"Be there at 5pm to meet Dave and the band".
This is about all I knew when I arrived in London on that rainy 5 May. I had asked for an interview with Mark and Steve and I knew there was going to be a special "NME fan-conference" thing in the evening but how everything would be tied up was pretty unclear. In fact a few surprises lay ahead! The first of them was to discover the meeting place: what I thought would be a typical English pub turned into a forlorn-looking Italian restaurant called "Les Artistes Assoiffés" (that's French for Thirsty Artists) where two bright-coloured screaming parrots were the only guests. Oh and Ride of course. But when I came in (just slightly too early, about one hour), the band were busy doing a "Select" interview, which was the last encounter of a day dedicated to the "monthlies". Since Monday of that week Ride had been busy answering hundreds of questions from all the national and local press and saying I was worried I would bore them by asking a few more questions is an understatement!
Yet they seemed in a cheery mood as all the interviews had turned out alright (except the one for Melody Maker whose journalist seemed, the band said, unable to ask good questions!). So while Andy and his wife Idha were leaving for a party in London and Loz was driving back to Oxford in his brand new Jaguar, Mark and Steve stayed for some extra-work: the interview for Ticket to Ride and that "NME thing". That's were the second surprise popped in. Since the band were expected at the NME office and we had little time left, Dave Newton (Ride's manager) suggested having the interview on our way to King's Reach Tower. Fortunately this meant driving across the whole of London, which gave me a reasonable time to ask half the questions I'd prepared! So it was that I found myself stuck between Steve and Mark in the back of Dave's car. The situation had two drawbacks: First to avoid talking to the rearview mirror I was obliged to turn my head left or right and sort of choose which one of them would answer, giving them no chance for a dialogue. Secondly, it was my first time in an English car in London and I couldn't help being distracted by the traffic, especially when Dave tried to offer me my first crash in London as a special bonus!
Anyway, the interview went fine and of course we mainly discussed the new album which I had listened to about 20 times in the course of four days (no Vincent was not going mad: he loves it too!):
The interview
The album is extremely rich and varied; how do you come to so many different styles? Is it a natural process?
Mark: Yes it really is. We had demos and ideas of what was going to happen, but you let things develop by themselves. When we get together, we try to push things on more and I guess it sounded more varied than ever, which is good. Hopefully it's like experimenting as much as possible and so the result is hopefully surprising. So you're happy with it, aren't you?
Yes, really, I love it!... How did you feel about the difference between George Drakoulias and John Leckie? Did you keep some of the input Drakoulias had given you?
Steve: Yes, half and half. He changed quite a lot when we did that week of rehearsals in September, he changed nearly every song! When we went back into the studio with John Leckie, we kept some of our original ideas. But we used quite a lot of George's too. So it was like having two producers on the same thing.
Why did you go back to LA in March to record "How Does It Feel To Feel?" with George Drakoulias?
Steve: First of all, John was too busy to do it because he went straight into doing the Radiohead album. But we still wanted to record with George if we had a chance to, so we jumped onto it and flew over.
So is one of them responsible for that complete reworking of "American Spring" which is now "Magical Spring"?
Mark: It's probably Andy who's more responsible. We left it with him for a while and I don't know how it came from "American Spring" to "Magical Spring" but I think actually it has come out the best when we got it.
What about "Moonlight Medicine": did one of you write it on your own or is it coming from a jam session?
Mark: Well it was really. But I had the initial idea for the words when I spent some time in France last year. It was such a great time that I really wanted to write about it. However it basically involves all of us playing in Cornwall; that was such an odd place and a special atmosphere, and that's when it really came together when we were just playing there.
You're talking of France...Did that concert in Angers influence you in your writing process?
Mark (laughing as he remembers the embarrassing time): Oh, yeah...
Steve: That's when we realized that we needed to do some more work! And also we'll never do a set of completely new stuff again! Still...I don't think we thought it was risky before when we went on, we thought people would enjoy it. But when we came off we knew it hadn't been a very good gig.
Well, I think most Ride fans actually enjoyed it, it's just the others...
Mark: Yeah, the other 2000 ... But then, they were Faith No More fans, no Ride fans!
Steve: And they're not now anyway!
In September you went for a small Scandinavian tour. How did this help?
Steve: That was really good for the songs because George had come over and changed everything. Then we went to Scandinavia and put all his ideas into action. We had a week long of shows to test the ideas out and we decided that half his ideas were really good, and for the other half we preferred doing them as we were doing them. So, yes, it was a really valuable year. I think we've taken the right decisions.
So who took the decision of releasing Birdman as a single? (I turn my microphone left and right as neither of them seems to be willing to answer. Finally Marks points out to me that I should keep the microphone in front of Steve)
Steve (laughing): So I'm gonna say it? Well, we didn't know what to release at first. Alan McGee had pointed out that it would be a really important song to release to kind of bridge the past to the future. It was never going to be a Top40 smash hit because of the format, it's way too long. And although it got played a lot on radio, it had to be edited down to three minutes and the three minutes they got was just the singing part. And I think the song is much more interesting than just the three minutes in the middle. There was a good point about releasing it as a single but there was also a point where it didn't work as a single.
Maybe you might have kept the same four tracks on the EP but played "Let's Get Lost" on the radio?
Steve: Yes, well "Let's Get Lost" did get played during the evening quite a lot. But I don't think "Let's Get Lost" was a song that would have tested many people. "Birdman" was almost a statement from us that we haven't come back with an obvious commercial single, we still...
Mark: We still rock, man!
And the second single will be another "rock move" since it's the cover of "How Does It Feel To Feel?" ?
Mark: Yes, well another mad move! But I love these mad moves! The more I listen to this song, the more I really love it. There's a sort of beauty as well with the George Drakoulias's things. It's always been like that, you know, with the other records that he's done. They have never been, like, sure at first but then you keep playing them and they just sound brilliant. I think it's good for us to do that and play it because it's a different vocal technique as well. It's something which I'd probably like to do a bit more, a bit more shouting about! I really liked it when we did it for the first time. It's probably not the most commercial thing as well, but it's good.
