Jack Rose - Opium Musick LP

The second in a trilogy of superb, early Jack Rose albums originally released on vinyl by Eclipse Records between 2002–04, "Opium Musick" is a set of four longer tracks varied in terms of instrumentation but with the high level of quality that Rose always upheld. Reissued by VHF in 2016 with the permission of Jack Rose's estate (following his untimely passing in 2009). 

"Recorded and originally released in 2003, 'Opium Musick' is an eclectic collection with pieces for 12-string (the percussive and dark 'Black Pearls'); 6 string; and lap guitar. The lovely raga-ish 'Yaman Blues' features Mike Gangloff (Pelt, Black Twig Pickers) on tanpura, and echoes the extended modal work on the contemporaneous Pelt 'Pearls from the River' CD. The near-ragtime of 'Linden Ave Stomp' features Glenn Jones on his vintage Gibson in a jumping duet with Jack’s lap steel. 'Linden Ave' charted a path that Jack would determinedly pursue – short ragtime and old-time influenced pieces (originals and classics), with all phrasing worked out to a perfectionist standard. The lovely 'Mountaintop Lamento' was memorably used in Catherine Pancake’s film about coal mining in Appalachia, 'Black Diamonds: Mountaintop Removal and the Fight for Coalfield Justice'." – VHF