Review: Mitch Ryder – With Love
Mitch Ryder – With Love
Format: CD – Vinyl LP – Digital / Label: Ruf Records
Release: 2025
Text: Martien Koolen
Mitch Ryder is a well-known American rock singer who recorded more than twenty-five albums over more than four decades and on this new release -timed to correspond with his eightieth birthday – Ryder delivers ten new songs which he self sees as a marvellous housewarming gift for his American fans.
‘With Love’s opening track is called Lilli May and here you can enjoy Ryder’s cracking vocals, which actually remind me of Tom Waits, so as a listener you are in for a treat indeed. Follow up Pass It To The Right is a completely different track as here Ryder talks throughout the song and the flute solo in this track is as surprising as beautiful. A cool, laid-back guitar solo highlights the soul-grooving song Sanguine and Ryder follows this great song with a rock and rollish kind of song called One Monkey, which deals with Ryder’s notorious drugs past, and it features a simple but ever so effective guitar solo.
Oh, What A Night’s intro features some accordion, and this track eventually evolves into a Latin-American shuffle, or in other words, really fun time party music and as you listen to this one it is extremely hard to sit still indeed! The longest track called Too Damned Slow is a ballad-like song with Ryder crooning his way through this one, which also features an excellent saxophone solo played by American Blue Note jazz artist Dave McMurray (Was (Not Was).
The Artist is another ballad-like, easy listening track with Ryder’s voice against a piano and flute. However, I definitely like his more up-tempo songs, such as Wrong Hands (rock and roll in the veins of The good old Rolling Stones) or Fly (up tempo with nice organ chords). The final track of this very diverse album is called Just The Way It Is – by the way, not a cover of the well-known Just The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby – a song that has a kind of Motown groove and melody that makes you want to stand up and dance (not really, of course…).. The lyrics here are, in my humble opinion, rather corny, and naive, as Ryder calls for peace and love as our seconds tick away…
Conclusion:
‘With Love’ is a more than excellent album of a rock and roll and R’n B legend, so check it out! Listening tip: Sanguine.
Tracks:
01. Lilli May
02. Pass It To The Right
03. Sanguine
04. One Monkey
05. Oh What A Night
06. Wrong Hands
07. Too Damned Slow
08. Fly
09. The Artist
10. Just The Way It Is
Website: http://www.mitchryder.net/index.php