Al Rose - Spin Spin Dizzy (2016)

Somehow you are here and now you're checking things out and you find yourself wondering (maybe to yourself) what is Al Rose's music like? What are Al Rose's songs for? Excellent questions.

Imagine (if you will) your favorite café. Maybe it's Kopi Café on Clark Street in Chicago, or some place in Paris, or Rome, or Bali, or New York or some out of the way place in your head. It's late afternoon… or morning (if you've just gotten up). Either way, it's still a touch lighter outside than inside. You step in and your eyes adjust to the warm colors. Some of the tables are worn wood. Some are worn marble. All of the chairs are different and somewhat solid, but you have your favorites and you grab a seat.

Over by the wall, Bob Dylan is playing scrabble with either Allen Ginsberg or Serge Gainsbourg. It's tough to tell because bartender Richard Thompson makes sure to pour a shot of absinthe into every drink. Groucho Marx is over in the corner, chair back on two legs, playing ukulele and swapping songs with William Burroughs in a scene out of a Chagall painting. Henry Miller sits at a table littered with empty glasses and full ashtrays. Lucinda Williams sits on his lap, while under the table he tries, unsuccessfully to work his hand up Emmylou Harris's dress.

Neil Young sits at a table by himself eating popcorn and watching a movie that's playing in his head. While from the outside front window, Greg Brown looks in taking notes and sketching pictures.