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Viking's Choice: The House That Jack Rose Built

Jack Rose helped revive and reset acoustic guitar music — a new compilation pays tribute to the artist, who died 10 years ago today. Plus, a playlist of 2019's phenomenal crop of guitar records.
Jack Rose's ramblin' ragas, sun-drenched drones and hiccuping blues were guitar-picked with a big dang heart and even bigger hands.

Absence helps the heart forget, the hard times get blotted with better ones; misrecollections become tall tales later canonized in the backs of bars. It ain't right, but as we soak up worry, euphoria and normal everyday B.S., the details can get squeezed out like crusty pulp from old grapes.

I used to be able to say that there wasn't a week where a Jack Rose tune wasn't winding through my head — his ramblin' ragas, sun-drenched drones and hiccuping blues guitar, picked with a big dang heart and even bigger hands.

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