Gary Ritchie began his career in the late ’70s with the Chicago-based Loose Lips. Steady gigs and the regional hit Hung Up On Pop turned the band into local stars.
For the past several years, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist – who now resides in Texas – has been cutting records under his own name. Fellow multi-instrumentalist Jeff King, another member of Loose Lips, lends his time and talent to Gary’s projects as well.
You always know what you’re in for when you pick up a Gary Ritchie album, and Head On a Swivel (Fancy Two/Tone Records) is no exception. Here’s a guy who proudly and loudly flaunts his influences, and is as seriously good as the artists he was weaned on.
Casting a net toward both the British Invasion sounds of the ’60s and the power popping new wave tricks and kicks of the latter day ’70s and early ’80s, the material on Head On a Swivel synthesizes these inspirations in an impressively mettlesome manner riding high on energy and excitement.
Punctured with a Mersey-minted guitar solo primed to make your heart sing, the title track of the album will be embedded in your brain cells for eternity. Teeming with romantic optimism and cleverly-chiseled breaks, “Maybe It’ll Be Tonight,” along with the impossibly infectious “Four Letter Word,” the sparkling melancholy of “Lean On You,” the shake and stirred “Emergency Time” and the pseudo-country flavored “Blondes & Bullets” serve as other dandy ditties heard on the collection.
Guaranteed to incite chuckles, “Record Store” tells the tale of meeting a girl in a music shop looking at a Rick Springfield album. The narrator tries to win her over, but she is put off by his obsessive vinyl habit, as he waxes on and on about rare treasures. Among these finds are a Dave Clark Five box set found in Peter Noone’s basement that was bought on eBay and autographed by all five members of the band – and an unreleased Kinks album on pink vinyl recorded when the band’s frontman was a trombone player. To be sure, Head On a Swivel is not short on humor!
Heavy on handclaps, choppy drums, mouth-watering melodies, arresting licks and clear and confident vocals, Head On a Swivel brings back the fun in pop music. Gary Ritchie really knows his stuff, and he has once again produced a righteously retro masterpiece.
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