Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
When one door closes on a the time of a supergroup, a window slides open somewhere with enough room for another to wiggle their way into the hearts of the music buying public’s affections. So one group stops, another all-star line-up is more than ready and extremely adept at keeping the music flowing and In The Rides, comprising of legendary musician Stephen Stills (Crosby, Stills and Nash, Buffalo Springfield), the incomparable Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Blues and Rock survivor Barry Goldberg (Electric Flag), the music flows on Can’t Get Enough as if being conducted by a master infront of the world’s finest orchestra.
The way that three men who span different eras and paths is testament to the way music can span generations, as with the great Black Country Communion, the music is what binds. It doesn’t matter a jot about the gap in age, what matters is if the musicians are comfortable in each other’s company and are able to pull of an album that sits well on the ears of the listener. In Can’t Get Enough, the hybrid conglomeration is able to dig deep into the past and take on some superb cover arrangements as well as four superb co-written originals.
Tapping into the heart of the likes of Elmore James, Muddy Waters and Neil Young, The Rides gel so well together that the much talked of chemistry that bands bandy throw around as if it was a magical formula, an elixir that is elusive and hidden in the dark murky lakes alongside Arthur’s sword is easily heard throughout the album. Whether on the covered tracks or the new collaborative songs in which Mississippi Road House, Don’t Want Lies and the boisterous Word Game stand out as classics; the three men just give their absolute all.
For an album that feeds off the energy of three very different musicians and personalities, the result is astonishing and one that wets the musical juices for more from these three accomplished artists. Can’t Get Enough may be aptly titled but it holds true, the joy in hearing these three professional players performing as if given a new burst of life is physical and certain. What they must have got out of it is beyond mere words.
Can’t Get Enough is released by Provogue Records on August 26th.
Ian D. Hall