Well it just depends what you're aiming at, doesn't it? I mean, you get a lot more respect and credibility if you don't release commercial songs.
Mark: Well, I don't know, I'm not worried about it. I think for the next move it does seem right, that's a good one. Then, for the later singles, "I Don't Know Where It Comes From" is an option, probably after the album. It would be good to prolong the life of it all and get some of the more poppy ones out afterwards.
Has "At The End Of the Universe" disappeared? Mark: No, it's on the next single. It's so long that we couldn't put it on the album. It will benefit more if it has its own space. It's a good track but if we'd put it on the album it would have meant loosing other things, which would have been tricky. We already have some long songs on the album and it would have been too much otherwise.
What about "Walk On Water", "She's So Fine"...
Steve: We'll definitely do "Walk On Water" but it's just that we couldn't do it in the right style and Andy thought it could be better. There were two versions of it, one with horns and one without and no-one could decide which was better, so the best thing to do was just to leave it.
Something which was rather obvious and surprising when I got the "Birdman EP" was to discover that the songs were credited to "Bell" or "Gardener" instead of "Ride". Does that reflect a change in the writing or a change in your attitude?
Mark (who seemed to expect the question): No, the writing process is pretty much the same. It's just a case of letting people know where the initial idea came from, the person who got the initial thing together, the song together and where it is coming from. It's just a case of us putting things out a bit, not being so shrouded in mystery all the time. But, you know, there's no change in the publishing or anything like that, we're still the same.
Well, when we discovered both these credits and the sleeve with Andy, Chrissie and I had the same stunned reaction: what did it all mean, you know?
Mark: Well, I like the sleeve. It's good that Andy obviously wants to come forward more. That's fine. It's a good picture. I don't know what the next cover will be for "How Does It Feel To Feel?".
Will you keep the same idea for all the covers like you did with the previous series of releases?
Mark: Well...I don't know. What's happening with that, Dave?
Dave: We chose that silhouette picture in the end and Mark at Creation is working on it as we speak.
Mark: Oh, yes, right.
Steve: The intention is that the next few singles will all look the same: there'll be a picture of us more likely than not, and we'll have the same type face, we'll probably have borders on the top and the bottom. So it'll look part of another little set.
You didn't release "Birdman" in America, did you?
Steve (laughing): No they didn't want to, basically! I think they wanted to come up with something that was obviously more commercial. They didn't see the point in releasing "Birdman".
Will you tour in America after what you lived through two years ago?
Steve: Yes we will but I doubt we will do it in the same way as we did. We'll do five or six shows and if the record takes off there, then obviously we'll go back and tour for longer.
Why do you only play six dates in the UK in September?
Steve: That's all you need to do really. The last time we played there, we wanted as many people as possible to come and see us, it was like giving everybody a chance who wanted to see Ride that they could come and there'll be space and it wouldn't be sold out. This time it would be good if the shows were sold out in advance to get the vibe back, really. I'm not saying that they will sell out. You know, there's a whole mystery ahead. We don't really know how it's going to happen.
Mark: I think rather than booking the next seven months, it's good to leave options a bit more open and just go with whatever happens.
Two years ago, after the Going Blank Again tour, Andy told us that you wanted to make every show special. So it's still the idea?
Mark: Yes, definitely.
Steve: We always wanted to do that but it's really difficult to do when you're on the road for six long weeks.
Are you still going to release a video with live and backstage footage which you had told me about in Angers, last year?
Steve: Yes, we still plan to. It's coming together pretty slowly. It's impossible to tell what it's going to look like as an hour long thing, or whether it will be interesting for us to watch. It's like showing somebody your holidays films in a way: they probably don't find it very interesting although you do. We have to wait until it's all done and then decide.
Well, it's always great to watch a video with something other than live footage.
Steve: Yes, I always find it interesting if with a band you like there's a video with loads of backstage footage. I enjoy watching that.
Like when Loz was in a dustbin full of beer cans and water in Angers!
Steve (laughing): I think it might get edited!
Do you have any idea of who's going to tour with you in Europe and/or the UK?
Steve: We didn't want Oasis but we might end up touring with them, I'm afraid!
Mark: They could be too big, I reckon, by that time! Or probably in Europe then, yes.
Dave: The Family Cat phoned us, as usual!
Steve: Oh, yes, it'd be good to get the Family Cat again because they're good fun to have around! But we'll see what... It's important for us to be interested in who's coming on tour with us because we're going to spend some time with them. But I don't know, it doesn't seem that we have a huge choice this time. There doesn't seem that many bands who would fit the bill. A few years ago, it was quite easy, there was a long list of bands we could take around.
Here there's a brief silence as we drive across a major crossroad and I can't help watching all these cars "driving on the wrong side".
Mark: You keep thinking we're going to have a collision then!
Dave: Do you want one?
Mark: No!
Did the author Phil Richman come up to the Manor while you were there? There was something in the NME about it...
Mark: Oh, no, he's never shown up.
Steve: Yes, I see, he was writing a book about the death of John Lennon and how it affected a band when they were recording an album in a studio. But he never showed up so I don't know what happened about that.
Did any spooky thing happen to you at the Manor?
Steve: Well, it happens everywhere. Every room has a ghost!
Maybe this sounds naive, but why do you have to go into five different studios to record one album?
Steve: Because otherwise it's too cheap! ... No, I think keeping your head fresh has something to do with it. If you did it all in one place, you'd get tired of it. We started things off in Cornwall quite casually and then moved into the Manor. When we got into the Manor, we knew that was serious recording time. And then to go and mix it somewhere else, it just clears your head. We could have done everything at the Manor I think but it was good to go and mix it in London.
You've used lots of different instruments. Did you play some of them or ask other musicians to play them?
