There are very few stones left unturned as Rick Shea packs an awful lot into his latest album. The twelve tracks that form LOVE & DESPERATION circumnavigate a multitude of musical styles to despatch a comprehensive package sure to interact well with listeners switched onto a diverse sound within a prescriptive template. That template mixes a little light blues with a touch of country stirred by short forays to the Tex-Mex border. What you are presented with is a distinguished and comprehensive album that steers lovers of acutely curated Americana music down a lavish path.
Shea pivots from his California roots to absorb the impressions created of familiar people, places and locations Like a lot of multi-facetted albums, this one requires a fair few plays to fully grasp its mantle, but rest assured each spin will reveal a little bit more of a polished nugget. Twelve albums into an experienced and accomplished recording career, Rick Shea knows how to curate a record that creates a mutual bond of artistic intent and listener appetite.
Each song planted on the album has a pulse of its own creating a separate niche in a collective mix of self & co-written tunes alongside a re-work, a cover and an instrumental. Just a snapshot of what to expect on this album includes a highly desirable melody attached to the lyrics of Kim Ringer in 'She Sang of the Earth' complete with fiddle in a Townes Van Zandt folk-country style, and a straight up country two step number in 'Big Rain is Comin' Mama' supplemented with pedal steel and accordion. Twin openers 'Blues Stop Knockin' at My Door' and 'Blues at Midnight' do what it says on the tin with the former being the sole cover, while personal commentary takes hold in the dual pairing of the subtly positive 'The World's Gone Crazy' and the tongue-in-cheek 'Nashville Blues'.
Enhancing the connection with Townes Van Zandt, '(Down at the Bar at) Gypsy Sally's' makes a direct reference to a bar named in 'Tecumseh Valley', although a jazzy ending spins the tune in an alternative direction. Title track 'Love and Desperation' has the feel of a Townes song in name and proceeds to be one of the more self-reflective tracks on the album. Continuing the theme of love, a late night passive feel accompanies the pedal steel tinted 'A Tender Hearted Love'.
For a trip down to the border, Shea throws the odd bi-lingual line into 'Juanita (Why are You So Mean)' and 'Texas Lawyer'. Both tunes are awash with accordion to add a flavour of the location. On the topic of tunes, the sole instrumental 'Mystic Canyon' graces the final throes of this near-fifty minute album and proves a therapeutic piece aptly named after a favourite hiking beauty spot.
Throughout LOVE & DESPERATION, Rick Shea holds court and presents what is largely a cosy, reliable and warmly re-assuring record. A hardish coating protects a mellower centre and when allowed space to breathe the album reveals plenty of alluring facets to decipher and enjoy without rewriting any scripts or breaking barriers.
