The Rides
Can't Get Enough

It is well known that class is hard to come by and Stephen Stills has it in spades. The 68-year-old Texan shows in this latest studio effort the grit of a 20-year-old, and years of experience have helped create this great record of rock-blues played as it should be. The band "The Rides" doesn't just include Stills; it also features Barry Goldberg (on keyboards and organ) and the "young lad" (as Allegri would say) Kenny Wayne Shepherd on guitars and vocals.

If we already know practically everything or almost everything about Stills, former member of Buffalo Springfield, CSN (& Young), Manassas, and a solo artist, little is known about the other two. Goldberg, a veteran of the Chicago blues scene, was part of the legendary 'Electric Flag' at the end of the sixties with a certain Bloomfield on guitar, a blues-psychedelic band with a great impact. He also worked in '68 on the great album "Supersession", just like Stephen Stills himself, although the two recorded their parts in the shared songs on different days, never managing to meet in the studio. Shepherd, on the other hand, is a young musician not even forty, an excellent blues guitarist who debuted in the mid-'90s with an album, "Leadbetter Heights," which sold half a million copies and made him known throughout the nation (also helped by the fact that he is the husband of the eldest daughter of actor Mel Gibson, but that's another story..). Completing the band are bassist Kevin McCormick, already in the CSN and Jackson Browne Band, and on drums another familiar face to blues lovers, Chris Layton, a proud former member of the Double Trouble of the legend Stevie Ray Vaughan.

With a group like this, it's hard to go wrong, and indeed they've created a great album, a perfect mix of rock-blues tracks, slow and melancholic ballads, and covers of other historic American music tracks. They start off on the right foot with the first track, "Roadhouse," penned by the Texan who sings this opening track, supported by a simple but effective riff from the young guitarist. It's a great piece, Stills' voice is as rough and powerful as ever, similar to that of great bluesmen of the past like Howlin' Wolf or BB King, always loved by the band members. The tone changes in "Don't Want Lies," a melancholy ballad also sung by Stills, a song about the dark moments of life capable of depressing us but also of making us grow and move on. It is the song closest to CSN's stylistic canons, where the lead voice is supported by choruses that soar against the background of a slow blues that creates a fitting intimate atmosphere. When I read the title of the next song, I doubted it was a cover of a track I've listened to many times, and indeed it is "Search and Destroy" by the iguana Iggy Pop and his Stooges. It's an excellent rendition by Shepherd, but a bit out of context with its punk drive—a surprise indeed! In the title track, a slow blues where Goldberg's keyboard also plays its excellent part, there is a remarkable guitar duet to note, with a spine-tingling guitar solo. Also worth noting are the excellent covers of "Rockin' in the Free World" by the great Neil Young, the blues standard "Talk to Me Baby" by Elmore James, and the vibrant "Honey Bee," a historic track by the great Muddy Waters, the sacred monster of Chicago blues. Closing the setlist is the excellent "Only Teardrops Fall," a slow song with a great guitar riff and the cherry on top, "Word Game," an old track from Stills' repertoire, already present on his second solo album of '71, where the singer explodes all his anger in a heavy cry of accusation against cynical and corrupt politicians who have no qualms about sending many innocent young people to die in cruel and unjust wars and against the rich powers that be who become richer and richer, exploiting the poor who plunge deeper into misery.. the song was an acoustic ballad but has been readapted with a more modern and aggressive sound, a fitting end to an album like this.

This album is painted by many as a new "Supersession," but in my opinion, it is very different in style and content from its more famous predecessor, yet it is a very fine record, recommended to lovers of good old rock like they hardly make anymore in recent years. Stills is in great shape after a somewhat troubled period due to annoying hearing problems that have fortunately passed, and you can see all the freshness and anger of a great musician like Shepherd, a great discovery of an interesting artist... Goldberg stands out with his keyboards in some songs, while in others he does the work of "the midfielder," ensuring with his sound the good amalgamation of the whole. Great band, let's hope they come our way for a few dates, guaranteed show..