Steve: Keyboards were mainly played by Andy and I did one track. But we got Jon Lord from Deep Purple to play the organ on "Moonlight Medicine" and, what else did he play on?
Mark: "At the End of the Universe".
Steve: Yes, that's it. And we also got a string quartet, and horns...
Mark: And double bass.
Steve: Yes, and double bass. And a tamboura, a kind of drony thing, you know it's the first sound you hear on the album, a bit tinny... (and Mark does a brilliant imitation of it!)
Would you consider having a guest musician to play keyboards on stage with you?
Mark and Steve: Yes..
Steve: We're actually discussing it at the moment. We're going to try and play all the songs ourselves and see how thats sounds. Then if we need to get a keyboardist, then we will and we won't mind at all. It's not something we will avoid. I think it would be quite good to have a keyboardist. Well, it's never been really important to recreate the sounds of the album live as long as it's a good rocking performance. But to get someone to play the organ or the electric piano would be a good thing.
Who had the idea of the children choir?
Mark (laughing): It's me. But I like it!
Steve: I don't know who said it but I had to organize it. That was my job! My girlfriend teaches young choristers in a college in Oxford, so it was easy to get that together.
Aren't you worried about the backlash that the press seems to be preparing? The last article in Melody Maker was pretty aggressive, I thought.
Mark: It's quite expected really, it's the way things work. It's also quite irrelevant at the end of the day. The most disappointing thing for me in the past was the fact that the radio didn't pick up on things even when we would go in the charts, but they seem to be more receptive now. "Top of the Pops" seems a lot better. And that's the area which we need to progress onto if we're going to spread the music more. So I'm quite happy about that. It'll be quite interesting to see how the album goes down with them but I'm not too bothered about it really, I don't hold any big hopes.
What are your wishes for the year then?
Mark: Well, a Number One album would be good. In a way I'm happy because I feel we've done something really good. We're in control of what we've done. I've got confidence in the record but I don't have so much confidence about how everyone's going to react to it or if it's going to be massive. It's just a matter of wait and see...
Have you managed to find the proper balance between your private life and Ride?
Mark: Well...(hesitates for a long while then laughs) I'm not so keen on private lives anymore! We're staying quite busy at the moment, getting on the road, getting things done...
I've learnt today that you are going to France and Germany next week for promotion. It's something people don't realise.
Mark: I don't mind doing that, you know. I quite like travelling around and I'd always rather do that than something else. It's always like an adventure, it's something you're not quite sure of what's going to happen...
The Enemy partAfter a drink in a near-by pub, we walked to the NME building and what was going to take place became clearer: a "conference" had been arranged (as part of a competition) where fans could ask questions to three Creation bands: Ride, the Boo Radleys and Oasis. The event was certainly entertaining and funny, especially with Liam and Noel from Oasis decided to embark on a comedy routine of unbrotherly love. However, the idea that the questions asked would be "interesting" was perhaps rather optimistic and no "revolutionary comments" were made, except maybe Steve's answer to a question about whether his fatherhood made it difficult for him to consider touring: "No," he said, "I love touring. Ride come first and I don't know what I'd do if suddenly I couldn't tour anymore". On the eve of Ride's next round of touring that was just what we needed to hear!
The Q&A session (or, more appropriately, the Oasis Comedy Show) lasted for over an hour and there was a brief autograph session afterwards. Then everyone got ready to leave, including us, firmly holding our "Creation goodies" plastic bags which we'd found on placed on the chairs when we entered the room where the Q&A was taking place. Just one of a few nice surprises that day!
At that point we thought the excitement for the day was over. It must have been near 9.30pm and, feeling a bit tired, we were all drowy as we let Dave drive us safely home. However, before leaving the city Dave had to "stop somewhere to get something". Our last - but not least - surprise of the day occurred when we realized we were stopping in front of the Abbey Road Studios and we were actually invited in for a while. Who was our host but John Leckie himself, as at the time he was working on Radiohead's new album! John had also just remixed the vocals on "Magical Spring" at the request of the American record company who wanted them to be "louder". That was the "something" Dave needed. The least we can say is that the studio looked impressive and huge (and so did the hi-tech material in it) and while Steve and Mark were in an adjacent lounge room, watching football on TV, we imagined what it must have looked like when Ride were busy mixing "Carnival of Light" in January. No wonder they came up with such an excellent album! This last unforeseen visit closed the day and we finally drove onto the M4 towards Oxford listening to the radio for the last football results (and, phew!, Steve's fave Tottenham won their game to stay in the Premier League!). As to the very last surprise of the day, we owe it to Mark Taylor, editor of "The Network!" and our host for two nights in Oxford, who welcomed us at 10.30pm and revealed his cooking talent with an excellent vegetarian chilli! Boy, what a day!
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After five days of hearing a frustratingly brief "Birdman" on Radio 1 and cursing the DJ for cutting it short every time I finally discovered that what I was hearing was a bad radio edit of a brilliant song. The real "Birdman" has now been in my possession for 24 hours although I'm not sure whether I should include 'sleeping' time amongst that calculation - except I swear I am still listening to it in my dreams!
My initial reaction is one of relief - that the new intro I'd grown to love hadn't 'disappeared' on the full length version. However, it has acquired some African voices muttering in the background and this is a little distracting - especially when they continue behind the vocals. I keep wondering if I'm missing something and that perhaps I'm supposed to understand what's being said - "all channels receiving loud and clear" and all that. Andy's vocals have changed slightly - they're very soft but somehow they don't get submerged beneath the instrumentation like you half expect them to. Where the edit cuts out is where the song really begins to take off - Loz pounding the beat and Andy's guitar crying out like a lonely whale searching beneath an Arctic ice flow for a mate. (What did I tell you about dreaming it?) It glides through the rush of guitars and returns to haunt you. The main surprise is that the "you are very very lucky" repetitive close to the song has been replaced by an additional verse which works much better. Unfortunately the radio edit is not going to help its chances of chart success - the full version positively flies - the edit is a kiwi!
