Roo-Roz

Rookery (UK): Waikiki Hawaii Bound (No label SAL 302, 1975?)
Folk/Rock/MOR
Wanda, Sita
The backstory behind this bizarre album of Hawaiian-themed folk/rock is arguably more interesting than the music itself – this nameless private label issued a number of albums, all of whose catalogue numbers begin ‘SAL’. I also possess Gog Magog’s Great Rock Gospel Hits (SAL 311) and Tithe Barn’s Smash Hits For Kids (SAL 327), which suggests that each of its releases was in a different style. All came in striking minimalist black-and-white sleeves, and none have the band name printed on them, which in every case was added with a rubber-stamp. As a final twist, this isn’t an original release – it’s a reissue of a 1969 album issued in the Netherlands as Royal Hawaiian Minstrels and West Germany as Waikiki-Hawaii. GRADE: C+.

Room (UK): Pre-Flight (Deram SML 1073, 1970)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive
Jane Kevern (lead vocals, tambourine)
This extremely rare LP offers highly-arranged, complex, jazzy progressive rock with strong post-psychedelic jamming elements, falling somewhere between Affinity, Fusion Orchestra and Goliath. On the downside, a couple of tracks are average blues/rock workouts, but the closing instrumental freakout ‘Cemetery Junction’ is superb, featuring some stunning acid guitar leads. GRADE: C+.

Rosa Luxemburg (France): I & II (Spartakus Musique, CD, 2009)
Progressive
Marie Catherine (joint lead vocals)
Given its rather austere packaging and concept about different historical revolutions (very similar to Schmetterlinge’s Proletenpassion), I expected this to be RIO. In fact, it’s mainstream progressive, ranging from the folky to (occasionally) the hard rocking and with a melliow song-based style, though also some moments of complexity. In summary, this is a good album, with excellent singing and musicianship throughout, but it could have been even better had they pushed a few more boundaries. GRADE: C+.

Rosalia (Japan): Zillion Tears (Made In Japan MCD-2014, CD, 1990)
Progressive
Iori Sakagami (lead vocals), Yukiyo Takeda (guitar), Eiko Fujimoto (bass), Naomi Miura (keyboards, backing vocals), Emiko Nishida (drums)
This all-female prog band (including Naomi Miura, also of Ars Nova and Kings’ Boards) only issued this sole EP, featuring three songs and an instrumental totalling around 23 minutes. It’s typical Japanese neoprogressive, with a rather bombastic style, and whilst listenable is probably more a curio than anything. GRADE: C.
See also Ars Nova, Various 'Kings’ Boards'

Rose Among Thorns (UK): Rose Among Thorns (HTD HTDCD6, CD, 1990)
Folk/Rock/Progressive
Elaine Morgan (lead vocals, tambourine)
The obvious reference point for the folky progressive rock here is eighties Renaissance, complete with a modernistic drum sound and production style. As such, Rose Among Thorns have not chosen to emulate the band’s golden period and this could only occasionally be described as ambitious, but it’s nonetheless a decent enough set. GRADE: C+.
Rose Among Thorns (UK): This Time It’s Real (HTD HTD CD8, CD, with digipak, 1992)
Folk/Rock/Progressive
Elaine Morgan (principal vocals)
Second time around, they sound like a cross between late Renaissance (or perhaps solo Annie Haslam) and Clannad, refracted through a neoprogressive prism. For sure, it’s highly derivative but it was also influential on a new generation of Welsh prog bands – the template for Karnataka is right here. On the downside, this is again fairly unambitious (two songs over five minutes, and then not by much) and sometimes glib both musically and lyrically (rhyming ‘change’ with ‘rearrange’ twice is twice too often) but Karnataka could only dream of making an album with this many hooks, so this just about crawls over the line between C+ and B–. GRADE: B–.
Rose (UK): Butterfly Dreams (HTD HTDCD31, CD, 1995)
Folk/Rock/Progressive
Elaine Morgan
It’s not just their name that’s truncated: the band are down to a duo of Elaine and Derek Morgan, and that’s the biggest weakness of their third and final album. With its programmed drums, this often sounds like a set of demos rather than the finished article, though the songs are decent enough and the style is broadly in keeping with their first two. The band’s only other release was the 1996 compilation Highlites (HTD CD 63), which includes five previously unreleased songs – all home recordings and mostly MOR ballads, though (ironically) ‘The Ballad Of Scwd Clyn Gwyn’ is a rather good instrumental. GRADE: C+.

