Keep On Doing
	Produced by Robert Fripp
	Released on 1982
	US CHART POSITION #183
	Find it at GEMM
23725-1 cover [high resolution scan]

H allelujah, indeed. If you haven’t heard The Roches, you’re in for a real treat. They’re sort of like the Andrews Sisters, Paul Simon and Manhattan Transfer rolled together. Although originally tagged as folkies, their first album as The Roches was produced by Robert Fripp, thus placing them in prog’s radar. (In fact, they’re part of Fripp’s pop dalliance from that era, so don’t come here expecting Annie Haslam.) Fripp also produced their third album, bringing along Tony Levin and Bill Bruford for minimal, nearly invisible accompaniment. Truth be told, Fripp has never been a sympathetic producer of other artists, often overestimating both the appropriateness and applicability of Frippertronics as though it were the musical equivalent of salt (when Worcestershire sauce is more like it). The man tramples the beautiful “Losing True,” though the Crimson Roche approach on the closing “Keep On Doing What You Want/Jerks On The Loose” finds interesting middle ground. Despite the distraction of three-quarters of King Crimson in a supporting role, Keep On Doing does, focusing on the beguiling harmonies and acoustic interplay of the sisters Roche. Beginning with “The Hallelujah Chorus,” rendered a capella, the ladies lay their cards face up with lush three-part harmonies and put together a winning streak for the next forty minutes. The trio looks outside for a pair of aces (“Steady With The Maestro,” “On The Road To Fairfax County”), authors some absolute winners (“I Fell In Love,” “Losing True,” “Want Not Want Not”) and sounds like they had a whole lot of fun doing it. Which is not to suggest that The Roches don’t take their music very seriously; Paul Simon had a sense of humor too, but never at the expense of songcraft. Their natural talents belie a meticulousness in their music; in other words, they make it look easy (as opposed to, say, Joni Mitchell). Those for whom Mitchell and Simon are staples would do well to add The Roches to their musical diet, with Keep On Doing as good a place to start as any.

TRACK LISTING

1. THE HALLELUJAH CHORUS    (George Frideric Handel, arr. by The Roches)    3:30
2. LOSING TRUE    (Margaret A. Roche)    4:50
3. STEADY WITH THE MAESTRO    (George Gerdes)    3:42
4. THE LARGEST ELIZABETH IN THE WORLD    (Terre Roche)    3:19
5. ON THE ROAD TO FAIRFAX COUNTY    (David Massengill)    4:42
6. I FELL IN LOVE    (Terre and Suzzy Roche)    4:15
7. THE SCORPION LAMENT    (Margaret A Roche)    3:31
8. WANT NOT WANT NOT    (Suzzy and Terre Roche)    2:54
9. SEX IS FOR CHILDREN    (Lyrics by A.A.Milne, Music by Terre Roche)    3:33
10. KEEP ON DOING WHAT YOU DO/JERKS ON THE LOOSE    (Terre and Suzzy Roche)    3:58

CREDITS

MAGGIE ROCHE -- acoustic guitar, synthesizer, piano, singing
SUZZY ROCHE -- acoustic guitar, singing
TERRE ROCHE -- acoustic guitar, electric guitar, singing
Bill Bruford -- percussion
Robert Fripp -- guitar and devices
Tony Levin -- bass
Craig Leon -- engineer
Peter Cunningham -- front cover photography
Irene Young -- back cover photography
Rise Daniels -- art direction/design

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