"Rolling Thunder 2" was actually called something else the last time I heard it! This title is deceptive - thunder implies noise and this...is a very pleasant acoustic instrumental which is at least four minutes too short. Come on Andy you could play this stuff all night - so do it!
"Let's Get Lost" is not quite the "mod" anthem it was as the addition of brass makes it pull in other '60s directions. The lyrics now have a feeling of fantasy and adventure and they've transported themselves into an American desert landscape. Andy's 'talkie' bit in the middle inspired by the Everly Brothers' "Ebony Eyes" has been deliberately mixed into the distance - his voice half concealed by the music like his image of a car half concealed by dust. In general this song reminds me of the Byrds "Lady Friend" - not because the tune is similar or even that they both used brass but simply because it has the same vibrant energy which makes you want to keep playing it again and again. This is a lot more 'radio friendly' than the "Birdman" edit but then I've always had a passion for songs which have been relegated to b-sides.
When "Don't Let It Die" first kicked into action my brain went "Ah, yes, 'Since Then'" but when the vocals started after the burst of guitars it was more a case of "Uh? What is this?". Lyrically it is completely different and...alright so I did moan that "Since Then" needed a bit of work done on it but I didn't mean a full overhaul! It took about half a dozen listens before I stopped singing the 'other' lyrics in my head but you soon adapt and realise that instead of one great song you now have two - at least I hope it's two and there's a recorded version of the 'old' "Since Then" somewhere which will eventually surface on an out-takes album. Mark's vocals have been recorded with a similar softness to Andy's on "Birdman" and there's a real charm about them. They're blending perfectly together on the choruses too.
Yes I've lived with the "Birdman" for 24 hours now and I still haven't figured out why Andy is pictured looking like he's waiting to drift down river to Camelot on the cover - and now if you'll excuse me I've got to fly right to the sun (again, and very very LOUDLY).
Walking About At The End Of The UniverseI'll pass on writing about "How Does It Feel To Feel?" the opening track on this single since it's already been dealt with elsewhere. Instead I'll move swiftly on to "Walkabout", a perfectly crafted Loz and Steve instrumental which opens with two minutes of glorious ambience. Birds twitter and water ripples amongst an assortment of percussion and keyboards which have a distinctly Australian edge. You feel like you're sitting beside some billabong and as the pace changes to just over two minutes of pulsating bass and drums it's like you've started on some trek across the outback. There's slight phasing to create extra atmosphere and an aboroginal whine in the background which resembles a Jew's harp on Ecstasy. Eventually you reach the next watering hole and it fades into more ambient sounds and celestial organ. If anyone needed proof that Ride have THE best rhythm section around then this slice of experimentation is it.
"At The End Of The Universe" is something else! The 3½ minutes build-up which layers one instrument on top of the other is like slowly climbing up a mountain. By the time Mark's vocals start you are breathless from looking at the view and, after 5 minutes, as the song switches mood you feel as though you've handglided into space and are falling in ever decreasing circles towards a safe landing. Jon Lord provides Hammond organ on this track which at first is understated but then it gradually attains a wonderful swirling effect. As for Loz's drums - when it gets to the 7 minutes stage in concert just watch the sheer beauty of his co-ordination on this song. Like Catherine with "Moonlight Medicine" I could go about this for ages but I've been told my space is limited! Therefore, I'll just say that putting a song that's this incredible out as a B-side on a UK-only release is nothing less than criminal.
Reviews by Chrissie Oakes
Ride had told us : this may 24th concert would be a bit special: they had to record the promo video clip for "How does it Feel to Feel?" and anticipated they had to play the song a few times. At the door, flyers were distributed to ask the fans to remain patient and enthousiastic but it wasn't really necessary: at the fourth version of the song, the first ranks were always jumping as much as at the beginning while the band began seeming quite fed-up ! As an excuse, we must say that for them, it wasn't the fourth version of the day but, maybe, the 10th or 12th ! Indeed, they had to play the track during the morning and the afternoon to allow the filming crew to make close-ups. How could they play the song ten times, Ihave no idea: I went out after the 6th time to eat a bit.
But we were all in perfect conditions for the gig ! Ride made a rock and dynamic choice of the tracks played this night. If we forget the more romantic "1000 miles", all the titles seemed united to maintain the energy of the fans and guarantee the atmosphere of the video. The concert began with a surprise, "Chelsea Girl", and, right after, "I wanna be your dog". This was enough to warm the crowd! And the poor cameramen lost into the people had difficulties to maintain their machines upon these crazy bodies! Ride chose this moment to play the first version of "How does it Feel to Feel?", twice played live, and twice in playback. The reason of a live video clip is quite obvious: the track was born to live on stage and to sweat. Mark and Andy are wet, and the guitars squeak. Are you saying "Rock and Roll" ? After this hot moment, Ride offers us the refreshing "1000 miles", followed by the nicely rythmed "Natural Grace". The audience gets calmer and is listening, captivated? Most of the fans don't know any new track, except the ones of the "Birdman EP", and the discover is made in a respectful silence. The hand-claps at the end of these two tracks confirm that the test was successful for the band. Let's party with a powerful "Let's Get Lost" that the audience cheers and a "How Does It Feel to Feel?", 2nd! Before playing the 3rd, Ride makes a first live attempt of "Moonlight Medicine". The track is good, but considering the fact that had only one day of rehearsal, and even if I admire the excellence of the version given by the band, I think that they can do even better. The last extract of the album is the lively "Magical Spring", new incarnation of Ride's "pop feel", far heir of "Taste" or "Like a Daydream". After the third "How Does It..." (and as Mark lost his courage and didn't sing all the words on this playback version, I lost my courage and didn't write the entire title !), Ride looks at his past, first with -nice surprise- "OX4" and its irresistible tempo, and then, as an encore, "Drive Blind" and "Like a Daydream". Just to allow the audience to get excited one more time ! And, before the last version of "How...", the band covers the excellent "The Kids are Alright", they had already excellently covered last year at the Daytripper, by the Who.