See also Ghoulies, Elaine Morgan

Rose Garden (USA): The Rose Garden (Atco SD33-225, 1968)
Pop/Psychedelic
Diana Di Rose (joint lead vocals)
Although it’s extremely pleasant, the band’s brand of Byrds-derived sunshine pop isn’t enormously distinctive. However, in Diana di Rose they had a unique female vocalist for the era: nothing like the usual soaring Grace Slick impersonators, she often resembles a much deeper-voiced Sandie Shaw, with a very understated singing style. GRADE: C+.

Rosebud (France): Discoballs – A Tribute To Pink Floyd (Flarenasch 723.601, 1977)
Disco/Funk/Pop
Miss X (lead vocals)
The title says it all: this bizarre work offers disco interpretations of a number of (sometimes quite obscure) Pink Floyd songs. Actually, it’s as close to funk and pop as disco, but it’s still a truly peculiar venture. It’s mainly of interest here due to the line-up, including three members of Magma (Claude Engel, Jannick Top and Alain Hâtot) plus several top French sessionmen (André Sitbon, Michel Coeuriot, Georges Rodi et al). Who ‘Miss X’ was, I have no idea, but she could conceivably have been Maria Popkiewicz, given the other musicians involved. GRADE: C.

Rosita & Charmaine (UK): God’s Been Good To Me (RCA INTS 1374, 1972)
MOR/Folk/Country
According to the sleevenotes, these ‘talented twin sisters from Belfast, Northern Ireland’ were 16 when they cut this album. With their bizarre matching high-necked dresses and improbable heavily lacquered coiffures, they look middle-aged – and sound it too, on a collection of prissy MOR Christian folk and country tunes. If you see this in a dealer list described as ‘crystalline teen folk’ or some such nonsense, beware – a beautiful reading of ‘All My Trials’ aside, this is for fans of Val Doonican or Jim Reeves, not RFD or Search Party. GRADE: E+.

Sandy Ross (USA): Sandy Ross (Audio Recorders, unreleased acetate, 1970)
Singer/Songwriter/Folk
Sandy Ross (lead vocals, guitar)
Only one copy is known of this unreleased album, which comes in a plain white sleeve with handwritten comments attached on post-it notes. Accompanied only by acoustic guitar, Ross offers dark and slightly eerie loner folk tunes, with the best cut being the opening ‘The Girl Lying On The Sidewalk’. Guitar-and-voice singer/songwriter albums can be one-dimensional, but this is a good one deserving a full release. GRADE: C+.
Sandy Ross (USA): Lady Of A Different Time (SLR Productions, with booklet, 1972)
Singer/Songwriter
Sandy Ross (lead vocals, guitar, piano, bells)
Ross’s second album is completely different: side one offers a varied set of songs recorded in the studio with electric band backing, whilst side two features Ross and her guitar performing live. The quality of the material is high throughout, and the studio numbers are superbly arranged, but it’s all a little generic. Although this was seemingly a private pressing, she must have had a considerable budget, as it features both an attractive sepia-tinged sleeve and matching lyric booklet. As a footnote, Ross had her songs covered by major performers including Anne Murray and Kim Carnes, and returned to recording in the mid-nineties to issue two CDs, Portraits Of Innocence and Coloring Outside The Lines. GRADE: C+.

