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Black Star Riders – 'Wrong Side of Paradise' Earache Music 20th January 2023

Ross Macdonald • 22 January 2023

Album Review

We’re getting on for over a decade of the Black Star Riders moniker now and this current offering is album number five, so you’d imagine this is a slick and polished machine by now. It’s not…and that’s why I love it. This is abrasive, aggressive, pissed off rock n roll and it’s quite marvellous.

Born as a vehicle to carry forward that Lizzy vibe we all know and love this current Black Star boy has matured into a foot stomping, hair swinging fist pumping rock n roll riding renegade. Whilst the Lizzy link is now tenuous at best there is still a timely and classy tip of the musical hat when the moment calls for it whether it be the thunderous drums or the frankly ferocious guitar sound that Messrs Warwick and Martucci produce.

Before we go for a stroll on the wrong side of right it would be remiss of me not to nail my Warwick warpaint to the mast. I’ve followed Mr Warwick’s career since he rocked up to my local venue in 1990 with his Almighty brothers. Whilst sadly ‘The Piv’ in Ayr now masquerades as a kids soft play area Mr Warwick continues to weave his particular brand of musical hope through every note he plays and every lyric he pens and it’s that writing I have always loved the most. The man has this uncanny ability to tackle real world issues in his writing but leave you feeling just that wee bit better about yourself after listening.

Right, let’s get into the songs. We open with the bombastic title track of the album and if you need to know more about it just go and read my last paragraph, absolute belter of an opener! Up next is ‘Hustle’ and it opens with a delicious groove and a wee wisp of harmonica before it launches into a full-blown brooding rocker. Track three and this is definitely one of those ‘tip of the hat’ moments as the Lizzy vibe is strong with this one. ‘Better than Saturday Night’ is just a glorious slice of melodic hard rock, killer drum work from Zac St John trade off perfectly with every guitar lick and Warwick’s clever song writing and phrasing.

Track four and the mood swings from Saturday night to Monday blues as ‘Riding Out the Storm’ tells a story that all too many of us can empathise with. If you’ve not realised this already then this is most definitely an album that you should listen to with the lyrics in front of you. Absolutely sublime song. Onwards we go with ‘Paydirt’ and we’re back in what can probably best be described as the ‘Black Star Riders sound’, punchy gritty and always capable of knocking you off your feet. Glaswegian soul and Belfast heart are indeed quite the potent one two punch.

Easing you back onto your feet is ‘Catch Yourself On’, a mid-tempo harmony laden cautionary tale of making the right decisions or not as the case might be. “Your moral compass is so broken, you can’t find anything” might be the best line I’ve heard in a very long time. Next up is a rocked up cover of The Osmond’s ‘Crazy Horses’, I’m not a fan of covers per se but something about this just works. ‘Burning Rome’ has just the faintest hint of Celtic folk about it and as such it’s rather splendid.

‘Don’t Let the World (Get in the Way)’ starts the three-song run to the album close and we’re back in the safe and rocking arms of Lizzy, toe tapping head bobbing loveliness would about cover this one. Lizzy luminary Scott Gorham should be all over this one when the band tour the UK next month. ‘Green and Troubled Land’ lulls you in with a gorgeous soft drum pattern and guitar lick before it goes a little punk and charges through a politically charged homage to home, song of the album for me. The album eases to a close with ‘This Life Will Be the Death of Me’ and as the closing harmonies of “Divided we stand, United we fall” drift into the ether we’re left to wonder if every single one of us can do better in this big pantomime of life.

All told this is a remarkable collection of songs and talent. I started by calling it abrasive, aggressive and pissed off rock n roll and whilst that’s true there’s also equal measures of class and charm here, this my friends is whisky in a teacup. Some will undoubtedly say it sounds too much like Lizzy whilst others will say it sounds nothing like them. The truth is it’s neither; it sounds exactly like Black Star Riders and that’s exactly as it should be.

Much Love

Ross Macdonald
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