Rosetta West – Gravity Sessions (Album Review)

Today’s review features the band Rosetta West’s new album, Gravity Sessions. Rosetta West has been reviewed several times already on Music Review World; you can read those prior reviews here.

Their new release – Gravity Sessions – finds the band playing in Chicago’s revered Gravity Studios, recording some fan favorites, mostly live, with the esteemed Doug McBride at the board. Founder and songwriter Joseph Demagore handles vocals and guitars, Herf Guderian takes over on bass, and Rosetta West veteran Mike Weaver plays drums. Formed in the 1990s, Rosetta West has maintained a long, unconventional, and fiercely independent underground career, including prior albums Night’s Cross and Labyrinth, and several singles, which have also been reviewed on this site.

In prior reviews, MRW’s Grace Bradford has described the band’s sound as combining “blues rock, elements of psychedelia and world folk music, with sprinkles of mysticism, existentialism, spirituality and the unknown littered throughout their artistry.” Blues rock mixed with psychedelia is my jam.

A video for the first single and first song on the album, Dora Lee, is now up on YouTube. The band reports that more videos are coming soon.

So let’s have a listen …

The album kicks off with the blues-rock tune Dora Lee. The song and sound of the guitars and vocals remind me of bands like Foghat and Cream. I love the slowdown break in the middle of the song. The lead guitar work matches the frenzy of the track. The guitars have a heavily distorted sound, but not smooth distortion, more of a gnarly, in-your-face sound.

The second track Suzie starts with a simple single-note guitar line, then shifts to your typical 1-4-5 blues groove. I like the movement of the bridge in the middle of the song. The song retains its typical blues progression patterns. Again, the heavily distorted guitars capture an early 70s sound.

The third song Broken Glass starts off with a heavy single-note riff, which forms the rhythm backbone of the song. The vocals remind me of Stone Temple Pilots or Soundgarden. A little bit more lead guitar jamming is included in this song. Although the vocals sound like STP or SG, the guitars sound more like The Clash or bands in that sonic sound range.

Deeper Than Magic starts with a sound that includes more of a Middle-Eastern type sound, reminiscent of the interplay between the guitars and vocals of the band System of a Down. The vocalist has a nice timbre and range to his voice. I love the Middle Eastern sound of the lead guitar lines. The vocalist joins in at times, mimicking the sound of the guitar. The chord progressions and songwriting in this song is a little more complex than the previous tunes. Very Led Zeppelin-type repeating heavy guitar riff. I dig it.

The fifth song on the album Save Me starts off with a heavy blues riff. The sound reminds me of the Black Crows. The song’s backbone is a standard blues-based 1-4-5 progression, but the band does a nice job of spicing up the standard blues with what sounds like an electric slide guitar. The song definitely has a shuffle feel about it. Save me with your love.

Baby Doll reminds me of a KISS song in the verses, but the guitars are heavier. The song moves in steps through a rising chord progression. Not my favorite song on the album, although I really dig the Middle Eastern vibe of the lead guitar during the bridge, and I like the heavy sound of the guitars in this song. Soundgarden would be envious.

The final song on this short album is Venous Blue, which starts with a solo electric lead guitar playing riffs that land on the tonic. Then, all of a sudden, the whole band enters, and we’re into the song proper. This is another 1-4-5 shuffle. The lead guitar sounds just like you would expect your local blues band to deliver in your favorite club. 

SCORE/Excellent: Rosetta West delivers a heavy, yet subtle, guitar-drenched lovefest with blues-rock, drenched with heavier guitar and vocal sounds of bands like STP, SG, and SOAD, but rooted in standard blues progressions of bands like The Black Keys and some your classic rock favorites like Foghat and Cream, with a few twists of their own. This vocalist has a voice that pulls it off nicely. A very entertaining album rooted in classic blues-rock. Much love, Beth

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