Roswell Six (USA): Terra Incognita: Beyond The Horizon (ProgRock PRR720/SPV 452762 CD, CD, 2009)
Rock/Metal/Progressive
Lana Lane (joint lead vocals)
Sometimes venturing into rock opera, this concept album was a companion piece to a series of fantasy novels by bestselling author Kevin J Anderson. With Erik Norlander composing everything and Lana Lane sharing the vocals, it’s unsurprisingly heavy neoprogressive, with a superstar cast of musicians from other neoprog bands. If pomp-rock is your thing, you might get something out of this, but whilst it’s perfectly professional it struck me as very one-dimensional and tedious. Indeed, the only cut that really seized my attention was ‘Here By Monsters’, and only because the verses are a shameless rip-off of ‘Kashmir’. GRADE: C.
Roswell Six (USA/Canada): Terra Incognita: A Line In The Sand (ProgRock PRR721, CD, USA, 2009)
Metal
Sass Jordan (joint lead vocals)
Oddly, apart from singer Michael Sadler, the second Roswell Six album is cut by an entirely different line-up, with one Henning Pauly composing, arranging and producing and playing all the instruments. Musically, it’s not that far removed from its predecessor, although it is less progressive and much closer to metal. As a surprising footnote, Janis Ian was apparently involved in writing the lyrics for two songs. GRADE: C.
See also Aina, Lana Lane, Erik Norlander

Rotary Connection (USA): Rotary Connection (Cadet Concept LPS 312, 1968)
Soul/Pop/Rock
Minnie Riperton (joint lead vocals), Judy Hauff (joint lead vocals)
The first album by this pioneering black vocal group is superficially similar to contemporaries like the Fifth Dimension, with its soaring harmonies and rich orchestrations. However, there is an underlying weirdness that sets it apart from the competition, though it’s nowhere near as experimental as some of their later albums. Psychedelic embellishments such as sitar and Theremin are used to good effect, and snatches of electronic and classical-influenced music separate some of the songs, giving the whole thing the feel of a co-ordinated suite. It all sounds extremely dated now, of course, but that’s a key part of its charm. GRADE: C+.

Rotary Connection (USA): Aladdin (Cadet Concept LPS 317, 1968)
Soul/Pop/Rock
Minnie Riperton, Judy Hauff
Richly orchestrated and wonderfully melodic, this is an excellent album that seamlessly blends influences from soul, pop and contemporary rock. Despite some clever production touches, it’s not their most inventive LP, but it is consistently enjoyable and accomplished. The best cuts by far are the slightly eerie Eastern-flavoured ‘I Must Be There’ and the heavier ‘I Feel Sorry’. GRADE: C+.
Rotary Connection (USA): Peace (Cadet Concept LPS 318, 1968)
Soul/Psychedelic/Rock
Minnie Riperton, Judy Hauff
Their magnum opus is a highly creative and experimental suite of Christmas music, arranged in their usual psychedelic soul and rock style. Some cuts are relatively upbeat, but others are dark and sinister – notably a menacing ‘Silent Night’ played on atonal fuzz guitar and handbells, then reprised as a piece of raucous acid-rock. Overall, it’s an impressively ambitious piece of work and a perfect soundtrack for the festive season during the era of the Vietnam War and rising civil disobedience. It also stands head and shoulders above anything else they ever did. GRADE: B.
Rotary Connection (USA): Songs (Cadet Concept LPS 322, 1969)
Soul/Psychedelic/Funk
Minnie Riperton, Judy Hauff
Their covers album is a daring venture indeed. Taking material from sources as diverse as Cream (three out of nine songs), Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, the Rolling Stones and the Band, they recast the material in their own familiar style and make it sound surprisingly homogenous. If, like me, you love their brand of psychedelic-tinged soul and funk, with its widescreen production and expansive arrangements, you will thoroughly enjoy this LP – but I can imagine fans of some of the covered bands finding it mildly sacrilegious. GRADE: B–.
Rotary Connection (USA): Dinner Music (Cadet Concept LPS 328, 1970)
Pop/Rock
Minnie Riperton, Judy Hauff
Like their debut, this inserts short snippets of sound effects and classical music between the songs, but otherwise it’s rather different to their earlier work: the epic arrangements and acid guitars that characterised their previous albums are replaced by a lighter pop style (and even a move into country/rock on one cut). It’s still quite experimental (notably the weird ‘Merry Prankster’) and overall very good, with fine arrangements and performances, and a commendably eclectic approach. GRADE: C+.
New Rotary Connection (USA): Hey Love (Cadet Concept 50006, 1971)
Pop/Rock
Minnie Riperton (joint lead vocals), Kitty Hayward (joint lead vocals)
Their final album was credited to the New Rotary Connection, for no apparent reason, but it’s musically similar to what went before (if less psychedelic and experimental). It’s beautifully executed and contains some great tracks (especially the lengthy ‘I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun’ and mournful ‘Hangin’ Round The Bee Tree’), but its comparative lack of audacity suggests that they chose to pack it in at the right time. GRADE: C+.
See also Minnie Riperton