To sum up, the concert didn't seem very long and didn't let any dead time. I don't know what the cameras will have shot of it, but if you can see pearls on Mark's forehead, just know that this is not fake: they were particularly good this night. We were also excited, and thanked by the band for being such a good audience. It's our pleasure!
PS : We may never have the right to see this video clip because, on one hand, the single was only released in the UK, and, on the other hand, the BBC refused to air it ! We'll have to convince the band to release a video clip compilation !
Review by
Since Thursday 2 June, I've strongly envied the Parisians who have the chance to regularly attend Bernard Lenoir's famous "Black Sessions" on France Inter Radio. The audience (250 blessed people) have the opportunity to hear a real concert of about one hour (not much less than a "normal" gig) where the band makes it a point of honour to give a faultless performance and the whole event takes place in optimal conditions. The seat rows go up in such a way that everyone can see (many times I've cursed because the only thing I could see at a concert was the back of the tall guy in front of me!), the sound is as clear as a bell and everybody comes away feeling that they've attended something special, unique and precious. What's more, it's free!!!
Ride's long awaited Black Session was flawless in every aspect. It had been a long time since I'd experienced such pre-gig excitement. A long time since I'd felt such a stinging in my chest as I did when I heard them play a brilliant version of "Let's get lost" or as I emotionally discovered the new live introductions to "Birdman" (starring Andy and Loz) or "At the end of the universe" (Andy and Mark). The audience seemed to find it difficult to get warmed up but personally I was so caught up in the music that I didn't really notice and I don't think the band did either. The smilewhich illuminated Mark's face confirmed what I was hearing: Ride were giving us a perfect concert. Not surprisingly the setlist focused on the new album. The versions they played that night were an improvement on the ones they'd played in London a week earlier, for istance, the tempo on "Natural grace" was better marked. Andy's and Mark vocals were assured (Andy didn't even forget a single line of lyrics!) and each instrument sounded proud and fierce. I regretted not hearing "Moonlight medicine" again under such good conditions but instead they surprised me with a superb "Only now". Whereas Andy has kept improving on the guitar (I come back to the intro to "Birdman"), Mark has worked on his vocals and his voice now covers an increasily wider range. The higher vocals on "Only now" offer a nice example of this. Mark also sings Loz's lyrics on "At the end of the universe" now, which were formerly sung by Andy. This long epic, which sounds like the continuation to "Nowhere", has an absolutely blissful instrumental opening. Unfortunately the end of the song was cut off on the radio by the 10 o'clock news "bip". However, it was lucky that the listeners didn't get to hear "Drive blind" played as an encore because after the - very - noisy bit Mark took hold of a bottle and mistreated his guitar to the point where the instrument took its revenge and produced unbearable discordant sounds! I thanked God it was off-air! Anyway, I'll leave the close of this review to Mark who, as the band experienced a strong "lay-back" feeling after the concert, summed up the evening in a smile and the words: "it was thrilling".
Review by
"Carnival of Light" is what they decided to call it. I would have called it "Carnival of Love" - "carnival" because it's what Side B sounds like with its sense of happiness and wide variety of styles; "love" because it's what Side A diffuses in a flood of emotions, passion and sex.
Side A is dedicated to passion, where love is a storm and lovers are angels. From Time To Time evokes mirthful sensuality and is carried along by a seductive bass pulse. The mood of the song is lightened by some joyous organ which breezes in like a breath of fresh air while Mark's vocals smoothly wrap themselves around the words. But then Mark's vocals usually do - take 1000 Miles or Moonlight Medicine and you will find the same warm and sensual tone. 1000 Miles shares a similar romantic mood but the interlacing of acoustic and electric guitars coupled with the regular drumbeat gives it a peaceful, melancholic feeling. The instrumental outro, marked with rolling drums, is probably the closest you'll get to hearing a long, slow sunset on the horizon!
Loz steps up for the composer credits on Natural Grace which shows that Andy can be a romantic vocalist too, and when Mark joins him I realise that the harmonious combination of their vocals is one of the many things which made me fall for Ride in the first place. On this track they make the best use of their guitars to create a lively and extremely dense melody which is cunningly interrupted by a bare and dynamic chorus. The contrast of the song is taken further by a deceptive false ending which erupts into an outburst of sounds. The last song of Side A is a lovely surprise - Only Now is a ballad in pure American rock style. It has atmospheric keyboards, violins, and even a guitar solo in the middle. At first it's hard to believe that it's Ride but you know it must be because it's so easy to love it! At last we've got a Ride song which we can dance to while holding our loved ones close! Oh, and don't forget to listen to it on a stereo Walkman as you'll find the first notes will drip from one ear to the other and, judging from the way the song eats your brain, you'll start wondering if there's some kind of subliminal effect in there! Before turning to Side B I should mention that there is a tantalisingly brief extract from Sleeper Creeper attached to the close of From Time To Time which should arouse everyone's curiosity about the demo version mentioned in "TTR" 13.
Whereas Side A is a passionate love story, Side B is more like a parade of colourful and varied floats. It's where Ride experiment most and succeed in coming up with 7 different styles in as many tracks. The excellent Birdman starts the show and what can I say except it didn't deserve the treatment it got when it was cut down to a 3-minute parody of what it really is. I know Chrissie was initially uncertain about the African voices in the background but I quite like them as I think they add an eerie nature to an already mysterious song. The fact that I don't understand the lyrics doesn't really matter as with Ride I've often been confused with their lyrics anyway! However that does seem to be mostly in the past now as on this third album Andy and Mark have decided that they're singers after all and they want their words to be understood. The words are, therefore,very clear on the next song, the Byrds-influenced Crown of Creation, which has come a long way from the Evening Session version they previewed last year. The blissful melody hasn't changed much (except for the addition of an incredibly catchy line where Andy sings "don't you hide your love away") but the use of an organ and a subtle change in the vocal harmonies makes it sound like a different song. You can tell that Andy spent a lot of time on this in order to reach such perfection. And I'm glad he did - and I'm still positive that this would make a perfect single!
