Oslo, I'm afraid, is a rather boring capital with little to see and even less to do. Why we had left our cosy Brussels for such a cold and dreary place was uncertain on Sunday morning as we walked aimlessly through the empty streets of the sleeping town. Yet the day after there was no regret: Ride brought life where there was none and excitement where boredom was deep.
Excitement actually first comes the English way, that is with little manifestation if none. The pre-gig atmosphere in the dressing room is relaxed as can be. The newly released Ticket to Ride provides some reading in between conversations; Loz wants to go for a shower every five minutes but somehow never makes it until twenty minutes before the on-stage time, Andy shares his time between two beloved beings: Idha and the piano, Steve wishes he could find a football field in the nearby neighbourhood but will have to make do with a 25m˛ area stuck between the mixing desk and the t-shirt stand, and Mark displays the latest shirts he has bought and looks for approval. Actually the only one here who seems to be on business, apart that is from the whole crew who are already hard at work for the technical soundcheck, is Ride's manager Dave whose varied responsibilities range from planning the evening dinner to finding backstage passes for people who need them, including us, and generally taking care of everyone around.
At 6.00 pm, after eating all the oranges that could be found, Ride proceed to the stage for the soundcheck. They concentrate on a series of new songs including one they won't finally play in concert, From Time to Time, and seem to take mental notes of everything, except for Andy who takes written notes. The soundcheck is a good omen, the band look fine and willing to give their best. I can feel a shiver of impatience up my spine. Then suddenly time seems slower and I look at my watch every five minutes.
Let's get lost feel like dropping out of my mindFinally Ride walk on stage as 10.00 pm strike sharp. They look fit for action and appear at their best: Mark wears one of his new Greek-style shirt, Andy has swapped his usual tight t-shirt for a nicely fitting red shirt, Loz looks fresh from his long-awaited shower and Steve, well Steve wears a nice white t-shirt. Without delay they give tonight's first assault with Let's Get Lost. I told you about that one, how enthusiastic it was, well now it is more than that, it fills you up with a high sense of urgency and trepidation. They've cunningly added a very short passage where the drums and the guitars all roll ominously to back Andy's prophecies, and you wish they could play these lines a dozen times instead of just two. Yet we quickly get over it as Something's Burning starts at a gallop. This one had one of the finest melodies ever and now it's got an excellent rhythm too. This could make for a perfect single. Actually maybe it's even too good for a single and should be retained as one of the secret jewels on the album. By the way they've also added a "great short passage" in this one. Who said "there's been some work"? Did Angers give them a good kick or should we thank George Drakoulias for his American sense of adventure?
So keep the music loud Keep me dancing on the cloudsAnyway, Ride obviously were hard at work in early September when the American producer was in Oxford for two weeks of rehearsals. On the track list the songs performed tonight look the same as those played in Angers but when you hear them, it's sometimes hard to recognize them. Most tracks are stronger, rockier and, yes, noisier too. Maybe they were always meant to be this way but Angers made a poor demonstration. She's so fine sounds like a new song but it isn't, not really: it's the new title for "She gives me sunshine". Apart from a change in title, it has also been invigorated with sharper guitar riffs and brilliant transition links. The way the chorus melts into the verse sounds superbly natural and easy. But that's just when it isn't and requires more work. These links are probably Ride's biggest problem: they're gods when it comes to creating a great melody sustained with a fine rhythm, but they sometimes sound at a loss to find the right way to link all the different parts in one song, the variety of which is one of their main characteristics. So even when the backspine melody of the song has remained unchanged, thanks to their September session the transitions are now smoother, less abrupt. A fine example is Natural Grace which is like a wave going up and down with, erm, grace, and finally crashes in a shattering noise. Bitter and sweet at the same time: this is just how we love Ride, isn't it?
Two tracks leave me uncertain: Since Then, not played in Angers but at the Daytripper concerts, has also been polished up but I don't think they've reached its highest potential yet. Certain rough angles still need a good buffing. As to American Spring, it has certainly been improved too and ends in a quite funny "square dance" tempo (what about Andy and Mark hopping along in rhythm?), but they still sound uneasy at playing some parts in it. Is it why the audience screamed "dreams burn down" and "cool your boots" at the end of it?
A few minor changes have been added in the beautiful epic At the end of the universe which is now completely sung by Mark. Walk on Water has a new noisy ending, which actually sounded quite pointless as the song stands by its own right without such a fanciful conclusion. Finally 1000 Miles gradually turns into a real beauty. It hasn't changed that much since Angers but somehow sounds much better. Be careful girls because Mark will bring tears to your eyes with such romantic vocals! And what about that superb solo intro he gives us...
There's a new track too, called I don't know where it comes from, which also has contrasted verses and chorus and makes an easy and nice tune to remember. With very simple chords (an acoustic version would be nice too), it goes straight to your heart without burdening you with passionate feelings. Nice and sweet.
