Music Street Journal - Music News & Reviews

Ricky Warwick Love Many Trust Few Review by Gary Hill Listening to this disc I never would have pictured Ricky Warwick to be from Ireland. Truly his Mellencamp like roots rock approach conjures up images of the Southern United States far more than of the Green Isle. Still, that is exactly from where Warwick hails. This music is a far cry from the punk of his band Almighty. What you have here is a strong songwriter who shares much musical territory with Mr. American music John Mellencamp. The disc is quite strong, and features guest appearance both from Joe Elliot (Def Leppard) and Vivian Campbell (Dio). If you hanker for strong song oriented music with a classic rock texture and a hint of country and soul, this is a great choice. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2005 Year Book Volume 3 at https://garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2005.

Track by Track Review

Johnny Or Elvis This rocker feels like equal parts Mellencamp and '80's metal. It is a very well written and executed number. Vivian Campbell ads some meaty guitar soloing to this one

I Don't Know What To Do This one feels a lot like the class rock and roll side of Mellencamp, perhaps mixed with a bit of The Stones and Tom Petty. It's another potent song, but not as strong as the last one. This one includes a very cool instrumental break followed by an equally interesting percussion and vocal section.

Learning To Fall A soulful keyboard section starts this and both harmonica and guitar join in short order, along with percussion. This has only a tiny bit of that Mellencamp leaning, but a classic rock sound permeates it, leaning a little on the Beatles, but also soulful R & B based sounds. This is a nice change, and while unusual, very solid.

New Neighbors Old Fences This acoustic based ballad feels a bit like Neil Young and even Pink Floyd, but with a touch of down home country sounds. The arrangement gets quite powerful as it carries on.

Anybody Wanna Waste Some Time This is a hard rocker, again a bit like Mellencamp. It's a cool rock and roll cut with a classic sound. This one marks the return of Vivian Campbell laying down guitar soloing. A catchy bridge has a more modern alternative pop rock sound, but they drop it to just percussion and vocals to carry into an anthemic sing along type of section. It then resolves into what feels like a Guns N Roses take on Mellencamp styles for the outro that features Campbell all over it.

Come Back Home To Me Fiddle adds a country (ala the aforementioned John M) texture to this energetic number. Mr. Campbell again provides tasty guitar soloing.

Guilty A down-home acoustic arrangement (with banjo and upright bass) provides a great backdrop for this slightly bluesy ballad. This one is very cool.

Lonely Moon This has a fairly mellow, but very tasty pop rock sound. It leans almost to country at times. Vivian Campbell again brings some exceptionally meaty guitar rock work to the dinner table.

Cold September Another acoustically based one, this again feels a lot like Mellencamp. This one is a very strong ballad and one of the highlights of the disc.

Ain't Comin' Round This is a fun rock and roller and a gain the Mellencamp textures are here. It is a potent one with a classic good time rock feel to it. Another tasty solo from Campbell is included on this one.

Even Now More classic rock and roll, this time with a decidedly '80's texture makes up the mode of this cut. Again echoes of Mellencamp appear. This has a potent arrangement and a punky guitar solo.

Rich Kids A down-home country back porch jam texture makes up this one. It's a little too hayseed for my tastes, but it is fun.

Long Way Back To Nowhere A bouncy punky texture creates the theme here. This is a modern sounding rocker with retro sounds.

Return to the Ricky Warwick Artist Page

Return to the Black Star Riders Artist Page

Artists Directory

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
© 2024 Music Street Journal Site design and programming by Studio Fyra, Inc./Beetcafe.com