Sorry to hear of Maggie Roche's passing

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Dillydipper

Well-known Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2016
Messages
157
My wife told me last night as we were going to bed, we lost The Roches' oldest sister Saturday. When you grow up in an area where people just don't know anything about music that doesn't get on the radio, it's hard staying motivated to following your own personal favorites in such a vacuum. But I made the effort for these ladies; their debut with Robert Fripp producing was just a stunner. Their musical career didn't move in a straight line, and I bet most Roche fans either don't know a stray album or two, or have no idea where to find it. But any exposure* to The Roches is a good thing (*see what I just did there...).

I still put their Christmas album in my top 3 of all time (along with The Singers Unlimited's debut and George Winston's December). They spent a lot of time busking, and they really had something fresh to contribute to a catalog of music that more often than not, disappoints. If there ever was a reason for a trio of 3 sisters to get the 5.1 (or even quad) treatment, it would be just so I could get closer into their arrangement of the Hallelujah chorus, and figure out how 3 voices manage to cover every damn part of an 8-part score, witout overdubs! Then there's the starkly lovely "Star of Wonder", and "Christmas Passing Through", which was just made for watching the tree in the dark on the couch with your sweetheart.

And I'm confident you will never forget the first time you encountered "Hammond Song". Or how charmed you were when you saw them live. Or how it affected you when you learned Maggie and Suzzy had created an album of prayers which got held back from release...because it was scheduled for September 11, 2001.

Or how much less interesting the world is going to be without Maggie Roche in it.

Rest In Peace.
 
RIP, Maggie. A few years ago I had an occasion to see Suzzy Roche in concert at the Tarrytown Music Hall when she opened for Rufus Wainwright III and she was gracious enough to sign a copy of her recently released EP. Folk Music at its finest. And I do agree with Dillydipper that the Roche's Christmas album, "We Three Kings," is VERY special.
 
Their two albums produced by Robert Fripp - "The Roches" and 'Keep On Doin'" - are favorites of mine. I'm glad I got to see them in 1986 even if I never got to see them again.
 
Well put Dillydipper, The Roches are one of those lost treasures that just not enough people know about.
Can't remember for sure how I started listening to them but I think it was fact Robert Fripp produced first couple of albums so that made me take notice and I think I have almost all of their albums after getting first couple.
The Christmas album is one of our family favorites as well and as my kids were all born in early 90's it was a timely release for us as well to get their children's album which was also a favorite.
Yes sad news about Maggie's passing.

peter
 
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