#58 - Rosie

Artist: Richie Sambora
Album: Stranger in This Town
Other Versions: Originally recorded by the band as a demo for New Jersey with Jon on vocals
Era: N/A (demo was recorded for NJ, but I don't classify Richie's solo work)

Lyrics
Lyrics (Demo)

When someone asks me to recommend them a Richie song, it is without fail this, "Father Time", "Mr. Bluesman", or "Undiscovered Soul". There's songs I like better than these four, but I feel they're the ones that capture Richie's full scope of talent best.

Really, I think it can go without saying that the guitar work on this song is excellent. Richie's albums were a chance for him to absolutely let loose and do what he wanted with his voice and his hands, and the guitar in this song is just so quintissential rock guitar. Weedly weedly wee at its finest.

I love singing along to this. I like the way the verses are quieter but still intense, and I like the way the chorus is shouted. My dog hates it (her name is Rosie, it confused the poor dear to have me shouting "Rosie! Rosie!" all the time).

This song has whoa oh and yeah-ah-ah, so it earns extra points from me. I don't know why I love stuff like that so much, but it's sure being used well here. I really, really love at around 2:10 when he goes "Ro-oh-ah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-sie" and just drags it way out. Very, very nice.

This is one of those songs that I'll get stuck in my head for days but I don't mind it. The lyrics are melancholy, but the song just puts me in a good mood because everything else is so upbeat. I love the beat and the tempo, how it transforms this really really depressing song into a fun rocker.

Lyrically this is gorgeous. "Our love was deeper than the night was long/but things just didn't work out like our favorite song" is an excellent line.

I think it's worth noting that Richie is probably my least favorite member of Bon Jovi (although that's similar to being my least favorite pair of jeans, I still love it more than any other pair of pants that aren't jeans) and Stranger is one of my favorite albums of all time. That's a real testament to his talent.

My Rating: 10/10

For our next poll, since this seemed to go over so well, you can choose one of the following "moody rock" era songs:

• Fear
• Something for the Pain
• Blame It on the Love of Rock'n'Roll
• Hey God

Once again, just reply with the song you want. I'll come up with a more fancy poll dealy if I decide to keep this going permanently. Voting's open until shortly before I start writing tomorrow.