Rotglut (West Germany): …Einfach Nur Leben! (Trikont Unsere Stimme US - 0064, with booklet, 1979)
New Wave/Progressive
Ariane Ehinger (keyboards, backing vocals), Cordula Metke (backing vocals)
Mixing influences from punk and prog, this anarchist rock album ranges from good krautrock to tepid pub-rock, with the longer and more involved pieces unsurprisingly being the best. Overall it’s a patchy LP, sometimes sounding like a very poor man’s Stranglers, but it does have its moments. GRADE: C+.
Rotglut (West Germany): Drunter Und Drüber (Trikont Unsere Stimme 33/30, with booklet, 1980)
New Wave/Progressive
Ariane Ehinger (occasional vocals, keyboards)
Their second and final album is in a similar style, although a bit less exploratory and experimental. That said, the songwriting is of a much higher standard second time around, with a few excellent numbers on offer, so I prefer this to their debut. GRADE: C+.

Rother Valley (UK): Country Reflections (Arny’s Shack AS 002, 1975)
Country
Shirley Marston (joint lead vocals)
No prizes for guessing that this private pressing offers country music (in this case with a slight cabaret edge). On the plus side, it has nicely stripped-down arrangements, including some wah-wah guitar, so this is surprisingly listenable. GRADE: C+.

Rough Spells (Canada): Ruins At Midday (Fuzzed & Buzzed/Dark Hedonistic Union DHU041/Fnb002, some on coloured vinyl, with insert and poster, 2020)
Rock/Metal
Sarena Sairan (joint lead vocals, guitar), Maija Martin (joint lead vocals, guitar), Kerry Martin (bass)
This mostly female band’s debut is an enjoyable hard rock set, offering eight songs in just over 30 minutes. As that description suggests, it’s perhaps a bit slight, but it’s all thoroughly enjoyable, making me hope they’ll stretch out a little more on the follow-up. GRADE: C+.

John Roush & Friends (USA): The Cry Of The City (Seeds Of Truth SOT #0010, with booklet, 1983)
Rock
Kay Winston (joint lead vocals)
Issued to support an inner-city ministry, this is an enjoyable album of Christian rock: mostly bluesy, sometimes quite hard and effectively soulful when Kay Winston is singing; there are even elegant instrumentals to close each side. The suitably bleak cover and unusually direct lyrics are also refreshing for a Christian LP. GRADE: C+.

Rowan Amber Mill (UK): Midsummers (Millersounds milledcd004, CDR, 2009)
Folk/Psychedelic
Kim Guy (principal vocals, percussion, recorder)
Three versions of ‘Summer is Icumen In’ tell their own story: Rowan Amber Mill clearly take their inspiration from ‘The Wicker Man’ in particular, seventies folk horror in general, and more broadly retro psychedelic folk sounds recalling the female-sung cuts from the first Gwydion album. Unlike comparable acts, they don’t resort to industrial edges to convey a sinister edge to their sound, instead relying on cloying sweetness and eerie sound effects; the result is a delightful debut. GRADE: B–.
Rowan Amber Mill (UK): Heartwood (Millersounds milledcd005, CDR, with digipak and booklet, 2010)
Folk/Psychedelic
Sharon Eastwood (principal vocals, recorder)
This is more confident and more consistent than their first, though markedly less eccentric, so it’s moot which is better. In any case, both are lovely, trippy folk albums, with rich and intricate acoustic instrumentation and soothing singing. GRADE: B–.
Emily Jones & The Rowan Amber Mill (UK): The Book Of The Lost (Millersounds OWLMILL006, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2013)
Folk/Psychedelic
The Rowan Amber Mill give full rein to their (or, since I understand the ‘band’ was now down to multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Stephen Stannard, should that be his?) folk horror proclivities here. The soundtrack to an imaginary horror compendium show from the seventies, this features a song and a snatch of dialogue and effects for each of the four films, sandwiched between versions of the show’s supposed theme music. The songs are lovely, the dialogue elements are self-indulgent and the whole thing is rather arch (though I do like the mocked-up posters for the films, including ‘The Villagers’ being distributed by ‘British Liger’ in another ‘Wicker Man’ reference). GRADE: B–.
Angeline Morrison & The Rowan Amber Mill (UK): Silent Night Sounds For A Cold Winter’s Evening (Millersounds milledcd007, CD, with digipak, 2014)
Folk/Psychedelic
Angeline Morrison (lead vocals)
A 22-minute EP of Christmas songs at this stage in the band’s career strikes me as a baffling move, as does changing vocalists yet again (perhaps they’re aiming to equal Wappasou’s record?). As Christmas EPs go, this is very, very good, but as Rowan Amber Mill albums go it’s a bit disappointing. GRADE: C+.

