The Rides - Pierced Arrow (Deluxe Edition) (2016) [Official Digital Download]

Separated in age by a musical generation but bonded by a mutual love of classic cars and the blues, two time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stephen Stills and five-time Grammy nominated singer, guitarist and songwriter Kenny Wayne Shepherd draw fire from their extraordinary collective histories–and join forces with famed Chicago rock/blues keyboardist Barry Goldberg–to blaze a fresh trail for the historical American art form in the 21st Century. Launching an exciting new chapter in each of their storied careers, the trio’s band THE RIDES—which Stills dubs “the blues band of my dreams,” built to last beyond the concept of a one time all-star gathering—is further powered by the explosive rhythm section of bassist Kevin McCormick and Shepherd’s longtime drummer Chris Layton (also a veteran of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble).

The trio laid the simmering groundwork for all this by calling their debut album Can’t Get Enough – because once they started writing, recording and jamming together, they couldn’t. Just before its release, Stills said, “As good as I think The RIDES are now, we can’t wait to get some live gigs under our belt.” Goldberg echoed, “As proud as we are of the album, fans are going to see something even more exciting from us when we start playing these songs live.” And they did. Those few wild months of touring – combined with hitting the Top 40 on the Billboard 200, and a nomination for Best Rock Blues Album at the 2014 Blues Music Awards – sealed the deal. They were in it for the long haul.

Perfectly summarizing THE RIDES continuing journey and what the making of the new album has meant to the trio, Goldberg says, “It’s so great to be back recording and playing live on this high level again with Stephen and Kenny Wayne, and we’re really excited about the music on Pierced Arrow. I love THE RIDES first album and we were all very happy with it, but this one is even better because it reflects how we’re evolving into a real band. The chemistry is just so good between the three of us. We all have so much respect for each other. When we recorded the first album, we knew it wasn’t just a one shot deal – but along the way, and through touring, we actually found out just how well we played together. Besides realizing how much fun and exciting it was, we were inspired by the opportunity to break new ground every time we got on stage, getting tighter all the time until we evolved from three veteran artists playing together into a real unified ensemble.”

„Supertrio the Rides Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg return May 6 with Pierced Arrow, their first release since their debut album Can t Get Enough tapped into Blues Rock Review s Top 20 Albums of 2013. Like Can t Get Enough, Pierced Arrow is a mixture of originals (like the Stills-penned single Virtual World ) and covers (like the jaunty My Babe, written by Willie Dixon), all played with the technical skill one expects of three seasoned musicians. The biggest takeaway from Pierced Arrow is its unity: while some songs show evidence of each artist s past projects (especially Virtual World, which is reminiscent of Stills work with Buffalo Springfield five decades ago), the album as a whole nods to the time the Rides spent touring, performing and writing together as a team.“ (Blues Rock Review)

Tracklist:
01. Kick Out Of It
02. Riva Diva
03. Virtual World
04. By My Side
05. Mr. Policeman
06. I've Got To Use My Imagination
07. Game On
08. I Need Your Lovin'
09. There Was A Place
10. My Babe
11. Same Old Dog (Bonus Track)
12. Born In Chicago (Bonus Track)
13. Take Out Some Insurance (Bonus Track)

Personnel:
Stephen Stills, guitar, vocals
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, guitar, vocals
Barry Goldberg, keyboards