Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
We must be allowed the right to demand the perpetual freedom of self-expression. Such an emotion of humanity should not be considered a luxury, available to only those with the sentiment of deep lined pockets or the backing that their own particular flight of fancy is to be indulged in; and yet for whatever reason we as a species insist on tight rules, unyielding regulations and laws that keep the art of self-expression as one that is praised but not given freely to all.
It is in self-expression that we have the opportunity to see that the world is not painted grey, that the shadows are not permanently casting doubt on our mind, that to explore any emotion or feeling is to revel in what it means to be human. This act of exploration is enhanced when urged on by others, those who see what a difference it can make to one person’s soul, to their drive, and it is a drive that redoubles its efforts and gives the originator of the piece of art that is not only beautiful, but sincere in actions.
It is to the faith that introduces itself before you even settle down to listen to the sense of the spontaneous and impulsive sounds that The Ryk Mead band employ that the listener understands just what lays at the heart of self-expression, that the 16 tracks on offer is not just presenting the armchair fan, or indeed the live crowd, a piece of Time in which to mark down the clock, ticking away in lazy furious tones, but instead the chance to inhabit and immerse themselves into Time.
Across songs such as Can’t Turn Back The River, Before You Go, If I Didn’t Have The Blues, Last Man Standing, Looking For My Baby, Time Will Set Me Free and the sublime Reservation Man, Ryk Mead, along with Steve Cooper, Adam Bond, Juliette Mead, Larry Tomko and Jack Vasiliou, combine to create a natural state of unconstrained music that is perfect for Me & The Blues.
An album of craft and hard work but one that is untroubled by the ridiculous commandments and edicts that slow other albums in the genre down to the point where they lose all natural sense of rhythm and human feeling; it is to live in the self-expression that makes a statement, that promotes creativity.
Ian D. Hall