ALBUM REVIEW: Black Star Riders – Wrong Side Of Paradise

Black Star Riders is responsible for  four pretty peerless Hard Rocking releases from 2013 to 2019. They’ve also dominated our end of year BEST OF charts more than any other band starting with the wonderful ‘All Hell Breaks Loose’ (number two) and following up with 2015’s ‘The Killer Instinct’ (number three) ‘Heavy Fire’ (number four) before finally cracking the top spot with ‘Another State of Grace’ which sailed into the Number One spot. This year’s early release of ‘Wrong Side of Paradise’ therefore has been eagerly anticipated since it was announced last year.

What makes this record even more interesting is the changes in the band as they reach their ten year milestone. The main change of course is Scott Gorham who has stepped down to concentrate on Thin Lizzy, though he will join the band live on the anniversary tour. That leaves Warwick the only remaining original member of the band. It also means that the band, with no replacement for Gorham, is now a four piece. So to join Warwick and bassist Robbie Crane in comes session man Zak St. John on drums and Sam Wood of Wayward Sons on rhythm guitar.

This record, the first of a multi-album deal with Earache was recorded in the Autumn of 2021 at Studio 606 in Northridge California and Toochtoon Sound in Redmond Oregon with producer by Jay Ruston who did such a wonderful job on ‘Another State of Grace’. 

So let’s dig straight in and not stand on ceremony. They say that first impressions last and that you never get another chance to make one so don’t blame me if you immediately fall for ‘Wrong Side Of Paradise’ – a riff rocker with a nod to Phil and a huge chunky riff and thrusting bassline that make you want to get up out of that seat and rock out. It’s a song that has one of those choruses that you immediately connect with.

Next up ‘Hustle’ is chunkier, thicker and has some wonderful harp, which after that opener is the perfect track to throw you off the scent if you were expecting a mere repeat of past glories. A dozen listens in it still intrigues me and is a firm favourite. You don’t have to wait long though: ‘Better Than Saturday Night’ is pure Thin Lizzy, and glorious it is to. A corker of a song and a real nod to the ten years of the band that of course coalesced into the BSR from the Thin Lizzy live band.

‘Riding Out The Storm’ is lighter and more mid-paced with elements of bands like Big Country  in the mix and lyrics that deal with depression. It’s a helluva song and seems closer to Warwick’s solo material than Thin Lizzy. And ‘Pay Dirt’ (co-written with the late great Todd Youth) starts with a real rock and roll riff that could be anyone from The Cramps to the B-52’s but it stomps itself into a whirling hard rocker, driven by drums and adorned by Warwick’s vocal and self-referential lyric.

And the winners keep coming. ‘Catch Yourself On’ the latest single, is a wonderful piece of music, light and stuttering, it defies genres as it looks at the blight of social media. Ricky Warwick comments: “ ‘Catch Yourself On’ is a phrase often used in my home country of Northern Ireland, it’s used to tell someone to ‘stop being ridiculous’ or ‘to get real’. We’re sadly becoming slaves to technology and social media (guilty as charged). We don’t think twice about sharing our inner most feelings and thoughts with a world of strangers… We seem to be losing the ability to think for ourselves. Technology is controlling us, instead we should be controlling technology. It feels like it’s already surpassing human interaction.”

What you probably didn’t expect after that diverse and rich opening was a cover song, and not just any cover song but a rehash of the Osmond’s hard rocking ‘Crazy Horses.’ It’s a decent cover and has retained the vibe of the original whilst sounding distinctly at home here, it also neatly cuts the tracks in half.  

‘Burning Rome’ that follows, is the big one for me. A slower song it has everything you already love about this band and then some. It’s stunning.

After that most songs would be swamped but the thrust and groove of ‘Don’t Let The World (Get In The Way)’ adds a few shiny dance moves to the mix. It’s a great ‘blue sky’ song that just lets the music do the talking and melts away those troubles. Set against the politically charged ‘Green And Troubled Land’ which opens like a burst of Stiff Little Fingers (who were always my favourite Punk band, and who Ricky played with) – it rocks it’s heart out  – it’s a wonderful moment with some great lyrics and a sublime chorus. 

‘This Life Will Be The Death Of Me’ closes the standard version of the album and it’s another departure, funky and soulful, lit by a searing solo and bought home by a rock solid rhythm section. It’s a great way to close this new chapter for the band that again has that wonderful knack of delivering more than you hoped of them.  Without Scott this is of course a different band but over the last 30 years of creating great music I’d be prepared to say this is one of Ricky Warwick’s finest. 

Some editions of the album also include the bonus tracks ‘Cut ‘n’ Run’ a hard edged Lizzy flavoured Rocker and ‘Suspicious Times’ another fine rocker. They are both well worth checking out.

9 / 10