A Year of Music

Choosing to end his Raag Manifestos with a simple old hymn (“Blessed Be the Name of the Lord”) was a good move for Jack Rose. He can produce a storm of sound with two hands and a steel-string guitar, but the uncomplicated rhythms and old-time, major-key vibe of “Blessed Be” sends a sometimes chaotic album out on a sunlit high note. One reason among many why Jack Rose is my favorite of the Fahey-esque folk guitar wizards rambling the backwoods byways of today’s America.