Written: 8th March 2025
Over the course of almost forty years, one of the hardest working and nicest guys in rock, Ricky Warwick has built a great reputation through his music with different bands as well as his solo outings. His first solo album - Tattoos and Alibis - is now more than twenty years old and he shows absolutely no sign of slowing down. No stranger to heartfelt lyrics and personal statements, Blood Ties finds Warwick in a life-affirming mood. “I mined a deep seam to make this record, it’s in the darkest, most uncharted of places where the real energy is to be found.” Ricky notes. “There comes a time in everyone’s life when the game is afoot, and the decision is taken to face down and exorcise personal demons.”
Opening track, Angels of Desolation, is a fast-paced upbeat rocker that immediately gets the pulse racing. Warwick knows how to write a catchy hook and there are a plethora throughout the length of Blood Ties. Angels of Desolation is the perfect introduction to an album that is amongst the most rocking of his solo offerings. Rise and Grind – which opens with an infectious bassline – is an altogether grittier track. Featuring Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke, it is crammed with crunching guitar riffs, some soaring guitar and a ballsy attitude. While Warwick’s voice always retains his love of melody, he adopts a slightly bluesier approach here.
First single from the album Don’t Leave Me In The Dark is a duet with the legendary Lita Ford. Ricky comments, “This was the first song written for the album and details the intricacies of love and the battles we fight to stay in it. When I wrote the lyrics, I knew right away the song needed to be performed as a duet. Lita instantly sprang to mind.” The interplay between Warwick and Ford works wonderfully and their voices naturally compliment each other. When you’re too tired to fight / You don’t care whose side you’re on / And you’ve given everything / But you still end up alone / Yeah! / It’s like a knife in the back / And a dagger through your heart / I left you in the light / Don’t leave me in the dark. Ford was honoured to be asked to join Ricky on the track. “When I got the call to record a duet with Ricky Warwick my first thought was about the legacy that this man carries. Ricky’s image and voice is as dark and mysterious as his black leather and black Les Paul, but at the same time, a super cool and mega-talented artist.” While lyrically simpler and more straightforwardly melodic than much of the album, it is well positioned after the first two tracks and adds a different dimension to Blood Ties.
Fourth track The Crickets Stayed in Clovis gives instant Thin Lizzy vibes from its first moments, a deliberate move from Warwick who “unashamedly fired up the harmony guitars on this one.” Using the metaphor of the ill-fated plane journey that claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper, Warwick describes life as games of chance. “Sometimes it’s better to play the long game and not be envious of others, as you never know what tomorrow brings.” Any fan of Thin Lizzy is going to love this track and due to his time with the band, it is easy to allow Ricky this indulgence. Pacy and a track that sticks in the mind after the first listen, The Crickets Stayed in Clovis will go down well in the live arena and is also a good one to play loud in the car. Continuing the variety on the album, Don’t Sell Your Soul To Fall In Love is initially a more relaxed soft rocker, tinges of the Eagles coming through during the introduction and the verses. The choruses and excellent guitar solo raise the tension once again.
A four song run of faster paced tracks restores the tempo that dipped a little on Don’t Sell Your Soul To Fall In Love. Dead And Gone (complete with a humorous spoken word opening), The Hell of Me and You – which features The Cult’s Billy Duffy – Crocodile Tears and Wishing Your Life Away are all hook laden tracks that evoke the listener's smile. Warwick sounds like he is having a great time on the album and the optimism that he wanted to inject throughout Blood Ties is obvious. “The situation finally seemed right to deal with these and try to express my feelings, fears and anxieties in as uplifting a way as possible, turning negativity into positivity. To do that I had to make sure the guitars were turned up way beyond driven.” With the exception of bonus track Not My Circus (one of the best tracks here, bringing Just Add Life era The Almighty to mind), The Town That Didn’t Stare bookends the album, revisiting the infectious pace of Angels of Desolation.
With Blood Ties, Ricky Warwick has produced another excellent collection of songs. He is never going to produce the most musically complex album you are likely to hear but in terms of pure entertainment, hooks galore and his perpetually spirited enthusiasm for music, there are few better. As you might expect, it feels like an amalgamation of the styles from the different bands Warwick has been part of over the years: the confident strut of Thin Lizzy, the defiant vibe of The Almighty and the engaging melodic allure of Black Star Riders. More electric than acoustic based than some of his solo albums, Blood Ties shows that Ricky Warwick has lost none of his edge and his voice sounds as good as it ever has. A perfect album for the arrival of sunnier weather; crank up the volume and enjoy.
Blood Ties is released on 14th March 2025.
Ricky Warwick online
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