Rosie Flores rose to prominence as the rockabilly queen of the roots-rock and alternative country scene in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s, although she’s been playing in bands since the ’60s. The 50-year-old San Antonio native shows she can still rock, but she also turns the heat down for some torchy ballads on Speed of Sound, which is something like her eighth full-length release.
Flores doesn’t have the strongest voice, but she’s got lots of spunk and grit, and she plays a mean rockabilly guitar. She has chosen some strong material, including some she wrote herself.
Her fans look for hot rockabilly numbers, and she comes up with several here, including the opening track, “Rock-A-Bye Boogie,” with several nice guitar breaks by her long-time collaborator Rick Vito; the sassy “Hot Dog,” written by Buck Owens in his rockabilly days when he performed as Corky Jones, with Rosie on lead and some fine slap bass by Russell Scott; and “Country Boy,” by Johnny Cash.
The best track overall is the Robbie Fulks honky-tonker, “I Push Right Over,” featuring dual guitar leads by Flores and Vito. Strong contenders are Marshall Crenshaw’s chugging rocker “Somewhere Down the Line,” a duet with Terry McBride; and “Don’t Take it Away,” which Flores co-wrote, a Bo Diddley-style blues with Rosie on lead again and smoky slide work from Vito.
The slow numbers are a little less compelling, although “Don’t Know if I’m Comin’ or Goin'” and “Somebody’s Someone” have lots of sexy swing, and Vito’s “Devil Love,” a bolero-style ballad, features some nice Roma-style violin by Tammy Rogers. Greg Leisz contributes some of his trademark guitar work throughout, including a smoldering lap steel on the title track, an atmospheric ballad co-written by Flores.
A rocking and swinging blend of alt-country and rockabilly, some hot guitar licks, and Flores’ sweet and sassy vocals — what’s not to like?
(Eminent, 2001)
