A Joe Viglione Essay
Stacie Rose being the classy entertainment professional that she is starts her new ten-song CD off with Oceanic, a driving pop tune that Olivia Newton John could have had a party with in the 70s with John Farrar’s production work. And keeping her new CD to ten titles is very smart – an avalanche of music out there from millions of artists, all seeking attention, many wishing to be Mick Jagger or Taylor Swift.
The 3:04 of Oceanic is perfectly pop and radio friendly and a nice concluding piece at the start of the CD for the waning Summer of 2026…on the cusp of the 60th anniversary of the Summer of Love next year. “Don’t you sometimes wish tomorrow” the song asks as it fades. This is the first single from the album out Friday, July 10.
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“Going Places” is perfect for film or television, no stranger to Rose as A.I. Google notes: Television Placements: Her catalog is heavily licensed across standard and premium television networks. Notable placements include her song “Back to Life” on FX’s drama series The Riches, and the track “Alter-Ego” featured on E!’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Channel One. Her music has also appeared on MTV shows like The Hills, Sorority Life, and Fraternity Life, as well as programming on VH1, ABC, and FUSE TV. [1, 2, 3] What this reviewer (critic such a harsh term!) likes is the flow of the song, a dance vibe is the undercurrent, but the dominating genre is fun pop for all seasons, especially nice in the summer of its release.
“Silver Lining” coming in at 3 minutes and 22 seconds, hearkens back to Marianne Faithful’s “As Tears Go By” phase, some Françoise Hardy in there , the lost art of French yé-yé music. Flavors of Mary Hopkins too, British and French melodic folk/pop colliding.
Track 4, “Hold on to Me” comes in at a nice 3:03 for time, with the picture of the ocean and this lilting melodic composition one can again see music placement for TV or film, strong in the lyric department and perfect for a Stacie Rose short film she should star in herself. “Hold on to me and I will hold on to you….
“Heavy” at 4:09 stretches the boundaries, these songs all have their own identity as Rose sings “Heartache makes us stronger” – “I Care Too Much” almost answers “Heavy” coming back to Terra Firma at 3:14 or so … the words and music almost feel like a concept album, the music here in “I Care Too Much” highly sophisticated, exciting and quite dynamic.
The 3:44 of “Begin Again” is a piano piece reminiscent of Harriet Schock’s recent work (co-author of the theme to Berry Gordy’s Last Dragon, composer of Helen Reddy’s hit “Ain’t No Way to Treat a Lady) —-Stacie channeling her inner Laura Nyro…or even Carole King. “Ray of Sun” at 3:03 fits perfectly into this album, a charming little essay on folk guitar. “Wild and Free” starts off almost like Cher’s “Half Breed” with its tribal beat and again a 180-degree angle to the other compositions.
“Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” is a wonderful conclusion to this compelling addition to the Stacie Rose musical catalog. See Joe Viglione’s Substack for more Stacie Rose reviews https://joeviglione.substack.com/p/stacie-rose-the-mast-and-the-ocean