RICH HOPE
I’M ALL YOURS
PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE RECORDING AND NOVELTY, INC.
IT COME ALIVE–GOLDEN CLOUDS–CREEPSTONE–LA IGUANA–BLOW AWAY–5 CENTS A DANCE–SOME KIND OF LOVE–PARANOIA BLUES–RUNNIN SHOES–HEARTBREAKER
Rich Hope hails from Vancouver, BC, and the scuttle from up there is that it was virtually a rite of passage to catch a Rich Hope live show. His fourth album, and first since 2009, has just been released, “I’m All Yours,” for the Planned Obsolescence Recording And Novelty, Inc., label. This album is full of the hi-octane rock-and-soul-infused heat that his live outings are noted for and that have made him a Vancouver fixture for some twenty years.
Fans, Rich has got it all, in spades, with his multi-faceted influences. He’s part Stones, part Ramones, part Miami Steve, and even part R. L. Burnside, just for kicks! All of those influences are on display on a cut that served as one of our favorites, as Rich urges us to “meet me in the bottom,” for the rockin’ midnight creep of “Runnin’ Shoes!” You gotta love that Farfisa-ish organ from Matt Kelly, too. “Creepstone” channels more classic garage rock, this one set over a Doomsday groove, with a sweet nod to Sixties’ psychedelia. “La Iguana” has a Howlin-Wolf-meets-Sid-Vicious vibe, as our hero comes to grips with “A little girl half my age!” He gets his Stones shine on with “5 Cents A Dance,” and goes on back down to the Mississippi Hill Country for the drone of “Paranoia Blues.”
Our other favorite was another shot of Dylan-inspired, horn-fueled rock and roll, full of the spirit and punch that defined a generation, always “keepin’ one eye on the villain,” “Blow Away.”
In all my 62 years on this Earth, I have come to realize that rock and roll has got to be fun, more than anything else. With Rich Hope and “I’m All Yours,” the fun is, indeed all ours, fans! Until next time…Don and Sheryl Crow, The National Blues Society.
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