Indie-Music.com - Mike Rickard ~ Stirred Not Shaken

Reviews: Mike Rickard ~ Stirred Not Shaken
Posted on Saturday, July 09, 2005 @ 08:53:22 EST
Topic: Reviews

Artist: Mike Rickard

CD: Stirred Not Shaken

Home: Atlanta, Georgia

Style: Rock/Pop

Quote: "Every track seduced me. I could write a full review on each one."

By Jennifer Layton

I rarely get CDs this good. So good that I have to wonder why in the world the artist needs Indie-Music.com. These songs should already be on the radio. Mike Rickard should have been mentioned somewhere in Rolling Stone by now and should be trying to decide what to wear to the Grammys while freaking out over the fact that he has to change his cell phone number because someone hacked into Paris Hilton’s address book again. And reminding himself to return Rufus Wainwright’s phone call. And trying to remember seventeen different acceptance speeches in case he wins all seventeen of those Grammys he's been nominated for.

That’s where he should be. And he will be. That voice is a stunner. Rickard wisely kicks off the CD with a song that lets his voice command full and immediate attention. “Lucky” begins with a far-off, echoed electronic sound as the only instrumentation, allowing the lyric “It’s not how I planned it, it’s not how I dreamed” to burst with full yearning force from the speakers. The song is perfectly crafted, with that electronic sound pulsing all the way through while the full band energy rises up around it. This is a catchy, rolling tempo with pop hooks. I got reeled right in. To top it off, the lyrics carry a positive message to help the song soar even higher. The refrain is simply “When I imagine what could have been, I feel lucky.”

Each song has character. Lush production, unabashed honesty, and in a few cases, a good old-fashioned clever twist. Case in point: “Home For the Holidays” is a bluesy song about actually being home for the holidays. His home. By himself. The warmth of the music keeps the song from wallowing in misery, so instead of getting depressed, I simply connect and flow with it. He mentions a few holidays, but he’s smart to start off with Valentine’s Day. Just about everyone has been there. (I can top him, though. Try being single and waiting tables in a nice restaurant on Valentine’s Day. If you were one of the happy couples whose food I spat on before serving, I am truly, truly sorry.)

Wonderful lyrics kept leaping out at me. In the piano-driven ballad “Forgot to Forget,” he’s watching an old movie, “the one that used to make me laugh because it made you cry.” And he can crank the temp right up to steamy when he’s in the mood. From “Everything You Need”:

When you seek the arms of pleasure
I know what to do
I’ll be your rhythm baby
When you just can’t shake the blues ...

Every track seduced me. I could write a full review on each one. I definitely hear Rickard’s George Michael influence in “Do You Know,” which sounds like a homage to Michael’s “Kissing a Fool.” I also loved the hypnotic unfolding of the story of two lonely strangers meeting in a bar in “I Might Not Remember.” I feel the animal attraction in the dance beat of “Natural.” I feel like I’m standing in the middle of every song.

The last two tracks deserve special attention. I’m always impressed by artists who can sing spiritual songs without preaching. In “Who I Am” and “As If To Say,” Rickard pours his soul out without the melodrama. He’s intense and passionate. And while the latter track is a deep, honest prayer set to music, it’s beautifully humble. He’s not preaching, he’s reaching. Whether his songs are secular or spiritual, Rickard is always stretching up on his tiptoes, trying to see the truth just over that mountain of worries and fears and insecurities.

I love this album so much, I’ll buy a copy for one of our readers this month. Send me an email at jennifer@indie-music.com and ask for it, and I’ll pick one of the emails at random and have a copy sent to you from CDBaby.

Yeah, he’s that good. I just hope he remembers this review when he gets famous. I want him to introduce me to Rufus Wainwright.