RICHIE SYRETT – GOOD MORNING MIDNIGHT

2012 – Self Released
4.5****
If you like Neil Young or Ryan Adams in more reflective mood with a little Tim Buckley I can pretty well guarantee you will love this sparsely instrumented excellent album of what is probably best categorized as alt. country. His vocals are hugely confident as they should be, with his ability to take a song where many would fear to tread. He has that rare ability to ‘inhabit’ a song, bringing out every little nuance. His vocal range is excellent but there is more than just range. There is a character and an edginess that only the very best in the alt. country field possess.
The only other musical credit I’ve been able to glean is for Paul O’ Sullivan who plays bass guitar, so the assumption has to be that the few other instruments played such as guitars, including
steel, harmonica and piano are by Richie himself. He also wrote all of the songs and recorded the album at home with the assistance of co-producer Elizabeth Heaton. Despite this, the recording quality is good and because of the slightly echoing haunted feel throughout, the album doesn’t sound like it was recorded on next to no budget. Certainly a tribute to the few people involved!
The consistently excellent songs cover many of the usual subjects in and around relationships but often with a slightly different slant. Despite this quality I suspect that many will buy this and
future albums because of his hypnotic vocals as much as the song quality. The album opens with Wax on the Melt, an exquisitely haunting song about trying to respond to a disapproving lover, that sets the scene with it’s sparseness, almost having the feel of early 1970s band ‘America’ on A horse with no name. Sway has a lovely chiming guitar and echoing harmonica intro on a sad mournful song, with a nice acoustic guitar and string backing, about someone being two timed but still
hooked, followed by American Mud a really good story about life on the road, eventually winding up in San Francisco! Even his expressive vocals go up a notch on Sat on my Hands, with it’s lovely haunting harmonica and melodic guitar sound on a sad tale of someone who despite an affair being over can’t summon the nerve to drive the final nail in the coffin, a song that really does include some
extraordinary vocals, almost as if he is living the story. Not all of the songs have quite this power but this is an album that includes no filler, each song having tremendous merit and contributing to the feel of the recording.
Mainly due to the haunting, expressive vocals, but also abetted by the sparse instrumentation that allows that voice free rein, there is considerable originality in Richie’s sound. Instead of
spending a fortune on so called stars the big record companies should be nurturing and helping talent such as this to develop their music. If this is the quality produced on a shoestring, what could be achieved on a reasonable budget could be incredible, although conversely, this tremendous album wouldn’t necessarily have been improved by more money, such is it’s quality. It is a terrific album of sparse reflective alt. country and much more, that gets better with each listen.
www.richiesyrett.com
4.5****
If you like Neil Young or Ryan Adams in more reflective mood with a little Tim Buckley I can pretty well guarantee you will love this sparsely instrumented excellent album of what is probably best categorized as alt. country. His vocals are hugely confident as they should be, with his ability to take a song where many would fear to tread. He has that rare ability to ‘inhabit’ a song, bringing out every little nuance. His vocal range is excellent but there is more than just range. There is a character and an edginess that only the very best in the alt. country field possess.
The only other musical credit I’ve been able to glean is for Paul O’ Sullivan who plays bass guitar, so the assumption has to be that the few other instruments played such as guitars, including
steel, harmonica and piano are by Richie himself. He also wrote all of the songs and recorded the album at home with the assistance of co-producer Elizabeth Heaton. Despite this, the recording quality is good and because of the slightly echoing haunted feel throughout, the album doesn’t sound like it was recorded on next to no budget. Certainly a tribute to the few people involved!
The consistently excellent songs cover many of the usual subjects in and around relationships but often with a slightly different slant. Despite this quality I suspect that many will buy this and
future albums because of his hypnotic vocals as much as the song quality. The album opens with Wax on the Melt, an exquisitely haunting song about trying to respond to a disapproving lover, that sets the scene with it’s sparseness, almost having the feel of early 1970s band ‘America’ on A horse with no name. Sway has a lovely chiming guitar and echoing harmonica intro on a sad mournful song, with a nice acoustic guitar and string backing, about someone being two timed but still
hooked, followed by American Mud a really good story about life on the road, eventually winding up in San Francisco! Even his expressive vocals go up a notch on Sat on my Hands, with it’s lovely haunting harmonica and melodic guitar sound on a sad tale of someone who despite an affair being over can’t summon the nerve to drive the final nail in the coffin, a song that really does include some
extraordinary vocals, almost as if he is living the story. Not all of the songs have quite this power but this is an album that includes no filler, each song having tremendous merit and contributing to the feel of the recording.
Mainly due to the haunting, expressive vocals, but also abetted by the sparse instrumentation that allows that voice free rein, there is considerable originality in Richie’s sound. Instead of
spending a fortune on so called stars the big record companies should be nurturing and helping talent such as this to develop their music. If this is the quality produced on a shoestring, what could be achieved on a reasonable budget could be incredible, although conversely, this tremendous album wouldn’t necessarily have been improved by more money, such is it’s quality. It is a terrific album of sparse reflective alt. country and much more, that gets better with each listen.
www.richiesyrett.com