Rowan:Morrison (UK): In The Sunshine We Rode The Horses (MillerSounds milledCD011, black CDR, with inserts, stickers, badges and tin, 2019)

Folk/Psychedelic

Angeline Morrison

In a rather cute move, the Amber Rowan Mill & Angeline Morrison have renamed themselves Rowan:Morrison and returned with their first full-length album. It’s beautiful and haunting pastoral folk with a slightly austere and forbidding edge, and with its lush orchestrations making it hard to believe that it’s the work of just two people. GRADE: B–.

Rowan:Morrison (UK): Fields Of Frost – Silent Songs For A Cold Winter’s Night (MillerSounds milledCD014X, black CDR, with inserts, stickers, badges and tin, 2019)

Folk/Psychedelic

Angeline Morrison (lead vocals, guitar, autoharp)

In a rather unusual move, the first run of Rowan:Morrison’s Christmas album includes their earlier Christmas EP as bonus material. Arguably the new LP is also more of an EP masquerading as an album, as several tracks appear in two versions (one acapella and the other with instrumental backing), but it’s nonetheless very good, effortlessly pulling off the Amber Mill’s usual trick of sounding both beautiful and sinister. GRADE: B–.

Rowan:Morrison (UK): Lost In Seaburgh (MillerSounds milledCD 015, black CDR, with photos, stickers, badges and tin, 2020)
Folk/Psychedelic
Angeline Morrison (principal vocals, guitar, autoharp)
The danger of Rowan:Morrison’s seventies-inspired folk horror music – this time expressed via a concept set based around the ghost stories of M R James – is that it can cross the line from atmospheric to arch. Lost In Seaburgh perches on the borderline: whilst the songs are beautiful and haunting, there are too many spoken word passages to my ears, and the music hall-styled ‘Oh! Oh! Antonio!’ feels a touch out of place. Nonetheless, there’s enough fine music here to earn this a B–, though again it perches on the borderline. GRADE: B–.

Rowan:Morrison (UK): Bride Of The Wintertide (MillerSounds milledCD020, CDR, with photos, stickers, poster, badges and tin, 2021)
Folk/Psychedelic
Angeline Morrison (principal vocals, autoharp)
At just over half an hour, this isn’t the most substantial set, but Rowan:Morrison certainly know how to put together an eerie and atmospheric Christmas set that avoids all the usual pitfalls of the genre. If you like your Yuletide with more than a touch of the Pagan and arcane, this should provide some fine seasonal listening. GRADE: C+.

Rowan Amber Mill (UK): Among The Gorse To Settle Scores (MillerSounds, black CDR, with inserts, badges, stickers and tin, 2020)
Folk/Rock
Kim Guy (lead vocals)
The first Rowan Amber Mill (as opposed to Rowan:Morrison) release of new material in six years is a 25-minute EP of ‘our very favourite traditional songs’. As such, it’s quite different from the ethereal, trippy folk-horror stuff that is their usual stock-in-trade, consisting of lo-fi electric folk with lots of keyboards adding a symphonic edge. It’s all pleasant enough, but they don’t really bring anything new to any of the songs, so they’re not exactly Steeleye Span. If you prefer a more modern reference, they’re not exactly Offa Rex either. GRADE: C+.

