this era of the worship of youth, namely getting older. The album comes across like the reflections of a sage, a kind of folkish version of Frank Sinatra’s September of My Years, with a dash of Solomon’s reflections from the book of Ecclesiastes, pureed through the musical lens of early Tom Waits, Billy Joel, John Prine or Danny O’Keefe.

The music itself is kind of rural and folksy, as Rosen sings with a Kenny Rankin’d tone, like a local at the VFW while playing acoustic guitar and mandolin, with David Mansfield supplying the framework with violin, viola, banjo, mandolin and guitar and supported by bassist Pete Donovan and drummer Rodney Howard.

The sit-back-and-take-it-in atmosphere of tunes include themes such as the minstrel’d observations of life that come from going around the merry go round a few times, as on the casual “Didi”, “Rhythm of The Road” and the title track, making one put one’s life into proper perspective. Things that become more important as one ages, namely relationships ranging from parents to friends to lovers, are sympathetically touched on “Everyone Loves The Wrong Sometimes”, “Do You Think of Me” and the deeply visceral “Straight, True Love”.

Some people write songs from the  heart; Rosen puts these songs together for the heart. Imbibe slowly and let it digest.

www.louisrosen.com