PRESS

“Singer/guitarist/songwriter Eric Ambel is no knucklehead. He is many other things: an alumnus 1980’s roots-punk band The Del-Lords; member of both Steve Earle’s band the Dukes and cheerful hell raisers the Yayhoos; running buddy of the Skeletons and the Bottlerockets’ leader of his own cool crew, Roscoe’s Gang.

Ambel gives you some of everything in this hat trick: two ace reissues (Roscoe’s Gang, from 1988, ‘94’s Loud & Lonesome) and a new, jumpin’ trawl thru the outtakes drawer, which yields a knuckle-cracking Del-Lords cover of the Flamin’ Groovies “Shake Some Action” and a home-cooked take on Tom Waits “Union Sqare”, in which Ambel rocks like the ’72 Rolling Stones-all my himself.”

— DAVID FRICKE // ROLLING STONE ISSUE 952/953

“This is the record Keith Richards should’ve made – it’s raw, ragged and risky. Eric Ambel (guitarist for the Del Lords) and friends spin out on a few inspired covers: Bob Dylan’s “If You Gotta Go, Go Now,” Swamp Dogg’s “Total Destruction to Your Mind” and Buck and Bonnie Owens’s classic “Loose Talk,” featuring Golden Palomino Syd Straw. The songs run from nasty (fellow Del Lord Scott Kempner’s “Don’t Wanna Be Your Friend”) to giddy (“The Girl That I Ain’t Got”) and twangy (“Next to the Last Waltz,” written with Peter Holsapple).

This is roots rock at the intersection of country and blues. The vocals are barked out, the guitars strung with barbed wire. The production is frenzied and loose. Yet Ambel and folks like Straw, Holsapple, Skid Roper and the reformed Morells sound both driven and dangerous, as if they were fueled by a couple of six-packs and a jug of moonshine.

Records don’t sound like this anymore, and that’s a shame. Soul has given way to slickness, and power to predictability, which makes Roscoe’s Gang sound even more commanding. Though it won’t outsell Poison, it hits harder and reminds us what rock & roll’s all about.”

— HOLLY GLEASON // ROLLING STONE ISSUE 556/557

“ It sounds like Eric Ambel has accomplished exactly what he set out to do on Loud and Lonesome (ESD). These forceful songs are mostly about being confused, hurt, and generally pissed off with the state of our union. His record is also haunted by the pervasive spirit of Neil Young. Whether its Crazy Horse-styled guitar heroics or a harmonica blowing over an estranged confessional. One listen, and you’ll feel mighty Neil, guaranteed.

This is not to say Ambel is yet another imitator of Americana’s godfather. On this album, he has absorbed Young’s music quite naturally into his own. He is fervent and sincere in the guise of Roscoe, a weary outsider looking in. With a hard rocking trio, we find ‘Scoe yowling at those American Stars N’ Bars. His words and music are emotionally direct, and proudly displayed for our inspection.

Ambel immediately gets our attention on the opening cut, “Song For The Walls,” clubbing us over the head with some savage guitar work. His urgent guitar playing repeatedly breaks through the themes of self-imposed isolation. “I’m Not Alone,” is another insular bombast with a hard, stripped-down sound; reminding us that everybody knows this is nowhere. Amplifiers feedback while Ambel and his lumbering rhythm section pound out riff-rocking tales of the lost and disenfranchised.

Loud & Lonesome embraces a bittersweet home on the grange; “I was burned out in the depot, looking for a ticket out. Three feet under, three feet left to go, when she turned my head around.” is intoned over a simple, country-rock backbeat on “Three Feet Under.” “Downtown At Midnight” takes a long, slow walk through The Last Picture Show; you can feel the specter of good times gone. To wrap things up, Roscoe goes it alone with a hillbilly hand-me-down, “Red Apple Juice.”

Eric Ambel has a rock n’ roll heart. He’s been a central member of Brooklyn’s Del-Lords since the early eighties and was one of Joan Jett’s Blackhearts before that. Lately, he has worked as a producer with bands like the Bottle Rockets and the Blood Oranges, fleshing out their No Depression sound. Ambel and Dan Baird (of the Georgia Satellites) have also put together a revved-up band of shitkickers called the Yay-Hoo’s. Amongst all of this, Eric Ambel & Roscoe’s Gang have managed to serve up a fine slice of American pie, God bless ‘em.”

— MITCH MEYERS // NO DEPRESSION ISSUE #2