It’s retro Friday and what a wonderful, upbeat way to start your day. Here’s the classic ‘I Want You Bad’ from music legends The Long Ryders. This single, a cover of the NRBQ original, is from The Long Ryder’s 1987 album ‘Two-fisted Tales’. It’s full of jangling guitars, soaring melody, propelling rhythm and the sort of dynamism and energy that is infectious listening and viewing. Though the album’s delayed release was tricky and subsequent sales not what had been hoped for, we can still reflect back on this as such an absorbing album – some of their finest work – from a hugely influential band.
Winners of the Americana Music Association UK’s ‘International Trailblazer Award’, The Long Ryders are indeed trailblazers and continue to rock their audiences – they’ve been touring the UK and Europe throughout 2023 and there’s more shows to come in the UK and Ireland in the autumn. The band have just released ‘September November’ in March 2023, their first new record in four years. The band’s Sid Griffin says new album is, “…two thirds the distilled alt-country genre we helped found back in the 1980s, one third Paisley Underground adventurism yet seasoned with a dash of our own crazed soulfulness thrown in.” That’s a fine summary of a fine album and a it’s must-listen if you haven’t already checked it out. Enjoy.
