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| The Legendary Mitch Ryder |
Back in the fall of 1980, when Detroit rocker Bob Seger was riding high on the charts and packin’ ‘em into the stadiums with his Against the Wind album, he sold out every show during an unheard-of nine-night stand in the Motor City. For these triumphant homecoming shows, Seger hand-picked Detroit rock ‘n’ soul legend Mitch Ryder as his opener, a gracious act that jump-started Ryder’s second shot at the brass ring.
Born William Levise, Jr. in Hamtramck, a city within the city limits of Detroit, Ryder got his start singing as a teen with a local soul band named the Peps before forming his own Billy Lee and the Rivieras. Discovered in 1965 by producer Bob Crewe, the band was re-named Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, and they would go on to score a string of early hits like “Jenny Take A Ride,” “C.C. Rider,” and “Devil with A Blue Dress On.” When the hits dried up, Ryder made the sojourn to Memphis to record the amazing The Detroit/Memphis Experiment with Booker T and the M.G.’s in 1969.
Mitch Ryder’s Detroit Ain’t Dead Yet (The Promise)
Flash forward almost 30 years and, much like the gardens that are starting to crop up in the abandoned lots around the urban wasteland formerly known as Detroit, Mitch Ryder is still punching away at success. He never really went anywhere you know…Ryder remained somewhat of a star in Europe, and he has continued to record and release albums to the present day. In the closing days of 2009, he teamed with producer Don Was – another Motor City talent – to record Detroit Ain’t Dead Yet (The Promise) in L.A. with a top notch batch of musicians. Working with a set of largely original songs, Ryder has delivered a spirited performance that equals his mid-1980s creative peak.
Ryder’s calling card has always been his uncanny ability to blend blues, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll into a single artistic entity, and it’s no different on Detroit Ain’t Dead Yet (The Promise). Ryder’s whiskey-soaked vocals still ooze with blue-eyed soul better than anybody ever has; nowhere is this more evident than on the album-opening track, the semi-autobiographical “Back Then.” Ryder’s vox slip-n-slide across a funky soundtrack with characteristic swagger, growling when necessary and hitting the high notes when appropriate as the band lays down a vicious groove.
And so it goes…the Southern-fried soul of “My Heart Belongs To Me” benefits from some Steve Cropper-styled geetar pickin’, a lively rhythmic backdrop, and Ryder’s passionate vocals. The intelligent, sometimes shocking “Junkie Love” is a frank discussion of addiction that benefits from 1970s-styled rolling funk-n-soul instrumentation, lively vocals, and Randy Jacobs’ squealing fretwork. A beautiful cover of the great Jimmy Ruffin soul gem “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” was recorded live and showcases Ryder’s emotion-tugging vocal abilities while “The Way We Were” is a haunting, topical tale of society’s decline that rocks as hard as it rolls.
The Reverend’s Bottom Line
Detroit Ain’t Dead Yet (The Promise) isn’t an exploitative cash-grab taking advantage of some over-the-hill, broken-and-broke-ass rocker. No, this is the one-and-only Mitch Ryder, still kicking ass and taking names at age 65, delivering a monster set of songs that combine the artist’s 1960s rock ‘n’ soul roots with his edgy 1980s solo work. With a sympathetic producer in Don Was, who worked with Ryder in the 1990s with his own Motor City band Was (Not Was), Ryder is able to make a late-career statement that stands tall alongside anything he’s ever done. Detroit ain’t dead yet, and neither is Mitch Ryder… (Freeworld Records/Floating World Records, 2009)
Review originally published by Blurt magazine, 2009…
