“The true spirt of rock n’ roll is a relentless pursuit that consumes me on a daily basis. Chasing after it, making this record was a race well run” – Ricky Warwick.
If you’ve followed Ricky’s solo output you’ll know it all started with the largely acoustic Tattoos & Alibis, in October 2003. 2006’s, Love Many Trust Few, which followed was similar in style but somewhat more hard-rock orientated, before in 2009, came Belfast Confetti, that also kept that acoustic theme and was my favourite of the three. Then in 2016 came two albums, one acoustic and the other electric: Hearts on Trees and When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues) two more great and varied records.
As a huge fan of Ricky Warwick’s band based work from the days of The Almighty up to present day with Black Star Riders and all things in between there is of course far more to the story, but as solo records go this is the album that brings it all together like a bridge between his solo work and the bands he’s been in, with little spikes of other influences fading in and out like touches of Petty her and spikes of Thunders there, giving the whole a wonderfully heady mix of spirit and eloquence.
The other interesting thing about this new release is the band Ricky has put together and who recorded the album with him as live as was possible. First we have to mention Ricky’s longtime collaborator Robbie Crane (Black Star Riders) who will be familiar to many and sounds great here on bass. The other two band members are ex-Buckcherry bandmates: Keith Nelson who also does a wonderful job of production and co-wrote the majority of the songs here, and things are rounded out by Xavier Muriel on drums who sounds huge.
There are of course the customary cameos including Andy Taylor (Duran Duran & Power Station) Luke Morley (Thunder), Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Dizzy Reed (Guns n Roses) and Ricky’s youngest daughter Pepper.
We couldn’t really start proceedings any better either with the title track ‘When Life Was Hard And Fast’ – co-written with Ricky’s good mate Sam Robinson, and sporting backing vocals from Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, hitting hard, It’s a song about chasing dreams and sounds like it could rest well on any Black Start Riders record.
And if you like that then you’re bound to love the directness of the last single ‘You Don’t Love Me’ which hits hard lyrically and adds a great solo from Thunder’s Luke Morley. That in turn is followed by the mid-tempo and rather melodic ‘I’d Rather be Hit’ which has a great chorus and features ex-Duran Duran and Power Station maestro Andy Taylor who adds another blistering solo.
Three songs down and I’m already beaming from ear to ear (a sure sign of getting your money’s worth early) as the only cover on the album ‘Gunslinger’ (by Willy Deville) crashes in, it’s one of those songs that is so damned good that you wonder why it’s only just hit your ears for the first time!
Lyrically Warwick has always been at his best as a storyteller and ‘Never Corner a Rat’ – a song based on a conversation he had with an ex-US Marine and how he felt the system in the country that he fought for and loves has let him down is as hard-hitting and frenetic as it is heart-wrenching, built on a driving rolling bassline and some incendiary guitar.
The half way point comes with acoustic ‘Time Don’t Seem to Matter’ a song written for his daughter, It has a wonderful authentic unadorned sound and is only augmented by wash of gentle strings in the distance. It’s beautiful in its simplicity and the version on the album is actually the original demo.
As a complete contrast comes ‘Fighting Heart’ the first song Warwick and Nelson wrote for the album. It’s a song about digging in, not compromising your ideals and being true to yourself and it’s delivered with real zeal and a taste of timeless rock an roll in the delivery. It’s one of my favourites, it’s both a song to make you move and a song to move you.
Dizzy Reid adds keys to ‘I Don’t Feel At Home’ a song about addiction and despair but equally could be about anyone on the outside or feeling out of place. It’s a song that has a nice Tom Petty vibe going on and somehow the delivery gives the lyrics even more bite. It rubs shoulders with the smoldering ‘Still Alive’ a song based on the movie ‘Hell Or High Water’ driven by Ricky’s vocal and some wonderful guitar from Keith.
On an album that sets itself a very high bar and fails to underachieve two of my favourites come at the very end and they are contrasting compositions. I love the raw lo-fi strum of ‘Clown Of Misery’ which shows that a man and a guitar and a good song is all you need. Conversely there’s a wonderful wantonness to ‘You’re My Rock ‘n’ Roll’ which is what in the olden days we might have seen as a Rhythm and Blues – there’s elements of New York’s Johnny Thunders and Canvey Island’s Dr. Feelgood in the heady mix of Rock and Roll, and its a beautiful way to say goodbye.
Absolutely and unequivocally a contender for album of the year and remember it’s also available with a bonus disc of cover songs too.
8.5 / 10.00
Line-Up:
Ricky Warwick – Vocals & Guitar | Keith Nelson – Guitar, Backing Vocals, Percussion | Robert Crane – Bass | Xavier Muriel – Drums
RICKY WARWICK online:
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