I'm not so positive about How Does It Feel To Feel though. Yes, it's a great tune with a lot of noise appeal. It has an extremely effictive tempo and vocals that shout at you to join in but I think it is a song which requires more space than it can achieve in a recorded format and that it works ten times better on stage. Let's hope the live promo video helps to give it the dimension it deserves! The next track is another surprise - the little I know about country music is what I heard while watching "Twin Peaks" and I can say that Endless Road would fit perfectly into ynch's series, except that Andy might not have the same effect in such a male environment (maybe Idha could help out and sit next to him on the piano stool!) I've tried hard but I've been unable to hear a guitar tune here, instead what you have is a piano, cymbals, organ and horns. "That doesn't sound like Ride!" I hear you say and no, it doesn't - at least not in the way that Birdman does or 1000 Miles. But it is Ride and undoubtedly bears their touch: this enchanting country-coloured waltz is irresistible (like all good Ride songs are!) and you'll be singing it over and over again before you know it. It's such a refreshing change too so, put away your blinkers and be prepared for anything!
On second thoughts anything may not be the right word because no matter how hard I tried I just can't get into the childrens choir on I Don't Know Where It Comes From. It's alright when they are mixed lower and only support Andy and Mark's vocals but the a-cappella introduction and the louder parts towards the end are pretty exasperating to my ears! It's a shame because it casts a shadow on an otherwise nice, poppy song. Hopefully they'll never be able to bring children on stage with them and I'll be able to fully enjoy the live version! However, one song which astonished me in a positive way is Magical Spring. Youwill have read my moans about the "old" "American Spring" - well, they've completely reworked it. The rhythm is faster and smoother, while the tune and vocals which used to be jerky and irritating are now harmonious and enthusiastic. Altogether it's a fantastic metamorphosis! Another tune which has undergone a change is Rolling Thunder which appears in a longer and more fleshed-out form that it did on the "Birdman" single. With the guitars joined by a bongo beat and the whine of a tamboura it becomes full of Eastern promise.
There's one track which I haven't talked about yet and that's Moonlight Medicine. That's because I'm awe-struck by it. As the opening song on Side A and, therefore, the very first new song I heard, Moonlight Medicine gave me a shock: how did they come up with this? With the profusion of instruments ranging from tambora to keyboards and organ, with intertwining chords that seem to be dropped at random and with an uncertain rhythm which is at once slow and at once fast, how did they create such a masterpiece which sounds so wonderfully together? I love every single little note: the bass line throbbing like a beating heart, the whining guitars, the intricate use of the organ, the chorus building up to a climax and the way the song ends and then starts again. I could go on for hours about Moonlight Medicine - it's BRILLIANT! If this is a guide to where Ride might be heading next then the future is bright! So when is the fourth album coming out?
(Thank you to Chrissie for adding her "extra bits" and turning my thoughts into proper English!)
Review by
And after the "Ticket To Ride" review, here are some other points of view:
FRENCH MAGAZINES
Rock & Folk - July 1994
Forget everything you think you know about Ride, everything you've read or heard...
Because, this time, the four young men abandon themselves to psychedelic atmosphere,
show us the passion they have for the late 60's mods bands and for the early
70's rock bands... The arrangements -brass, violins- are amazingly trendy, and
the production is warm and wide. "Carnival of Light" is to be taken as a reborn
for Ride. On the first news, the baby seems well.
Rock Sound - June 1994
Ride's coming back with an absolutly lightening and exciting record. The album
was a real reborn, of a sudden and surprising but quite and sure maturity. No
need to have been to the ENA (Ecole Nationale d'Adminitration - very high state
school for administrators) to understand that the band is happy today, and that
they want the world to know that... During the glorious 70's, we'd have said
that it was creating postive waves. Today, it simply makes us happy.
Les Inrockuptibles - June 1994
While Nowhere and Going Blank Again were trying to tame a boisterous future,
Carnival of Light seducts an unknown past. What's most amazing is that Ride
takes his elders' skills with the politeness of Oxford schoolboys, the talent
of a master violon maker. Risking giving their third album the appearance of
a quick history court, they have smoothen the voices, calmed their drummer,
tuned their violins and organs. Ride very nicely grown up. When they were 20,
the band wanted to make the world different. Now they're 24, and they give their
respect to it.
BRITISH MAGAZINES
Melody Maker, 18.6.94
Carnival of Light" is, as the title promises, a fabulous, glittering treasure
chest of languid melodies, thunderbolt guitars and soaring harmonies... "Carnival
of Light" is a great, great album. One of the albums of the year, in fact. This
time around, Ride don't confound expectations, they just exceed them. Splendid.
(The Stud Brothers)
NME, 18.6.94
Carnival of Light" is aristocratic in its refusal to recognise such petty concerns
as fashion or commerciality. It is bold and flamboyant, self-assured of its
cool... If Ride are repeating rock history, it's because that's what they're
living, not because that's want they've chosen to do... What Ride ultimately
lack, though, is the sense of danger, the sense of pioneering that impelled
their musical forefathers. Still, there's nothing much wrong with "Carnival
of Light" that a misplaced Mars bar, a swimming pool mystery and an ongoing
lack of religion wouldn't put right.(7) (Steve Sutherland)
Select, July 94
As the title suggests, they've seen the light, man, and it's, yeah, so beautiful!
