Released: August 5
Ricky Ross returns with a second album of short stories expertly condensed into three-minute songs.
Fresh off the road with Deacon Blue as the band made good on a series of rescheduled tour dates interrupted by the pandemic, the singer-songwriter this month unveils his latest solo collection, composed over the past two years between work on the group’s ‘City of Love’ (2020) and ‘Riding on the Tide of Love’ (2021) releases.
The album serves as the follow-up and sequel to his 2016 solo outing ‘Short Stories’, which boasted new compositions alongside reworks of hits and fan-favourites from his four-decade career.
The project was recorded at the star’s home in Glasgow, Scotland, then augmented with sumptuous strings and brass, alongside contributions from his fellow Deacon Blue cohorts Lorraine McIntosh and Gregor Philp
It’s true that Ricky’s solo albums have always been a little more experimental than the band’s biggest hits, such as Dignity, Real Gone Kid and I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, and in this regard, ‘Short Stories Vol. 2’ doesn’t disappoint.
Clocking in at over five minutes long, lead track Spanish Shoes is a rousing, piano-driven number musing the end of lockdown and the small pleasures that come with the freedom we so often take for granted.
Elsewhere on the album, standout tracks include a stripped-back version of Deacon Blue’s 1991 Top 30 hit, Your Swaying Arms (originally from the album ‘Fellow Hoodlums’); the reflective I Was The Beatles; and the somehow melancholy-yet-uplifting new song, The Foundations.
Although not as hooky as fans of the band may expect, ‘Short Stories Vol. 2’ is an album to be listened to with fresh ears, free of all preconceptions, and a collection that exists outside of the realms of Deacon Blue and firmly within Ricky’s solo scape – after all, his work away from the group is now almost as extensive as that with the band.
Sticking with the narrative theme, the album is released one day after Ricky’s memoir ‘Walking Back Home’, in which revisits his formative years growing up in Dundee, his early forays into music and the beginning, extraordinary success, fall-out, and re-emergence of Deacon Blue. The musician writes movingly about the people and places that have meant the most to him, as well as his relationship with faith, politics, and the ever-changing challenges of being a musician.
Together, the album and book are must-haves for fans who will undoubtedly be thrilled with the fruits of Ricky’s recent productivity. So while his latest offering may not be the most commercial of his career, with decades of hits under his belt he’s more than earned the right to steer his own ship and indulge in projects that fulfil his creative instincts and satisfy him personally and artistically.
Short Stories Vol. 2’ is available now.
