Rides, The - Cant Get Enough '2013

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. Roadhouse
02. Thats A Pretty Good Love
03. Dont Want Lies
04. Search And Destroy
05. Cant Get Enough Of Loving You
06. Honey Bee
07. Rockin In The Free World
08. Talk To Me Baby
09. Only Teardrops Fall
10. Word Game

Rock was still in the wake of the ornate studio excess that followed the release
of the Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (not every band was the
Beatles, unfortunately) when Super Session came out in 1968. A loose album of
rock and blues jams featuring Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield on one side of the
LP and Kooper and Stephen Stills on the other side, with a rhythm section of
Harvey Brooks on bass and Eddie Hoh on drums tying both sides together, it has
held up amazingly well over the years. So here we are in the 21st century and
Stills, former Electric Flag member Barry Goldberg (who played electric piano on
the 1968 album), and the now-not-so-young-anymore guitar wiz Kenny Wayne
Shepherd have formed a sort of super trio in the hopes of recapturing some of
the magic of that original super session. The million-dollar question is, do
they indeed actually recapture the feel? The million-dollar answer is, no, they
dont. But that isnt an indictment of Cant Get Enough, really. The Rides are a
competent hard rock-blues group, and Stills, as a guitar player, has always been
at his best when he has another guitar player to support and feed off of, and
there are plenty of blazing electric guitar leads and tradeoffs here. Curiously,
though, particularly given Stills proven ability as a songwriter, what there
isnt here is any striking new material. The best cuts are covers, including
versions of Muddy Waters Honey Bee, the Stooges Search and Destroy, and Neil
Youngs Rockin in the Free World (none of these stray far from the original song
templates), but the original material, written jointly by Stills, Goldberg, and
Shepherd, seems tired and weary, more riffs than songs. Yeah, there are electric
guitars everywhere, and this is a nice-sounding band, but, given the caliber of
the talent, it would seem the songs should be better instead of just bounce-offs
for guitar pyrotechnics.

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