“Ain’t no way of stopping time, it’s best to just enjoy the ride.” These fellas are full of exciting surprises. This happy tune has the uncanny ability to make me feel like whistling. Whistling? Well, you’ll be glad to know these guys aren’t whistling on the record, they’re telling a story of a relationship. “I often think of summer Sundays when all we had to be was lazy and lay upon the roof and watch the sun become the moon.” There’s tension, as in all great stories. Here the happy singer offers “a smile before you go, or maybe a song for the road.” Relationships. Never easy, but the narrator is keeping his hopes up in this fun tune. Well-presented, and maintains my interest over many listens. The first shoutout is for Smoke and Vines, another fine original with a totally different mood, showing off the versatility of Rogue Motel.
The second shoutout is for Marie, the Townes tune we’ve all sung for many years. The reason for the shoutout is that Rogue Motel doesn’t work on doing a fine rendition of the tune that makes me cry as I sing it. They completely take it on as their own. The lyric and tune are there, but done with the flavors of Rogue Motel – a wonderful showcase of their abilities as performers. We stand with them in the unemployment line, and cry with them as we attempt to waken our pregnant girlfriend to give her the message that work is impossible to find, so we’re going to head down south and try our luck elsewhere. “I guess I'll just tell Marie the truth hope she don't break down and cry.” The story continues, but Rogue Motel chooses to let the music express the events and the emotions. The words Townes wrote are hard for any of us to sing, and the narrator in this version doesn’t even try. The story is told by the instruments fading. I love the way the drummer plays a heartbeat and stops. But I’m giving too much away. This is a performance you need to hear. Thanks, guys. You give this old tune a new power and purpose. It does bug me that it can still ring true after all this time – we still deal with unemployment and underemployment way too much here. Rogue Motel
