EDGE Boston : Gay Boston : Entertainment : Music Gay Boston Lesbian Boston

Music Reviews
"Stirred Not Shaken" by Mike Rickard
Grade: B+
 by Alan Ilagan
EDGE Music Critic
Friday May 14, 2004

Ladies and gentleman, the pop throne long-ago abdicated by George Michael has finally found a worthy candidate as successor in the vocal prowess and songwriting talents of Mike Rickard. His debut CD, Stirred Not Shaken, has the fresh energy of Michael’s Faith album, and none of the latter’s recent maudlin muck. At first it may seem an odd transfer of pop power ~ George Michael played with more overtly sexual themes (albeit as a fake playing-it-straight ladies man) whereas Rickard’s background of Christian church vocal groups lends a religious fervor to his work, and while Michael was dragged out of the closet long after he hit it big (and sales dwindled), Rickard is quietly but openly gay ~ but the change-of-guard makes sense when one looks at the various ways faith comes to play in the songs of both, along with the pure pop pleasure both reveal when at their best.

Stirred Not Shaken is a slickly-produced “grower” album, revealing itself slowly over repeated listening, and these are usually the ones that stand the test of time. While it’s too soon to definitively crown Rickard as the new Prince of Pop (and his style is still too blissfully raw to warrant the moniker), he has made an admirable bid for the position. Along with a genuine humility and down-to-earth image, Rickard is at odds with the current turbulent musical landscape, but this sort of album may be just what is needed to return the focus to actual self-penned music.

The album opens with “Lucky”, a funky folk-rock song with elements of electronica and a deliciously meandering bass-line. For those weary of his Christian background, have no fear ~ this sounds nothing like the contemporary Christian music you know and loathe. “Home for the Holidays” offers a lyrical tick-list of all the holidays spent alone, but Rickard manages to find an undertow of hope in the midst of despair and loneliness.

It is this lyrical proficiency that carries the weaker moments of the album, such as “Forgot to Forget”. There are some clever words, but the music borders on country schmaltz. The same goes for “Forever Ran Out of Time”. Rickard’s voice, literally and lyrically, is far better suited to the breezy “Do You Know?” in which his vocal caresses sound uncannily like vintage George Michael, possibly even surpassing him in delicacy. Though the song is written for Rickard’s father, it could also be a lost lover’s query ~ a heartbreaking double entendre that will have armchair psychologists nodding their heads knowingly.

The thread of loneliness continues in “I Might Not Remember”, which might very well be the thinking gay man’s lonely bar anthem (as well as a not-so-subtle ad for Cuervo Gold). Here Rickard espouses all of the one-night-stands who have melted into forgotten memory, imbuing the tale with subtle shades of ambivalence and regret.

During the mid-section of the album things start to sound a little over-produced, and the very cohesiveness of the sound runs the risk of repetition, but Rickard still manages to give each song a distinctive slant, mostly due to his delivery and vocal diversity. He even gets into the dance groove with the ripe-and-ready-for-remixing cut “Natural”. At first it sounds slightly out of place on this rather organic album, but soon it makes sense.

“Natural” is the proclamation and unabashed shout of pride that we’ve been waiting for, ending with the simply-but-powerfully-put line, “It’s only natural that I would fall in love with a guy like you.” It sets the stage for the album’s pinnacle and centerpiece, “Who I Am.” A quest for self-improvement and ultimately self-acceptance and salvation, it is a direct confrontation with his faith and beliefs. The musical battle-cry builds and builds before climaxing with driving guitars and gospel abandon, perfectly matching the intensity of the lyrics (which happen to contain one of the funnier lines of the entire album, “I’m schizophrenic/ And so am I.”)

Following the confessional of “Who I Am”, Rickard offers a closing ballad of poignant beauty ~ a love letter and prayer to God. Lest anyone fear a return to religion, this cut is more about one man’s spiritual journey and search for meaning, while humbly acknowledging that greater powers are at work. “Let me live as if to say/ Love is all that lasts,” he sings ~ a final stance of defiance, yet sung gently and peacefully, demanding the right to love with the grace and voice of an angel.

The album deals with bigger issues like love and loss by taking the mundane and transforming it into the miraculous. Scenes and tales of everyday life are conjured and conveyed, the deeper meanings of which are there for the thoughtful listener. Rickard has created and composed some riveting and rapturous work here. Stirred Not Shaken, with its glorious melodies and insightful lyrics, will leave you moved and mesmerized, courtesy of one man’s exhilarating musical journey.

Available at www.cdbaby.com, www.towerrecords.com and www.towerrecords.co.uk.

 Alan Bennett Ilagan is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Instinct, xy magazine, Q Northeast, the Windy City Times, and various on-line publications. A collection of his work can be found at www.alanilagan.com. Currently he divides his time between Boston and his home in upstate NY, where he lives with his partner Andy.