Ricks Road by Texas (Scotland) (CD, Mar-1994, Mercury)

Album Features
UPC:	731452213020
Artist:	Texas (Scotland)
Format:	CD
Release Year:	1994
Record Label:	Mercury
Genre:	Brit Pop, Rock & Pop

Track Listing
1. So Called Friend
2. Fade Away
3. Listen to Me
4. You Owe It All to Me
5. Beautiful Angel
6. So in Love With You
7. You've Got to Live a Little
8. I Want to Go to Heaven
9. Hear Me Now
10. Fearing These Days
11. Tired of Being Alone
12. Winter's End

Details
Playing Time:	48 min.
Contributing Artists:	Jimmy Z., Sister Rose Stone
Distributor:	Universal Distribution
Recording Type:	Studio
Recording Mode:	Stereo
SPAR Code:	n/a

Album Notes
Texas: Sharleen Spiteri (vocals, guitar); Ally McErlaine (guitar); Eddie Campbell (piano, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3 organ, background vocals); Johnny McElhone (bass); Richard Hynd (drums, percussion).Additional personnel: Sister Rose Stone (vocals); Jean McClain (background vocals); Jimmy Z (harmonica).Strings: Richard Greene, Nancy Stein Ross, Melissa Hasin, Maurice Dicterow, Armen Ksadjikian, Margaret Wooten, James V. Ross, Steve Sharf, Chris Reutinger, Ken Yerke, Haim Shtrum, Rachel Robinson, Ray Tischer II, Cynthia Morrow.Producers: Texas, Kenny MacDonald, Paul Fox.Recorded at Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, New York and American Recording Studios, Woodland Hills, California.All songs written or co-written by members of Texas except "Tired Of Being Alone" (Al Green).Personnel: Sharleen Spiteri (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Ally McErlaine (guitar); Ken Yerke, Raymond Tischer, Maurice Dicterow, James V. Ross, Chris Reutinger, Nancy Stein-Ross, Rachel Robinson , James Ross , Cynthia Morrow, Steve Sharf, Melissa "Missy" Hasin, Richard Greene , Armen Ksadjikian, Margaret Wooten, Haim Shtrum (strings); Jimmy Z. (harmonica); Eddie Campbell (piano, organ, Wurlitzer organ, background vocals); Richard Hynd (drums, percussion); Jean McLain, Rose Stone, Jean McClain (background vocals).Audio Mixers: Ed Thacker; Eddie Campbell ; Paul Fox ; Youth.Recording information: American Recording Studios, Woodland Hills, CA; Bearsville Sound Studios, Bearsville, NY.Photographers: Andrew Catlin; Jean Baptiste Mondino.Unknown Contributor Roles: Eddie Campbell ; Richard Hynd; Sharleen Spiteri.Texas sound a bit like a countrified version of the Pretenders put through a car wash on Ricks Road, to the point where the music is so clean, one's mind just slips around and off of it. There's a squeaky-clean polish to "So Called Friend," a stab at southern twang that doesn't seem genuine...it's a sound best left in a studio and indicative of a band trying too hard to make a hit song. There are simply too many studio effects and fake sounding instruments throughout the album. One imagines the harmonica to be some sort of Casio creation. It's like listening to Cher doing a Dusty Springfield impersonation. "Fade Away" tries so hard to have an aggressive hook that it becomes quite awkward. "Listen to Me" is supposed to be uplifting, but it mostly stumbles around a light beat and strings that go nowhere. Still, it's one of the album's better moments, because it's somewhat restrained. It's not overbearing like most of the other songs. "So in Love With You" starts out quite promising, but devolves into an unbearable din when Sharleen Spiteri reaches for high notes that just won't materialize. "Tired of Being Alone" is quite good; first, because it's almost impossible to ruin an Al Green song, and second, because it's less glossy and more immediate sounding than the rest of the album. It's production is credited to Texas and Kenny MacDonald. The remainder of the album was produced by Paul Fox who seemingly twisted knobs to the point of exhaustion. The production is so overblown that it's reminiscent of a Meredith Brook album. From a lesser band, Ricks Road might be an interesting misstep, but from Texas, who have shown themselves to be capable of much more heartfelt artistic expression. It's an outright shame. Later releases would see a more organic, far more successful approach. The world didn't need another Cowboy Junkies, and, thankfully, Texas didn't continue down the bland path they paved with Ricks Road. The album is best left to fans collecting their entire back catalogue, as it's quite weak from start to finish. The album is a bumpy affair, and it's clearly the wrong route, as the band quickly substituted pop and hip-hop elements for the Southern phoniness displayed here. The album is just one or two decent songs above being classified as drivel. White on Blonde and The Hush are worlds beyond Ricks Road. ~ Tim DiGravina