I feel like Ricky Warwick is one of those names that’s guaranteed to separate the true hard rockers from the false. You know, the bunch who scour Discogs for hours on end in search of private press ’90s CDs from the “AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Black Album era Metallica, repeat” crowd that keeps iHeartRadio alive in the year 2025. If you just so happen to fall into the latter camp, allow me to initiate you. For nearly 40 years, Warwick has drifted around as a sort of hard rock troubadour, first establishing himself with cult rockers, The Almighty. From there, he’d fill the hallowed shoes of Phil Lynott in the live iteration of Thin Lizzy, while also writing, recording, and touring with their sister band, Black Star Riders.
Through it all, Warwick has maintained a humble solo career, putting out efforts when he can and touring the globe behind them, both electrically and acoustically. Considering Thin Lizzy, and by extension Black Star Riders, have been inactive for the better part of half a decade plus, this has given Warwick more than enough time to focus his creative energies on his solo venture…and also get The Almighty back together, but it remains to be seen if that’ll result in new music. On his latest album, Blood Ties, Warwick gives us a glimpse into his crazed past, vital present, and unpredictable future, wrapped up into 10 songs that embody the genius of the Irish journeyman.
There are no shortage of Thin Lizzy tinged moments throughout Blood Ties, which makes sense considering Warwick’s lineage. The most blatant of these forays is “The Crickets Stayed in Clovis”, which between its glorious twin guitars, picturesque lyricism, and streetwise attitude, sounds lifted straight off Jailbreak, and I mean that in the best way possible. Others that conjure the spirit of Philo include the uber-melodic “Don’t Sell Your Soul to Fall in Love”, rough and tumble “Dead and Gone”, and overtly nostalgic “Crocodile Tears”, the latter of which sounds tailormade for Friday night drinking.
Whereas most band utilizing the Thin Lizzy formula these days do so in a metallic manner, Warwick largely channels the band’s power pop side, which isn’t highlighted enough. This emphasis on infectious hooks and retro atmosphere are rampant throughout all of Blood Ties, but especially on cuts like the closing “The Town That Didn’t Stare” or “Don’t Leave Me in the Dark”, the latter featuring Lita Ford providing one half of an impassioned duet (Ozzy, who?). There is the occasional side-quest, like the hefty Almighty-esque “Wasting Your Life Away”, or pedestrian active rock of “Angels of Desolation” and “Rise and Grind” (two songs that do nothing for me), but for the most part, Warwick keeps it simple and straightforward.
As the old saying goes, blood is thicker than water, and Blood Ties is sicker than the drivel polluting hard rock airwaves today. Lying somewhere at the crossroads of clenched-fist hard rock, sugar-coated power pop, and “Dylan with balls” singer-songwriter introspection through a Marshall stack is Ricky Warwick: An Almighty drifter if there ever was one, armed with only a guitar, pen, voice, and soul. Surely, if we were to sit Lynott’s closest disciples down at one table, Warwick would be amongst the 12.
7 out of 10
Label: Earache Records
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: Thin Lizzy, The Almighty, The Wildhearts
Ricky has a great ear for fitting lyrics into a song that does them justice. Your review captured this record with a few exceptions. I disagree about Rise And Grind–Ricky is often at his best when he lets a little influence come in from the shadows–and Charlies’ guitar work seems to bring the whole song to a harder place. Personal opinion, so no biggie. Your comment “Dylan with Balls” is confusing to me…Ricky obvious has been telling it like it is for decades, but if you want to compare balls–a quick study of Dylans’ career will show you that Dyan is all balls. Big Balls. In your face Balls. Ricky might agree that Dylan’s balls have no equal in this business.
“Dylan with balls” is a terminology I coined to describe artists like Ian Hunter, amongst others, who took Dylan-esque lyricism and paired them with hard rock riffs and musicality, something Dylan himself never did. Warwick is another excellent example of this ethos.
I get what you’re saying–even literally i guess where hendrix rocked up actual dylan lyics. you gotta give Bob credit tho–this was an absolute beast in 1965.