Review from TIJUANA BIBLES

Once Were Ryders

Tom Stevens
Points Revisited

What it is: the former Long Ryder was busy before and after that band,
as shown here with this album combining early demos (with Chris
Cacavas et al) and later solo efforts previously impossible to get
including one of which was cassette-only.  Given the patchwork
provenance the material hangs together with a surprising unity.
What's it like: positively Melbourne, in the sense of the Jo
Camillen/Sports/Paul Kelly axis who mine that Graham Parker/Elvis
Costello sound.  Standouts in this rhythm 'n' pop fray are two
violin-driven laments, "17 Ways" and "The Ballad of Bobby & Betty."
Only one Long Ryders song appears--the psychedelic dirge "Years Long
Ago," the home demo here being so close to the State of Our Union
version as to make one wonder if he's trying to make some sort of
obscure statement.  At any rate, Ryders fans looking for another hit
of their old garage-y sound could well find greater satisfaction here
than in the more refined work Stephen McCarthy was doing in Gutterball
or Sid in The Coal Porters.

Roger Westcombe

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