Rose’s Side, “Fill Your Heart” was a jaunty, melodically rich composition that, in addition to Bowie, was covered by Tiny Tim as the B-side to his own improbable hit in “Tip-Toe Through the Tulips.” A quick listen to Rose’s work on Thorn helps show there to be more of an influence on Hunky Dory than simply the presence of one song. Released three years prior on The Thorn in Mrs. This presupposition is what has long retroactively drawn listeners to odd, almost vaudevillian recordings of pianist and songwriter Biff Rose, whose song “Fill Your Heart” – co-written with Paul Williams – appeared on Bowie’s 1971 masterpiece Hunky Dory. That he would take on the work of another seems something of an anomaly an artist so influential performing a cover on an album of otherwise all original material must be worth further investigation. This isn’t to say he didn’t indulge in the occasional cover throughout his half-century of recording and performing, rather his primary focus lay in his artistic collaborations with others on his own material. The result is one of the better albums from a period when everyone seemed to be taking themselves far too seriously, and like all great albums, there is clearly something to be taken for our time as well.Save his all-covers album Pin Ups, there is very little material written by others within the David Bowie canon. Rose's wandering piano numbers had the continuity to bring both together. It is the rare musician that can be honest enough to approach their subject matter through everything from stone faced wit to heart-on-sleeve introspection. Miraculously though, the record manages to turn the tone on its head with brooding, introspective tracks like "To Baby" and "Son in Moon." Whatever the mood, Rose manages to string together the collection with aggressively adept piano playing that reveals the sensitivity and rapid finger motions that are the result only of classical training. He unravels a more poignant attack on the title track, reminding the listener that "the force of deception has uneven rhythms." He casts himself as an outsider with a playful attack on his songwriting brethren with "I'm new at writing protest songs/sometimes I slip and use clichés." The use of a Moog on two of the tracks, one courtesy of Van Dyke Parks, only adds to the bizarre swirling time capsule that Rose pulls from both the folk and circus traditions. Whimsical clap-alongs like "Color Blind Blues," "Evolution," "American Waltz," and "Ballad of Clichés" accent Rose's skill at societal commentary. Like Randy Newman, Rose has a counter-diatribe for every Barry Goldwater and Billy Graham speech about traditional American values and the wrongs of science. With his teeter-totter shift between goofy, dorky falsetto and his rugged, country-tinged voice, Rose accents a romp through the silly side of America's misplaced worries on Children of Light. Fortunately, that's where cult followings come in. While his songs are catchy and well-composed, his lyrics are bound to offend the straight-laced façade that dominates America's middle class. It is probably safe to say the mainstream hasn't and will probably never have room for songwriters like Biff Rose.
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