The Roches - Speak - Cassette

MCA Records
Cut in barcode

While just about every critic and fan has a favorite Roches album that was inexplicably ignored, most will probably agree that Speak was the one that really should have gone gold. All of the ingredients for a huge album are here: emotional yet accessible songs, radio-friendly folk-pop arrangements, and the sisters' usual mind-blowing vocal pyrotechnics. True, the title cut does have harmonies and cadences that are more typical of Bulgarian music, but much of the rest of this album is radio-ready. "Big Nuthin" and "Person With a Past" are two obvious hits, but there are plenty more; in fact, this album doesn't have a dud track from end to end. Sure, fans of their early work will find "I Love My Mom" a bit too conventional and poppy, but heck, if you can't get a bit schmaltzy on a song to your mom, something's wrong with the world. Those who love the Roches' trademark bizarre wordplay and telepathic harmonies can focus on the avant-garde a cappella of "The Anti-Sex Backlash of the 80s" -- and with a title like that how can you resist? The jazzy backups are well handled and subtle throughout the album, and it's a classic. Alas, like all Roches albums it was critically acclaimed but ignored by the public.

Track Listing
1. Speak
2. Big Nuthin'
3. Cloud Dancing
4. Everyone Is Good
5. In The World
6. I Love My Mom
7. Losing Our Job
8. Person With A Past
9. Anti Sex Backlash Of The 80's, The
10. Easy
11. Nocturne
12. Merciful God
13. Broken Places
14. Feeling Is Mutual