So as not to repeat the error made in Angers, Ride also played a few oldies tonight. The crowd look more than pleased - and force me to retreat ten rows back when Like A Daydream starts - but one look at the band tells you they're not particularly enthusiast, to say the least. Only Mark tries to create some action, and if he's as bored as the others he hides it well. Bending over his guitar as if playing at the Jericho Tavern in 1989 (and he probably didn't look that energetic then), he makes a fine performer. What I don't understand, though, is why they keep playing the same oldies? Surely Perfect Time would please the audience as much as Taste? And why, of the Going Blank Again era, should they choose poppy Twisterella instead of Cool your Boots or Time of her Time? As this appears to be a selection of singles, I hope the tracks that will make it on 7" next year will be great enough to stand the test of time and be played next century...
The set ends with Birdman, which does not glitter as it usually does as the guitars sound suddenly faded probably because of a mixing problem, and the encore opens with a great cover of the Creation's How does it feel to feel. The way Mark and Andy sound on vocals immediately brings an image to mind where I see them with long hairs and beards! It's brilliant and I hope they'll maintain this sort of tradition to include a cover in their set as it allows them to venture into unusual styles and offer something fresh and funny to the audience.
The concert was so good for both the Norwegian audience and Ride that the band came back for a second and unforeseen encore with Chelsea Girl which, by the way, has not lost any of its charm and vivacity although it's one of Ride's older tracks.
Finally after a concert that surprinsingly lasted 1h20, Ride went back in their dressing room, still high on adrenalin after such a good performance. Mark was particularly radiant and admitted to have given the best concert of the year. There was no-one to contradict him and I was happy to say that indeed the concert had been worth travelling all the way from Brussels. I then wished we could stay for the series of Swedish gigs but convinced myself that we had witnessed the best show and therefore had better return home with such great souvenirs!
Review by
Here is a fresh and unbiased live review by a Byrds fan recently converted to Ride:
When Chrissie asked me earlier in the year to look out for things in the press about Ride's Swedish festival appearances I became curious about them. So when I heard that they would be coming to my home-town I decided to go and see them. The Melody Club was almost full and the crowd close to the stage were very enthusiastic. When Ride came on I noticed that one of the guitarists was wearing a black t-shirt with Buffalo Springfield written across the front. This seemed appropriate as he was also sporting a Richie Furay circa 1966-67 lookalike haircut. As I had never heard any Ride records I didn't know the titles of the songs they played but I thought they were really good and I liked their blend of harmonies mixed with distorted guitars. The next day there was a review in my local paper which made me wonder whether the reviewer had been to the same concert as me! It was described as being like a "painful animal experimentation" and it mentioned that "everyone just wanted tohear 'Leave Them All Behind'". That wasn't true - I didn't even know "Leave Them All Behind"! From what I could gather Ride had played a lot of new songs at the concert and the reviewer wanted the old ones. All I can say is that the new songs sounded brilliant to these unbiased ears.
Review by Göran Nilsson
1. Truck Stop Girl
Clarence Whites voice on this song was partly responsible for bringing me and Idha together; an amazing song from an album you never get tired of, beautiful drum sound.
2. Chestnut Mare
McGuinn sings an inspired lyric about bonding with a horse ("she'll be just like a wife") which could raise a few eyebrows. A lovely melody and feel, but the most difficult Byrds song to sing along to because of the talkie bits.
3. Triad
This song is genius. One of Crosby's last for the Byrds and one of his best vocals ever. Quite naughty words though.
4. The World Turns All Around Her
Gene Clark was the most fragile personality of the Byrds. He brought the group something really exotic and moody, like Brian Jones put into the Stones. Both their life stories show it must be hard to be the third genius of a band. Songs like this one and "I knew I'd want you" come from heaven.
5. Hickory Wind
When the Byrds Box Set came out, you could see what the "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" album could have been, without all the contractual arguments, etc. Gram Parsons spent 4 months with the Byrds but he really shook'em up. This song is pure Gram Parsons/Byrds.
6. Eight Miles High
When I first heard this song (at about 15) it was like it was beamed down from space. I had the Greatest Hits LP with them in the garden on the sleeve because I had seen Mr Tambourine Man on TV. But when I played this song I couldn't believe it. I had never heard a guitar sound like that before; plus the Beatles harmonies were never so rich. For the next couple of years I played this song and "Tomorrow Never Knows" constantly.
7. Thoughts and Words
Chris Hillman was the Byrds' right hand man until the end of "Sweetheart". He always helped the band find new talent (Clarence White, Gram Parsons, Kevin Kelley) and wrote great songs occasionally too. This is one of the coolest Byrds background vocals ever and McGuinn's backwards 12 string solos are dead freaky.
8. It's All Over Now Baby Blue
My favourite Byrds Dylan cover version with Michael Clarkes best drum introduction ever. Sort of classic early Byrds sound.
9. It Happens Each Day
There was a period when everything Crosby wrote seems to be timeless and this incredible song is from it. It has sublime harmonies and an amazing sounding classical guitar solo in the middle which knocks you out.
