"The Chicago Sessions"

"Honey-sweet vocals lead you through ten beautifully performed songs on 'The Chicago Sessions'-and they're ten songs you'll relish. The enthralling voice belongs to Rose Laughlin and this is her second album. It's a classic example of inspired music and beguiling vocals forged from both Celtic and American folk roots. Listen once and you're hooked.
On this album, Rose has enlisted the talents of Mike Kirkpatrick (guitar) Devin Shepherd (fiddle) Jackie Moran (bodhran) and Kat Eggleston (vocal harmony) and together they have fashioned an album to remember. Mike's deft touch on the guitar glides over the inspired emotion carried in Rose's voice; add stunning fiddle work from Devin and Kat's sublte harmonies and 'The Chicago Sessions' is a unique treat for the ear. ....."
FolkWords-United Kingdom Tim Carroll 9/7/09

..."Storms are on the Ocean perhaps best exemplifies what Chicago Sessions is all about: simple, with very basic instrumentation, absolutely no solos or grandstanding, it zeroes in on beautiful duet singing and plaintive lyrics. Appropriate, then, that it's followed by the a cappella Unquiet Grave, a paean to death and love…with unsettling witchcraft side notes. In all, then, this is a return to an earlier day, pre-electronics and walls of sound, dependent upon the innate artistry of the recitation and recitor, an acid test of earnest, and either ya have it or ya don't. Rose Laughlin has it."
Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange, by Mark S. Tucker 7-09

"...Her craft is so meticulous you feel like you’re listening to a meditation or a sung prayer. By her own admission in a recent interview Rose immerses herself in a song for months or longer, until she feels she can do it justice, and to do it justice she not only delivers a flawless performance; she sings every line as if she has lived it. Try to convince me that she hasn’t." "...She utilizes a great deal of the kind of ornamentation typical of traditional Irish singing, with many notes to one syllable of text. Like Billie Holiday, she minimizes affect when the line is emotive and emphasizes lines that appear deceptively simple, drawing out their meaning." "...All the songs on this CD are gems and it sounds like you’re hearing them for the first time. “Let No Man Steal Your Thyme” is jarringly beautiful. So is Rose’s very innovative rendition of “Summertime” (the guitar is smokin’, and there’s actually a fiddle jig at the end). Laughlin recorded this album just before leaving Chicago to return to her native Seattle. Her music partner, Mike Kirkpatrick, was a boon to the album for three reasons, one being his instrumental prowess, two being his keen understanding of Rose’s musical objectives, and three being his willingness to give Rose creative elbow room. Kudos, Mike." Voice Magazine: The Mindful Bard by Wanda Waterman Athabasca University 5/09

"...It’s a gently intimate but also immensely powerful record, replete with warmth and an involving sense of presence, on which Rose’s gorgeous voice is given exemplary prominence within imaginative, sublimely minimal yet full-toned musical settings. Rose responds intuitively and clear-sightedly to her chosen material, delivering the songs with a solid confidence and a sensuous intensity that’s born both of thorough preparation and deep understanding. In doing so, she’s not afraid to take a risk or two, and this invariably pays off. For instance, on the opening track, interestingly the disc’s only non-folk item, to which the immediate reaction might be “aagh, not another version of Gershwin’s Summertime!”, but what Rose and Mike do with it is genuinely different and wholly inspired (Rose’s perfectly poised vocal rendition entirely unexpectedly ushers in a fiddle-and-guitar jig for counterpoint midway through). Rose’s version of Cold Rain And Snow, set to strange organ chordings and an ominous bodhrán tattoo, is quite literally chilling, whereas her well-judged acappella rendition of The Unquiet Grave is no less compelling for its pithy economy. Let No Man Steal Your Thyme is brilliantly matched with some eerie, resonant electronic treatment, and Barbara Allen receives a majestic and refreshingly punchy reading. I also really loved Rose’s stylishly beautiful take on the Carter Family classic Storms Are On The Ocean. The last-mentioned three songs also benefit from Kat’s wondrous vocal harmonies, by the way. On the majority of the tracks, it’s Mike’s crystalline guitar work that forms the predominant signature in the backdrop to Rose’s individual and personal interpretations. It glistens and gleams, its flowing undercurrents carrying both singer and listener along unerringly – the sustained seven-minute time span of The Snow It Melts The Soonest being a prime example of the way his artistry complements and inspires Rose’s own...."
Folk and Roots.co.uk David Kidman 3-09

"...While Rose's previous CD, "Souvenir" leaned more to country, folk, and roots music, mixing in traditional numbers, her new one calls upon her love of traditional Celtic music. The noteable exception is the starting track of Rose's mellow version of "Summertime." You have to hear Rose sing Summertime. The resulting gift left behind for Chicagoans is a wonderful showcase for Rose's soothing vocals and just what quality Chicago performers can create..." "Chicago Folk Music Examiner", Gary Tuber