JOSH ROUSE

The Best of the Rykodisc Years

$18.98 CD

 The first-ever anthology from alt-pop/rock singer-songwriter Josh Rouse collects 32 songs from his Rykodisc years including seven previously unreleased tracks. Spanning 1998-2005, the material spotlights the artist's poetic and keenly observed lyrical bent and his evocative roots and folk-flavored, guitar-driven melodic pop sensibilities. THE BEST OF THE RYKODISC YEARS distills the essence of what Rouse calls his “first stage,” and he was instrumental in hand-picking his best songs, personal favorites and rarities including demos and outtakes. 

 Rouse released five albums and two EPs for Rykodisc beginning with Dressed Up Like Nebraska, a striking 1998 debut that Rolling Stone colorfully noted, “lands Rouse smack-dab in the company of some of rock & roll's contemporary songwriting giants. Think late-model, but still-in-the-Replacements Paul Westerberg crossed with a moody, youthful Tom Petty and, um, Morrissey.” Rouse's style evolves and flows through his subsequent releases, including: Home (2000), Under Cold Blue Stars (2002), 1972 (2003) and Nashville (2005) - the latter two made with producer Brad Jones -as well as Chester, his 1999 EP collaboration with Lambchop mastermind Kurt Wagner and the limited edition, out-of-print EP Bedroom Classics Vol. 1 (2001). 

 Throughout Disc One, the conversational ease of Rouse's singing and his unerring melodic gift connect and inform diverse standouts including "Late Night Conversation," "It's The Nighttime," "Feeling No Pain" and "Comeback (Light Therapy)." Highlights also include “Directions” - a cut from Home that also appeared on the soundtrack for the Cameron Crowe film Vanilla Sky and is perhaps Rouse's best-known song - and “65,” which refers to the highway running through Nashville, where he and Wagner recorded Chester when they were neighbors there. Disc two opens with the complete six-song sequence from Bedroom Classics Vol. 1, and closes with seven previously unissued rarities including a demo for the 2003 single "Christmas With Jesus," an outtake from Dressed Up Like Nebraska ("Cannot Talk") and more. 

*Previously unreleased

Selection # 512894

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