Ride were one of the very greatest English bands to ever set foot in a studio. I rank them in the premier league along with The Cure, The Stone Roses, and The Smiths (let's leave The Beatles out of this as they deserve their own league). During the early nineties Ride released four studio albums, Nowhere (1990), Going Blank Again (1992), Carnival Of Light (1994), and Tarantula (1995). And then they broke up. If you’re a fan, and you listen to Tarantula closely, you can actually hear the band disintegrating …
No one really knows why Ride broke-up, but it would be fair to say that part of their problem was that they had two singer/guitarist/songwriters in Andy Bell and Mark Gardner: for many bands that’s one too many. Bell wrote nine out of the twelve tracks on Tarantula, and co-wrote one with drummer Laurence Colbert. It would seem that Mark Gardner was being squeezed out creatively. Or perhaps he just didn’t have any new songs to bring to the table. Nevertheless, the result is that in many ways this is an Andy Bell record.
If you are familiar with Ride’s stunning debut, Nowhere, you will be quite surprised by what you hear on Tarantula. While Nowhere boasted lush walls of sound, atmospherics, soaring harmonies, and sounds never before (or since) coaxed from a guitar, Tarantula is decidedly straight-ahead, retro even. There’s even Hammond organ on many of the tracks. Listeners really had to stretch to find other music to compare Nowhere to; on Tarantula the comparisons are ripe for the plucking. The Beatles, Hendrix, The Byrds, the Rolling Stones, The Stone Roses. Perhaps this album was meant as a tribute to their heroes.
The album (recorded in London in 1995) kicks off in fast and furious mode with Black Nite Crash, a riff-heavy rocker featuring the dueling guitars of Bell and Gardner, propelled by Colbert’s crashing cymbals and rolling drums. While many bands have rhythm sections that could be replaced without anyone noticing, I must say that Ride were not one of those bands. Ride were actually one of the few bands whose rhythm section was an essential part of the band. Bassist Steve Queralt and drummer Laurence Colbert don’t just keep time; they flow with the music and drive the guitarists on to new heights. While I am in the mood for making bold claims I will go so far as to say that Colbert is almost as good as U2’s Larry Mullen, Jr. He is that damn good.
The second track, Sunshine / Nowhere To Run is reason enough to buy this album. Funky percussion, irresistible riffs, great melodies, insightful lyrics, stop-you-dead-in-your-tracks guitar solos. Like all of the songs on the album, it sounds like it was recorded live in one take, with the musicians improvising to their heart’s content. The song is really two-in-one. The first part deals with the trials of being in a band;
Hear the engine running as the tour bus pulls away
The sadness of the road will be the death of me one day
I’m sick and tired of my guitar and the same old songs again
And so I write a new one, that’s the nature of the game
while the second half tells of love’s redeeming power:
But my love, she’s so fine
She gives me sunshine after the rain.
It’s one of those songs that you put on repeat because you can’t get over how great it is. Sunshine/Nowhere To Run is everything a rock song should be.
Dead Man features dueling electric guitars and the combined vocals of Bell and Gardner. Both the vocals and the lyrics have a markedly English tone. The guitars and drums drop away as Bell half-speaks the third verse:
Holiday trips in a Volkswagen camper
Children locked into an old picnic hamper
Let them loose to play in a sandpit
Leave them there ‘cause they take us for granted
At the end of the verse Bell whispers, “turn me on” before launching into a blistering solo as the bass, drums and rhythm guitar kick in again. It’s just one of the many sublime moments on this album.
Walk On Water is a simple love song, from the opening line, “Beautiful Lady, I love you so,” to the chorus,
I’d walk across the sea
To get you close to me.
Once again there are solos from both guitars and drums. It really sounds like the band is enjoying themselves.
Mary Anne is a beautiful ballad replete with bluesy guitar solos. It’s quite possibly the best track on the album. Every time I hear it I lament the fact that Ride are no longer with us. Sometimes it seems like all the intelligent, progressive rock bands are going the way of the dinosaur. There’s another sublime moment when Bell sings a series of numbers (perhaps a phone number) over a bongo drum solo. I guess words just aren’t enough sometimes.
Castle On The Hill is an acoustic ballad about a King, a Queen and a jester that could pass for something written in the middle ages, if it didn’t mention Howard Hughes. Here Ride show that they don’t need to rock and jam to impress.
If you’ve ever been to an all-night outdoor party in winter you’ll know exactly where Bell is coming from on The Dawn Patrol. On this track Ride sound a lot like The Stone Roses or The Happy Mondays; the rhythm section is really cruising. It’s enough to make me want to grab a blanket and some friends and head for the nearest bon-fire. Burnin’ hoes the same musical row as The Dawn Patrol, though the lyrics are concerned with fighting the powers that be, rather than partying.
Ride The Wind gets psychedelic with its Doors-ish keyboards, dreamy vocals and lyrics about love and freedom. The album’s closer, Starlight Motel, is a gorgeous acoustic “let’s go to bed” ballad:
Well I know it’s cold and I know it’s late
But our life is short, darling I can’t wait.
Even though Ride decided to call it quits, at least they quit while they were at the top of their game. If you are a fan of intelligent, innovative rock played by extremely talented musicians (the kind you hardly ever hear on the radio anymore), head to your nearest record store and seek out Tarantula. Order it on import if you have to. While you’re there, pick up Nowhere and Going Blank Again; they’re even better than Ride’s swansong.
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