Ricks Road
Texas
℗ 1994 Mercury Records 522 130
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. |
- 1. So Called Friend [03:42]
- 2. Fade Away (Johnny McElhone — Sharleen Spiteri) [03:05]
- 3. Listen to Me [05:04]
- 4. You Owe it all to Me [03:43]
- 5. Beautiful Angel (Johnny McElhone — Sharleen Spiteri) [03:24]
- 6. So in Love with You [04:46]
- 7. You've Got to Live a Little [03:16]
- 8. I Want to Go to Heaven (Johnny McElhone — Sharleen Spiteri) [03:26]
- 9. Hear Me Now (Ally McErlaine — Johnny McElhone — Mc Erlaine, Ally — Sharleen Spiteri) [04:13]
- 10. Fearing These Days [04:21]
- 11. Tired of Being Alone [03:17]
- 12. Winter's End [04:20]
Тексты:
So Called Friend
Yeah I'm gonna make you wonder if you're my friend Yeah I'm gonna make you wonder if you're my friend Yeah that's the way I choose them all my friends Do you think you're close with all your promises Do you think I act strange when you talk to me It's cause I don't see you Yeah I'm gonna make you wonder if you're my friend Yeah I may as well tell you you'll never be my friend Ah that's the way I choose them all my friends The telephone always rings when you've got success You only want us when we're at our best But we don't hear you Yeah I'm gonna make you wonder if you're my friend It isn't our fault that your life's depressed We've listened and we've learned That all of the words that you say Yeah all of the words that you say Mean nothing Yeah I'm gonna make you wonder if you're my friend
Fade Away
(Johnny McElhone — Sharleen Spiteri)
With every little smile do you know me better You know I'm never what I seem Cause I don't worry about the future My days they pass just like a dream Are you scared of what you're seeing Does it make me seem so cruel And now I'll ask you if I hurt you That's just something that I do If you don't listen to me You'll stay the same And you're just gonna fade away Listen hear the secret in my voice Are you so gone that you can't hear Scared I've forgot you for no reason Maybe that's what you can't bear Then give me more than words and gestures Give me something I can keep That's how you get to love forever That's why you've gotta try and see If you don't listen to me You'll stay the same You're just gonna fade away If you don't listen to me You'll stay the same You're just gonna fade away If you don't listen to me You'll stay the same If you don't listen to me You'll stay the same If you don't listen to me You'll stay the same And you'll fade away
Listen to Me
You came down as if from heaven Laid a soft hand on me I kept on walking and thinking Where my life's gone I should weep Well I don't know where I've been going I've never known the reason why So listen to me I'm scared to cry The angel sat down at my table I told her all my doubts and pain She said there always is a time for love That it will come to me again But I don't know where I've been going I've never known the reason why So listen to me I'm scared to cry Well I don't know where I've been going I've never known the reason why So listen to me I'm scared to cry Yeah listen to me I'm scared to cry
You Owe it all to Me
Never thought there would be a time When all you'd wanna do is fight It's made me suffer lonely days And i'm waitin for the evenings sun To come along and calm me down Can't you see that on my face Without me you would be nowhere All alone I've cared You owe it all to me Without me you would be nowhere All alone I've cared You owe it all to me I know it seems to you sometimes When we're alone I tend to hide Leave my feelings locked behind a door As I watch the wind cut through the trees I never wanted you to leave I only wish i'd told you this before Without me you would be nowhere All alone I've cared You owe it all to me Without me you would be nowhere All alone I've cared You owe it all to me What kinda life am I to lead With this love you've given me I thought you were a friend of mine But everyday you're someone new And that's the one I've got to lose Why do you make it so hard to fight Without me you would be nowhere All alone I've cared You owe it all to me Without me you would be nowhere All alone I've cared You owe it all to me
Beautiful Angel
(Johnny McElhone — Sharleen Spiteri)
Nobody wants to take the blame Everybody wants to stay the same All I want is what you had I never meant to make you feel so sad But you should have known it Cause I tried to show it So it woudn't happen this way Yeh I tried to show you My beautiful angel My beautiful angel I only wanted you To this day I can't explain Why I stole him away I guess I thought you'd run to me I didn't really know how wrong I'd be Well you should have known it Cause I tried to show it I've been tasting your tears for too long Yeh I tried to show you I never asked for nothin I, I only wanted you My beautiful angel My beautiful angel I only wanted you I tried to show you My beautiful angel I only wanted you
So in Love with You
I'm so in love with you Whether it is right or it's wrong I'm too weak to be strong I'm so in love with you Well you say you need something To help you when you're down to take your fears away Yeah you say you'd do anything To keep your feet off the ground And help you on your way You're all I need Yeah you are all that I need I'm so in love with you I'm so in love with you Whether it is right or it's wrong I'm too weak to be strong I'm so in love with you When you see your reflection You say it isn't you Then you turn the other way And I'm watching you suffer Yourself and your pain Please don't fade away
You've Got to Live a Little
Have you still got the illusion Of what's lying ahead Then you'd still have your innocence And days wouldn't seem so bad But i've always wondered Why you've never grown But now i know You gotta take a little time for yourself You gotta live a little life on your own You gotta take a little time for yourself It's just what you're needing Storms always make you happy But they hide everything inside Make believe that they're soft to touch Then they blind you with their light That has always made me wonder Why you've never grown But now i know You gotta take a little time for yourself You gotta live a little life on your own You gotta take a little time for yourself It's just what you're needing
I Want to Go to Heaven
(Johnny McElhone — Sharleen Spiteri)
You know I can't tell the truth Cause all I do is lie I feel like I'm laughing all the time But all I do is cry I wanna go to heaven Yeh I wanna go to heaven But I don't wanna die I gave you it all child But I, I paid for that You walked away from me Yeh you turned your back I wanna go to heaven Yeh I wanna go to heaven But I don't wanna die I'll take what you can give me I'll use all I can use Yeh I'm sleeping with my worries now I've nothin else to lose Yeh I wanna go to heaven Lord I wanna go to heaven But I don't wanna die
Fearing These Days
You only see me when I laugh Never hear me when i cry I'm tired of fearing these days I'm sitting here on my own Talking to myself alone And I'm tired of fearing these days All I need was an explanation Why you treat me so mean You always play the part with no hesitation That's the other side I've seen Please don't fail me Don't fail me Please don't let me fall If all my nightmares come today Will you hide them far away 'Cause I'm tired of fearing these days It'll wash away the past and pain Let me start from new again I'm tried of fearing these days You always hit me when there is no reason To feel superior to me When all I want is a confrontation So i can find a release Please don't fail me Don't fail me Please don't let me fall
Tired of Being Alone
Do I know if you are sleeping Cause you lie so still and warm Yeh the darness and the silence wrap around me Don't hear your cries that make me sleep so sound Maybe I've been missing you Oh maybe I've been missing you For so long If one day you said you were happy I think your spell would be broken for good Sometimes I pray If you are unkind to me Maybe I'll love you more for that And maybe I've been missing you Oh maybe I've been missing you For so long And maybe I've been missing you I've been missing you For so long yeah yeah
Winter's End
Sometimes it seems like winter's end The weeks they just go on like a friend of mine The sadness it has left a trace I think that you can see that on my face again And it always made things better Now my days seem so much better Now my days seem so much quieter And I know Yeah I know It will never be the same again Sometimes I feel my hands are tied I need someone to come and cut these ropes of mine They'll wear a coat of wind and rain To drive away the fears that I can't face again' And they always make things better And my days seem so much quieter And I know Yeah I know It will never be the same again