10. It Won't Be Wrong / I Know My Rider
Classic McGuinn riff-omatic Rickenbacker-driven Rollercoastin' West Coast rootin' tootin' guitar genius, with Beatles harmonies. Thank God that McGuinn saw "Hard Days Night".
Continuing our exploration of archive Ride material, the time machine has brought us to February 1991 when Loz and Mark made their first promotional visit to the U.S.A. Amongst their itinerary of radio show was an appearance on Westwood One's "On the edge" where Loz and Mark's comments were interspersed with Ride records. Unfortunately this programme features no dialogue from a presenter so when it comes to understanding what questions Loz and Mark are answering it's all down to your imagination!
...Polar Bear...
Loz: I've always loved music, yeah. I mean that's a theme that's run through all our lives, I think. You were saying, like, "what influenced you?" and really it's just the fact that we've always like music, and when we met we were sort of walking around with My Bloody Valentine on our headphones, on our Walkmans or something. We were all into music and that's what influenced us, just in the broadest sense.
Mark: That's probably what brought us together more than anything was the fact that out of the whole college system that we were involved in we were probably the most enthusiastic people about music. I could understand why, say, Loz and Andy could appreciate some sort of music. Rather than explain why you like it there was like a mutual sort of thing and that was really good. Really early, it was actually at the Mighty Lemon Drops, it was just as they started and I was quite young at the time. I just went to this gig and I didn't realize it but Andy was there and I didn't know him then very well. And I think Steve was there and Dave, who turned out to be our manager. Later on, after a few years, we were talking about the gigs we'd been to and nearly all of us had sort of been there! And then other gigs we just went out to while we were at college as a sort of band outing, and it was just pretty inspiring to see bands happening on a small level that we could understand. It wasn't too big and they were playing the smaller places in Oxford. It just seemed really exciting and we really liked the bands.
..."Kaleidoscope"...
Loz: It's a bit like recording your lives because you were saying about lyrics and lyrics come along when the tune comes along. A lof of the time you don't have a tune, and then you can add the lyrics and they've got nothing to do with the song. The lyrics are for now always, they're for the moment, they're what you're thinking now and that's how the song develops. In that way it's just recording our lives and how we feel and things that we're reflecting at the time.
Mark: So, I mean, we can look back at it on things like "Chelsea Girl".
Loz: "Chelsea Girl" at the time was just the fact that we wanted something better than what we'd got and we were a bit fed up at college. I think we were all fed up with how boring life was and you just want something better. You want to get away from it and you need escapism and that's what we found in the band. Therefore the words of the music are just that on something like "Chelsea Girl", and that's how it happens, you know.
..."Chelsea Girl"/"Furthest Sense"...
Mark: Basically everything I was doing I didn't really enjoy if music didn't come into it in some way. With art I could go and shut myself away and do a painting, have a tape recorder and it was always like linked to music. I thought I wouldn't mind doing some record covers for bands at that time and it was like I always wanted to do something connected with music.
Loz: We were very different artists. Mark: Yeah, that's true. Loz (muttering in the background): I think I was crap.
Mark: I thought Loz was quite good.
Loz: I thought you were good.
Mark: At the end of the day guitars are kind of easier. It was easier to hear things and create things rather than see things and create things on paper. Imagination was really difficult for me when I got a paint brush, just to say "right, paint this sort of feeling", but I could do it much better hearing it.
..."Vapour Trail"...
Loz: It's true what you were saying about playing music. I remember when we did that project down in that room and Andy was listening to Slow and trying to paint it, and playing the Valentines. We had this room on our own because it was project week. We just took over this room and brought a tape recorder and just did these big massive paintings. I just got the biggest pieces of paper I could find and we were playing the Jesus and Mary Chain and throwing bits of paint at the wall and stuff like that. In that way it's sort of being linked to music but really it wasn't enough to be doing that. It's so much better to be more involved in it and you're actually playing. I think once we formed the band it was just the end for us really. It was the end of art and we knew what we really wanted to do.
..."Drive Blind"...
Mark: We're not psychedelic in terms of...well, if it definitely engages a listener then that's good and it's maybe seen as psychedelic. Where you take a listener into a record if that's called psychedelic then that's fine but I certainly don't se it as being like the '60s psychedelia sort of stuff.
Loz: If it's making things like that come and drop in your head then that's brilliant. It's great that it's coming across but it's not like we take drugs to do that. I suppose it's because we let people into our minds. You draw people in and you get involved in it. It's what's going on in our heads basically.
..."Dreams Burn Down"...
Mark: We wrote it and it's kind of therapeutic. It's sort of got things that were getting us down out of the way and it's not a negative thing the fact that you can write about a sad thing. To us it's not like that at allc ause when you write about sad things and you put them in a context like that it becomes positive by having them out of your system, and kind of therapeutic. It's about feelings and what we know about really.
Loz: A Ride anthem at the time...