Rick Redbeard // No Selfish Heart
Phantom Band vocalist goes solo to great effect.
Chemikal Underground, Released 28th January 2013
Before joining The Phantom Band, Rick “Redbeard” Anthony had experienced the hell of acoustic singer-songwriter/folk open mic sessions. Many of the songs on this, his first solo, album date from that period.
The Phantom Band, like many, owe a debt to The Beta Band and are probably the best of the current crop, with an individual twist on the Betas’ “folktronica”. This album places the emphasis on the “folk” rather than the “tronica”. Rick’s rich voice varies from a not-quite baritone to a nearly falsetto and manages at various times to evoke both Neil Young and Leonard Cohen, whilst the songwriting evokes both and adds Tom Waites and Scottish trad/folk to the mix.
Highlights? The album opens with “Clocks”, Rick singing over a drone from a Shruti box. The lyrics of “Any Way I Can” relate the tale of a destructive relationship over a some gentle guitar and may be the most “pop” song on this album. “Kelvin Grove” is an old folk song, given a twist by Rick’s performance. “Cold As Clay” is in the murder ballad tradition mined so successfully by Nick Cave.
All in all, a great album by a great singer-songwriter.
9/10 Pavlis
