Ricky Warwick – 'Fire & Vengeance' Album Review

7 minutes ago
3 min read

Tracklist:

1. Fire & Vengeance

2. Hellbent & Heaven Sent

3. Seek Zen Destroy

4. When the King Falls

5. You Just Lie

6. The Angels' Share

7. Last Chance to Dance

8. Sweet County Down

9. Tumbleweed Town

10. If You Think Your Country Needs You…

Personally, I think one of the best things about music right now is the sheer diversity of genres and the amount of passion and love people are putting into their records. I know there has never been a harder time to make a living as a musician, so I’m often amazed at how many people are still trying.

Then you have Ricky Warwick, a man who has been making music for the best part of 40 years who has nothing left to prove to himself or anyone else so what does he do, he goes and releases possibly the best album of his career, if not the best album he could possibly make.

'Fire & Vengeance' is the sound of a writer and performer at the peak of his powers, when others might be resting on their laurels, he is making a strong case for being the peoples poet and the leader of the rebellion all rolled into one. The move back to Ireland from California has clearly reinvigorated him to an extent that this album should be troubling more than the rock charts.

It’s a mix of stonesy like ballads, traditional Irish music and blue collar anthems while containing some of the best out and out rock music I’ve heard in a while. If this doesn’t get people playing air guitar and throwing shapes while belting out the lyrics then there is no justice in this world.

Throw in the fact that Phil Collen from Def Leppard, Doug Aldrich from Whitesnake, Charlie Starr from Blackberry Smoke and Darren Holden from the High Kings also all feature and you might get a feel, before you listen, of what to expect.

You’d be wrong, this is better than you’d expect. This is a man who isn’t going quietly into the night, he’s written several anthems about the troubled times we live in, and he’s written them from the heart. Add in some truly touching ballads and the aforementioned Irish touch and there is almost a touch of Thin Lizzy in some of this while some channelling of the Waterboys at their best and I also suspect Ricky has been listening to his old Mellencamp and Earle records while mixing that with Let it Bleed and Sticky Fingers.

This is a tour de force of a rock and roll album, a joy to listen to and a contender for my album of the year. It’s out on the wonderful Earache records on the 4^th of September and you really need to order it now!

If this is what moving back home and reconnecting with your roots does for you then I’m going to suggest a few more artists do just that.

The title track, 'Fire & Vengeance' has sing along protest and "I’m not taking this" anthem written all over it. As a song to open the album it’s excellent, it lets you know you’re in for an album that takes no prisoners and deserves to be listened to all the way through, just the way Ricky intended. I won’t review any other song as you need to listen to this yourself, but I will say I think the best song on the album is 'When The King Falls' although it’s pushed hard by 'The Angels Share' but trust me, you will find your own and vehemently disagree, and you’d be right to!