Rowan Amber Mill (UK): Golden Strings To Tether The Sun (MillerSounds milledCD017, CDR, with photos, stickers, badges and tin, 2020)
Folk/Rock/Psychedelic
Kim Guy (lead vocals, guitar, recorder)
Typically for the Rowan Amber Mill, this album is beautifully packaged, with a custom tin and all kinds of inserts. Also typically for a Stephen Stannard project, it recycles a fair amount of material – five of the six tracks from Among The Gorse To Settle Scores reappear here in slightly different versions, alongside eight new pieces. I found the music there to be good rather than great, and the feeling persists here – I definitely prefer Rowan Amber Mill in folk horror mode and I certainly prefer my electric folk with full band backing. That’s not to say that the versions here are in any way poor, but in every case I prefer versions by other bands – whether that’s Steeleye Span or Tickawinda. In fact, the best thing by far is the beautiful, lush instrumental ‘Now The Green’, which is more in the vein of the Rowan Amber Mill’s early work. GRADE: C+.

Royal Squeezit (Japan): O•P (Creativeman Disc CMDD*0036, CD, with obi, 1996)
Classical/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Emi Eleonola (lead vocals, keyboards, accordion)
The duo of Demi Semi Quaver leader Emi Eleonola and much-travelled violinist Katsui Yuji offer an odd, fractured little album full of chamber music vignettes and quirky experiments. It’s all rather intriguing, and represents an interesting addition to the RIO canon, but I definitely prefer Eleonola in her more rock-oriented day job. GRADE: C+.
See also Demi Semi Quaver

Royal Thunder (USA): Royal Thunder (Relapse RR7150, CD, 2010)
Metal
Melanie Parsons (lead vocals, bass)
This is an enjoyable set of doom and stoner metal, with a fair amount of variety and some atmospheric moments. On the downside, it doesn’t have the crushing heaviness or distinctive vision to place it among the all-time doom classics, but it’s solid and accomplished from start to finish. GRADE: C+.
Royal Thunder (USA): CVI (Relapse RR7175, CD, with obi, 2012)
Metal
Melanie Parsons (lead vocals, bass)
A huge step forward from its rather uneven predecessor, this is an excellent doom metal set. In fact, at its best this isn’t too far behind modern masters of the genre like Blood Ceremony and Windhand. GRADE: B–.

Royal Thunder (USA): Crooked Doors (Relapse RR7624, CD, 2015)
Rock/Metal
Melanie Parsons (lead vocals, bass, piano)
This is a definite change of direction: away from metal towards a seventies hard rock sound. It works well, with a suitably dry retro sound and plenty of energy, but it’s not in the same league as its more powerful and majestic predecessor. GRADE: C+.

Royal Thunder (USA): Wick (Spinefarm 2557331332, CD, with digipak, 2017)
Rock/Metal
Melanie Parsons (lead vocals, bass, piano)
Whilst in the same vein as its predecessor, this has more going for it: more poise, more swagger and better hooks, sometimes coming across as a lighter and more sprightly cousin of Fireball Ministry. As such, this is close to the divide between C+ and B–, but despite its consistency the lack of a truly killer track fails to push it over the line. GRADE: C+.

Yoko Royama (Japan): Sunny Days (Bonsai BNCD-001, CD, with obi, 1990)
Folk/Rock/Progressive
Yoko Royama (principal vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion, flute, whistle, programming, effects)
The Vermilion Sands vocalist’s solo album is a revelation: moving away from the Renaissance-by-numbers style of her band, she offers a delightful collection of folky self-penned songs and interpretations of traditional material. True, it could have been improved had she used more guest musicians (the programmed bass and drums inevitably detract, though not terminally) and had a bigger budget, but it’s still a delightful, unassuming and deeply charming record. GRADE: B–.
See also Theta, Vermilion Sands

Olga Rozhnova & Voyage Group (USSR): The Road (Russian Disc R60 01104, 1990)
Metal
Olga Rozhova (lead vocals)
Old-school metal and hard rock with a few slight symphonic and progressive edges, given distinction by its unusual origin. Its other noteworthy feature is the wonderfully ‘Spinal Tap’-esque cover, which should succeed in raising a few smiles. GRADE: C+.