The Rides - Pierced Arrow

by Kevin Wierzbicki

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A true super group, the Rides are Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg, a founding member of the Electric Flag. The album starts with a couple of rockers, "Kick Out of It" which is sung by Stills and "Riva Diva," sung by Shepherd and prominently featuring piano work from keys man Goldberg. The record's first single is the mellow and somewhat melancholy "Virtual World," which sounds very much like something that could have been on a Crosby, Stills and Nash record. Stills takes the mike again on "Mr. Policeman," a boogie-ing rocker where Stephen sings out all the thoughts that go through a driver's mind when a cop car falls in behind, including concerns about the bag under the seat. "I've Got to Use My Imagination" is a soulful blues cut that will sound familiar to fans of artists like Robert Cray while "Game On" is a Delta blues likely inspired by Muddy Waters. Album highlight "There Was a Place" finds Stills singing to a slow blues melody that's reminiscent of his work on his first solo album. With two stellar guitarists at work here there are of course hot licks galore throughout, but Stills and Shepherd don't have anything to prove and they don't indulge in any wild guitar duels. Very much a band effort, Pierced Arrow will be pleasing to fans of all three individual players and the fans they continue to accumulate as the Rides with this sophomore release.