Black Rose
Clearly Souther's best and most dense album, it also illustrates why Souther never became a full member of the Eagles and that insiders' assumptions about Souther 'just not being a group person' were widely justified at the time. He presents himself at the peak of his writing ability and, supported by Peter Asher's sensitive production, also in full creative control. In spite of numerous cameo appearences (by Andrew Gold, David Crosby and the Eagles) the album failed commercially like on most other instances Souther decided against the role of the man in the background. Many of the songs feature re-recorded (and better) versions of songs he had previously recorded with Linda Ronstadt, others (like the irresistable Doors Swing Open) are clearly meant for his own use, so unapplicable are they to the Eagles' or Ronstadt's patterns. There is a commodity of patience and density here which gives the album the taste of a burried treasure, a yet largely undiscovered classic. The recent re-issue on CD might enhance that reading of his work, even though other notable attempts (such as his last full-scale album Home By Dawn, which was only re-released in Japan, and is not available elsewhere, not even on Amazon) seemed to be denied this kind of slow appreciation. Highly recommendable
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