Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
It is the accessibility of her music that makes Rose Greenwood stand out as a musician and as a person willing to bare the joy, the torment, and the belief that their soul insists rightly of sharing.
Baring the soul though comes with a large responsibility, often it requires the need, the subtle necessity to be true to yourself in such a way that the art represents more than truth, it is the whole being set alight by integrity, by an authority of spirit which is consuming and wonderful.
Rose Greenwood returns to the fore with the brand-new release Soul Food, and as with anything that is good for the soul, so it is for the senses that process and magnify the emotions released; and Soul Food in that respect is an experience akin to fine dining, it is the plate in which all can sample the delicacy placed upon its decorative pattern, and be gratified by the result.
Everything on board this exposed sense of presentation comes from within, the beating heart, the tales, the admissions, the sorry, the overwhelming passion, the fearless understanding that in some cases what is more important than anything is the sincerity of the lone voice, the single-minded determination to bring an image to life in your time and space.
That is the gravitas of the album, the sweetness of its sound is carried by the pulse of Ms. Greenwood as she directs songs such as One Of These Days, Breath Me, 1923, and the pulsating opener of The Trick in such a way that it is a moral obligation to rectify your own feelings of damage with the aid of the sensual and the calming effect that the musician equips the listener with.
Soul Food is nourishment, it is a secret passed down to all in need of affirmation, but one that it is open, the urgency of vulnerability cascades and flows, and in turn brightens the day, gladdens the soul, and in the final reckoning between darkness and the light, the place where the individual knows they are safe from harm, that is where Rose Greenwood’s point is driven home with love and honour.
A terrific return, an album of trust and guidance, Soul Food is a dish served with compassion.
Ian D. Hall