Most of the LP seems to be about tripping, or a spaced-out aftermath of bewilderment
and emotional dependence. Musically, it's a hallucinogenic soundscape of strings,
backward guitar lines, horns, sitars, tamboura, Moogs, the sampled babble of
an Eastern bazaar... "After "Giant Steps", "Give Out" and "Parklife", here's
another fantastic British pop album in the old tradition - beautiful, drug-crazed,
emotional, stereophonic and just a little bit bonkers. (Andrew Perry)
Vox, July 94
Ride needed to go through some difficult, soul-searching times in order to construct
Carnival of Light... Ride always excel in the textures and Carnival of Light
represents their most mature work to date. Eastern instrumentation, stabbing
60s organ riffs and an inspired array of guitar riffs layer the album - and
this time there are some solid melodies to back them up. (8) (Steve Mallins)
Either nobody expected this concert to start on time or they weren't particularly interested in the earlier acts because when Ed Ball took to the stage with the Times right on 7.30 only half of the audience were in the hall. Ed proceeded to do most of the introductory links and the Times, Pete Astor, 18 Wheeler, BMX Bandits and the Jazz Butcher were allowed one song each. This meant there wasn't a lot of continuity at the beginning of the concert because the stage seemed to be forever being prepared for the next act.
The next act after the Jazz Butcher was introduced as being "half of Creation's first rock couple" but in fact when Idha took to the stage it was clear that it was really both of Creation's rock couple. Idha, looking absolutely stunning in a bright yellow outfit, was accompanied by a six piece band which included Andy on keyboards. Her sweet country lilt was put to good effect on a new and as yet untitled song and hopefully those members of the audience not familiar with the music were impressed - I certainly was!
The evening had been billed as including "very very special guests" and the first of these appeared in the shape of the '60s band responsible for the record label's name - the Creation. Looking suitably long in the tooth they zapped through their "greatest hits" repertoire - all two of them! - "Making Time" and "Painter Man". Eddie Phillips armed with a violin bow demonstrated his lead guitar technique which has been copied by other musicians since and they received a rousing reception even though the majority of the audience weren't even born when they were originally together.
Stephen Duffy and Velvet Crush performed two songs with Mitch Easter guesting. Considering they had been introduced as "the new Buffalo Springfield" it was surprising to hear them doing an extremely pedestrian version of the old Byrds classic "So You Want To Be A Rock'n'Roll Star". Right era, wrong group!
Alan McGee's father was given the job of informing us that Alan wasn't there although he failed to mention that it was because of illness. He then quoted that Alan had told him to say about the next group and when it included stuff like they're the future of rock music you knew it was going to be Oasis. However, perhaps group wasn't an appropriate word since only Noel Gallagher and Paul Rathurs came on stage. Noel explained that younger brother Liam, or "our kid", had lost his voice - he then sat down with an acoustic guitar and gave sturdy renderings of three Oasis originals, with Paul alternating between guitar and piano.
After that it was "special guest" time again with Hope Sandoval from Mazzy Star and William Reid of Chain fame. The song they performed together wasn't too bad but then William was left on his own and for the remaining two songs he seemed to be trying to get into "The Guinness Book of Records" for the most times you can sing "fucking" in a brief set. I think we needed the intermission which followed where they took the opportunity to show some, albeit rather blurred, Creation videos on a screen at the back of the stage and, much to my delight, they included "Birdman".
The intermission also gave the stage hands time to prepare for the Boo Radleys who had hired a youth orchestra for their three song set. Naturally it was "Lazarus" which benefitted most from this treatment and drifted sublimely around the hall. After all the trouble they'd taken to make this show special it was a great pity they couldn't have been allowed a slightly longer set - in short, they were superb (and the lights bounced beautifully off of Sice's head!).
By now the Ride anticipation was really taking hold but when KROQ presenter Rodney Bingenheimer came on it was to announce '60s Love legend Arthur Lee. Arther was in fine form vocally and looked amazingly healthy for someone who back in the '60s was never expected to be around this long! He was definitely in "play all night" mode and after improvising like crazy on his second song "Signed DC" he had to be reminded that "Your Mind And We Belong Together" was going to be his last since everything was running to a strict time schedule - but that didn't stop him wandering back to improvise still further with the aid of Loz's drums!
Arthur had kindled a flame but the task of carrying the torch fell to Ride. They were introduced by Caitlin Moran who lolloped on stage resembling a tramp which had just come in from the streets. Her words were mostly drowned out by warm, appreciative greetings from the audience such as "Fuck off you old cow" but the general impression I got was that she was telling us Ride aren't a bunch of shoe-gazing sissies. Did we ever think they were?!?!? For this occasion Ride were augmented by a string quartet and Andy chose to mainly sit behind the keyboards. The first song, or rather tune since it's an instrumental, was "Rolling Thunder" with Mark displaying his talents as a tamboura player. Unfortunately the bowl-shaped base of this incredibly beautiful instrument was obscured by a monitor but its Eastern whine was clear for everyone to hear. The strings soared into action and the tune was one that was very familiar but believe me you hadn't heard "Drive Blind" like this before. It's sheer grandeur left you gasping. Tonight it was a classic in every sense of the word and it evoked some heavenly emotions. Needless to say it received rapturous applause. The new album was featured again with a perfect rendering of "From Time To Time" and the, as I half suspected when the Creation turned up on the bill, Mark introduced that for the version of their forthcoming single "How Does It Feel To Feel?" they would be joined by the Creation. When they failed to appear immediately on stage a slightly perplexed Mark muttered "Where are they?"! Considering they had only decided to team up together a few hours earlier it turned out alright - it was fun and we were all begging for fun. I might be accused of being biased (moi?) but I think Ride received the best reception of the night - I'm sure if we'd had an inkling that we might have been able to get them back we would have continued hollering but by then it was obvious that encores were not the order of the day.
Anne Nightingale introduced a filmed, highly incoherent message from Primal Scream before the video of their "Jailbird" single was shown - and we split to see what was happening back with Ride so I'm afraid I can't report on Bob Mould's performance. It was definitely an unusual concert but I'm undecided as to whether it was a successful concept. In the end it might have been better to have stuck with just four main acts and give them all the chance to do reasonable length sets. I was simply aching for more Ride.
