Ricky Warwick - “When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues) / Hearts On Trees” (Album Review)

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length x2

Date Released: 26/02/2016

Label: Nuclear Blast

Some of the writing is rather tender, some rock out (with a small “r”) but all of it is high quality. If you fancy a change from listening to droning sludge, negative black metal, or you just cannot stop listening to Motorhead after Lemmy's passing then this album could be a welcome relief.  The production is great; superbly played and sung with great melodies and most of all great songs.  Such song writers need your support, so why not try these records out and catch him live with whoever he is playing with. You won't regret it!

“When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues) / Hearts On Trees”

CD//DD//LP track listing:

01. The Road To Damascus Street (4:13)

02. Celebrating Sinking (4:02)

03. When Patsy Cline Was Crazy (4:24)

04. Toffee Town (3:33)

05. That's Where The Story Ends (3:51)

06. Johnny Ringo's Last Ride (3:34)

07. Gold Along The Cariboo (3:58)

08. Son Of The Wind (3:04)

09. If You're Not Going To Leave Me (3:07)

10. Yesteryear (3:34)

11. Presbyterian Homesick Blues (3:41)

12. Tank McCullough Saturdays (3:45)

13. Psycho (2:51)

14. Hearts On Trees (3:46)

15. Said Samson to Goliath (5:35)

16. Way Too Cold For Snow (3:33)

17. Schwaben Redoubt (3:25)

18. The Year Of Living Dangerously (3:58)

19. Disasters (2:59)

20. 82 (2:47)

The Review:

Not exactly the usual Sludgelord fare.... but this double album release is well worth your attention. Let's be clear: this is not metal. It is not punk. However, Ricky Warwick's links to both of those genres are inextricable. Warwick started his career in New Model Army and then went on to form and have great success with The Almighty (who morphed with the times from G 'n' R to Therapy? to The Clash and so on).

Since 2003, Warwick has been a solo artist of the singer/songwriter variety; think somewhere between Steve Earle and Bruce Springsteen but by way of Belfast and you are in the right ball park. He also fronts Black Star Riders, of course, and has made two storming records with them.

This double album sees Warwick in full on rock mode for ten tracks and then acoustic mode for the latter disc. I prefer the acoustic half, but that is just me. The production is great; superbly played and sung with great melodies and most of all great songs. The nostalgic likes of the electric disc's title track and the acoustic half's “Tank McCullough Saturdays” tap a rich vein of Belfast tales, harking back to the seventies. Warwick co-writes on a few of the tracks here, writes solo on others and does a very mean “Psycho” with no writing input from him. Andy Cairns of Therapy? (another Belfast boy) pops up on “Celebrating Sinking” (great title) while “Johnny Ringo's Last Ride” has tall tales of tough guys in Northern Ireland, also with a string punk styling in the presentation. The likes of the acoustic half's title track “Hearts on Trees” is kind of Irish inflected Americana, while two cranes speak to each other on “Said Samson and Goliath” at the docks.

Some of the writing is rather tender, some rock out (with a small “r”) but all of it is high quality. If you fancy a change from listening to droning sludge, negative black metal, or you just cannot stop listening to Motorhead after Lemmy's passing then this album could be a welcome relief. The two discs come as a pair; Warwick is a prolific and consistent songwriter. I am a huge fan; I still rank “Crank” by The Almighty as one of the best records from my youth (and, well, in general, really) and saw Warwick play to around seven people in Leeds in 2003 at the New Roscoe when he was starting out on the comeback trail. Pleasingly, I last saw him at Sheffield Arena supporting Whitesnake and Def Leppard just before Christmas last year. He is an engaging and charismatic performer in either setting. I can tell you that his live show is superb and he comes across as a down to earth and likeable bloke. Such song writers need your support, so why not try these records out and catch him live with whoever he is playing with. You won't regret it!

“When Patsy Cline Was Crazy and Hearts on Trees” is available now

Band info: rickywarwick

Sunwølf - Beholden To Nothing And No One - Album Review

Album Type:Album

Date Released: June 30^th 2014

Label: Self Released

Beholden To Nothing And No One - track listing:

Disc I

1 - In the darkened river I found the silence loom

2- The Widow’s Oil

3 - Vultures Crown

4 – The wake of Leviathan

5 - Thrown into a nameless time

6 – Totem

7 – Beholden to nothing and no one

8 - Heathen’s rest

Disc II

1 – Twelve Sunne

2 - Come, O spirit, dwell among us

3 – Ithaca

4 – Symptoms of Dearth

5 – Lotus Island

6 – Of Darknesse

Review:

Sunwølf return with their 3rd album – Beholden To Nothing and No-One. An two-part album that runs for a mesmerising 84 mins or so.

The 1st part of the album is where Sunwølf experiment with their sound by adding vocals for the very first time. Sunwølf have changed their sound once again. The Stoner Rock vibe of their music is non-existent as Sunwølf have adopted a more volatile and dangerous persona as they blend Neurosis/Isis style Post-Metal/Sludge riffs through out the album.

The 2nd part of the album is the more familiar drone based ambient post rock sounds from earlier Sunwølf albums. It is a haunting 33-minute spell of emotional based music that shows you two different sides to this band. One that is violent and crushingly heavy and the other a beautiful and understated post-rock collective.

So let us talk about the 1st part of the album, which is where Sunwølf truly shine as they venture to places they have not showed the listener before. Tracks such as The Wake Of Leviathan and Thrown Into A Nameless Time perfectly capture the dark brooding transformation that Sunwølf have undertaken on this musical odyssey that Neurosis would be proud to call their own. The instrumental work is intense through out the first part of the album. Sunwølf have perfectly captured the violent mood and energy of a world that is dangerously close to oblivion. Vocals are shouted at you with real purpose and it only adds to the destructive nature of it all.

Now the 2nd part of the album. This is more of the same style of music that Sunwølf created with their earlier albums though they still include the slight hint of Sludge/Post-Metal madness lurking in the background. Ambient Drone based Post-Rock music that plays out like a love letter to Drone and Doom visionaries – Sunn0))) and Earth. It has some beautifully played piano-based ambient moods throughout this part of the album. It can be very mysterious at times as Sunwølf play with your emotions by adding socially aware soundbytes to leave you feeling emotionally cut-off from the world around you.

Sunwølf have delivered an unsettling album with a dark twisted vision that will have you thinking about its hidden meanings for a very long time to come. Ignore Sunwølf’s previous albums, as this is where their future lies. They need to stick with this style of apocalyptic sound as it will take them a very long way indeed.

WOW!!! – Plain and Simple. – WOW!!!

Thanks to Sunwølf for sending me a promo to review. Beholden To Nothing and No-One will be available to buy on CD/DD from June 30th 2014.

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Written by Steve Howe