The Roches - Keep On Doing (1982)

The Roches are so hard to categorize simply because they so deftly manage songs that echo mountain music, rock and roll, folk, techno-pop, and beyond. This album is an excellent example of their polymathic tendencies. On their rendition of Georg Friedrich Handel's famous "Hallelujah Chorus" from "Messiah," they do splendid three-part harmony, keeping totally to Handel's music and lyrics while somehow managing to inject their usual wittiness into the arrangement. When I saw them perform this in Pittsburgh about ten years ago, they enhanced the disconnect between their reputations and Handel's by huddling together, shoulder to shoulder, dressed in black leather jackets and affecting "tough guy" expressions. Their soaring harmonies that night were brought down to earth by the occasional hilarious yawn, eyes rolled heavenward, and meticulous examination of their fingernails--all of which highlighted the casualness with which they can toss off the most exquisitely harmonious music. True to form, most of the songs herein are written by the Roches themselves. While Maggie usually does the honors in the songwriting department (and acquits herself admirably here with "Losing True," among others), Terre and Suzzy also do a couple of star turns with "Keep On Doing What You Do/Jerks on the Loose" and "I Fell In Love," just to name a couple.