Review by Chrissie Oakes
Continuing our exploration of Ride's career, we (temporarily) leave the Nowhere period and move on to early 1991 when the Today Forever EP was released. These are excerpts of a Lime Lizard interview where Andy and Steve go philosophical...
What does designing a record sleeve entail?
Steve: What we mean is that we nick a picture from somebody else. But don't write that down!
Andy: The way we package things has become a bit predictable - you could almost choose your own Ride sleeve by looking through a book and sending it to us. It will have a pastely shade on the first side with a border and the "Ride" logo and then a picture that's a bit abstract and a bit repetitive, like the flowers or the penguin. So we've made the new cover different. It's a shark coming out of the water with its teeth showing clearly. It's one image.
Does the change in packaging reflect a change in musical direction?
Andy: I'd say two of the songs follow on recognisably from how we've been before. They sound really live. The other two are based more acoustically - but not in a ballad way or simply for the sake of using an acoustic guitar. I think those songs are quite different from what we've done in the past.
And how would you describe your past efforts?
Andy: When we were in the studio we recorded a couple of funny little demos of typical rave songs and we kept thinking. 'Oh, this must be how the Charlatans mess about, they must do impressions of Ride songs - 'I'm a bird', this chord after that chord, loads of harmonies. Definitely there are themes which come up all the time, and it's partly to do with how we see the music and partly to do with the ideal images that we use.. Flying, oceans and 'big expanses of nature" are really attractive to someone trapped in a little environment.
Does your imaginery reflect your spiritual values? Like Seagull which is supposedly about Richard Bach.
Andy: A lot of things Bach says are "just right". Likewise with Aldous Huxley. The one thing with Huxley is that he is very intellectual. Everything's really scientific but I think that the experiences he's writing about are much more random than he makes out. The Wide Door of Perception is a book about mescalin but it's not so much about that as opening your mind. You can be sitting on a bus and suddenly things become really abstract, really weird and you get a glare of everything all at once. It's there in your head all the time and whether you take acid to see that or whether you meditate or whether it happens to you without you doing anything, it's still there. Your mind is not something that's really closed and to do with everyday life. Your mind is something amazing. The real thing for me is finding out that your brain is intelligent enough to shield you from all the things you don't need to see.
Do you ever fear for your own sanity?
Steve: Finishing a tour can be quite mentally exhausting. When you're playing you're on a mental high so when you suddenly find yourself with a day that you don't have to psych yourself up to go on stage your really have to shift mentally. you can really get into a real low and this can last a while.
How do such mind swings affect your relationship with other members of the band?
Steve: I think a lot of the time I don't understand a lot of the things I think and a lot of the emotions I feel and when you're on tour you're on your own. That's what lead to paranoia. You shut yourself away and you're thinking "why am I feeling like this, why do I feel this way towards myself and towards so-and-so?" There have been points, on the last tour for example, when everyone got really drunk and we sat up for hours and so many things came out about the way we were feeling about each other and the band in general. It was quite an eye-opener.
Andy: It was the first real conversation that we'd had in the three months that we'd been on tour. I was on a real paranoia trip for the whole of that time and suddenly we started talking and suddenly I realised that we were having a conversation and that this was such a rare thing. It's strange when you realise that yo haven't been talking or communicating to anybody and make that shift and you're there.
Do you love yourself?
Andy: I think a lot of myself. I mean, I'm not going to punch myself in the face. This might sound big-headed but I feel as though I love myself. I want the best for myself, I'm not going to drag myself into a pit!
Steve: I can only think of really negative things about myself. I can't think of anyting positive cos it's all a bit arrogant to talk about yourself in those terms.
Who told you this?
Steve: It's just the way I see it. I guess I'm scared of being perceived as big-headed.
Andy: We've been misunderstood so much. We've made the mistake of staying we're pleased with our records and that we like our music and suddenly it's taken as being really arrogant. We're not saying we're the best band in the world but we think we're really good and believe in what we do. That confidence is taken as arrogance.
Are there any qualities that you might justifiably despise in yourself?
Andy: Just when you find yourself being really false. When you say things to people that you don't mean and when you find yourself acting out something you're not.
Steve: Paranoia and selfishness as well. I would imagine that once you've got yourself sussed, life must be pretty easy.
Andy: A lot of people pretend they are! You meet people everyday who've got themselves "sussed" and they're all wankers. There is a point that you can reach where you think "everything's all right with me, I'm fine", but you just stop and everything stays exactly where it is. You must flow with everything, go with an emotion and note it out. If your values are open all the time, you're not going to get any pressure...maan!
Ride's music is really quite rich. Do you consciously layer the sound?
Andy: More and more since the album. The album was the first time that we really had a chance to spend a lot of time thinking about where the songs were supposed to be going and what they were supposed to be sound like.
Is that really people screaming on the outro to Paralysed?
Andy: That came out of the poll tax riots. When we were mixing Paralysed - the demo version - we were in a studio in Wardour Street and it was all going at the end of the roar. We opened the windows and sat on the balcony and all we had were the bass and the drums and I was playing the piano along to it and the mixture of bass and drums and piano and all this noise outside was really quite mad. It's not that Paralysed is about the poll tax riots. It was simply a moment that was really good at the time - just having the sound.
If Ride's music were a photograph or painting what would it be?
Andy: Something by Caravaggio, because of the light and shade... Derek Jarman is probably my favourite film director. His version of The Tempest is really surreal.
Have you a favourite actor?
Andy: De Niro. I also like quite a lot of British actors, Gary Oldman, Tim Roth and Paul McGann. I think Withnail and I is probably one of my favourite films ever.
If Ride's music were a building, what would it be?
Andy: The Hoover factory. It's very historic, pastelly coloured, but really hasn't got much use!
From Lime Lizard, April 1991