She just makes me happy.
simple can be the most profound. What else can i say, she just makes me smile. She is clearly honest- but the way to see her is live, i highly suggest it.
the feel of the music is calm and very "rainy saturday", though i love it any day.
She has grown with each record, but though this is the "sophomore release" it is NOT to be overlooked. it is a true gem, just as Rosie is.
Thanks, Rosie for sharing yourself with us.
Not the Best, but not as Bad
I bought the CD & fell in love with her style & spirituality. A few weeks ago as I was walking through a shopping mall, I heard this wonderful female voice singing serious topics, it was from Rosie Thomas newest CD "These Friends of Mine". Later I bought the CD before that "If Song's Could Be Held" from Amazon. com. The words were not as well written & the piano chord stuctures sounded nearly the same as they were hammered out rather than a prefered folk or classical flow as in her newest work. Working my way down the releases I bought "Only With Laugther Can You Win" from Amazon. com & again it's a step down from the newer works. The words are very simple yet still hold onto a certain charm that makes the CD worth buying. I was surprised with some negitive reviews due to a misunderstanding with the song "Tell Me How" which at one point deals with telling children about faith in God, when in fact Rosie states in the song: "How am I to define what faith is to a child when the only explanation lies within?" compared to the next verse "How am I to tell them if they never follow Christ that heaven doesn't hold a place for them?" The 2nd statement has a question mark which means she is not making a sermon but that the last remark needs to be read within the whole paragraph as well as the whole song. If you like to hear a different female voice singing serious topics & who is growing as an artist, give this CD a spin.
Relax and enjoy
My conclusion? The music is not religiously offensive unless you truly want to find such offense. After reading one of the reviews below and subsequently buying the CD, I set out to find those horribly offending religious verses. I am not 100% positive, but I think God was mentioned twice and Christ was mentioned once. Sadly, many people curse in average conversations using His name irreverently more than that, which is where the true offense exists. So anyway, what about this music?
Overall the CD was good but not spectacular. Rosie's voice is one of those throaty, intentionally breaking on certain notes, yet kind of wispy and wandering new-age type of voices that for some of the songs left me straining to listen so that I might catch more of the words. I personally prefer singers whose every word I can understand, unless it is someone like Emma Shapplin (Re. "Carmine Meo" CD. . . superb). I had a couple favorites on the "Only with Laughter" CD, and overall it is easy to listen to, but I had hoped for more songs like the couple that came pre-loaded on my new HP laptop (which is why I chased down the CD in the first place). I'll stretch it from 3 to 4 stars, realizing that some listeners will really like her style and music.
However, unless you are fairly sure that you will like her music I would avoid buying the companion CD that is offered: "When We Were Small. " In spite of some distracting additions of irrelevant chatter to try to give you the feeling that you are sitting in her living room with friends, I did like the first song on it (this one song had just a little light country western flavor and was very well done), but the other songs all started to sound the same, which in some ways is the same criticism that I could offer for the first album. Nevertheless, if this is the flavor that you like in abundance, then you'll really like her music.
Just a suggestion, if you are leaning to Rosie's CDs, you also might want to give a listen to Eva Cassidy (Re. "Songbird"). I think Amazon allows you to listen to a sample. Eva is gone now--taken at an early age due to cancer, but her singing has something very special about it. I can say with full confidence that if you like Rosie Thomas that you will also like Eva Cassidy. I took four of Rosie's songs from two CDs and four of Eva's songs from one CD to put together a great CD for quality listening.
Nice find!
Rosie has a sound very similar to Sarah McGlaughlin, very soothing. I stumbled on this artist while playing around in iTunes and purchased the CD from Amazon. Highly recommended.
A beautiful record but....
But some of the content turns off those who don't believe in folklore and fairytales. This is a beautiful sounding recording. Don't get me wrong, that has a place in "atmospheric music. " But those who take it literally are viewed by rational people as a bit insane, at best.
To the Reggie Dobalina's of the reviewers who actually have the gall, and naivete to mention "Satan" to those who don't buy into superstition, I'm sorry, but leave the fairytales and mythology to those less talented, and insane.
Rosie Thomas has the talent to be a major talent. I hope she decides to use it.
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You can see a complete list of all Rosie Thomas discography, or go back to the Rosie Thomas tabs
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