The first time I heard of Mitch Ryder was at a Bob Seger show back in the early seventies. For a while they had been on the Detroit scene together and Seger credited Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels for a track that he played. That sent me off to learn what I could about them (no internet back then) and he soon showed up as Detroit’s best kept secret. Ryder has been a regular on the German scene for a long while and this album features Ryder with an all-German band, playing shows all around Germany in 2019 & 2020 – obviously before Covid struck.
The album is a stunning example of rock in the Detroit manner. Fast paced, strong riffs, all out commitment. Blue collar rock at its best. Ryder has a stunning band behind him with twin guitars handled by Gisbert “Pitti“ Piatkowski and Heiner Witte, Manne Pokrandt: bass, Tobias Ridder: drums, Wolfram “Boddi“ Bodag: piano, org, keys, harmonica and Rene Decker: keys, sax, harmonica Ryders vocals are remarkable for a 75 year old, full of passion and clarity. You can hear the years in his voice but you can also hear the experience.
The tracks cover a number of Ryder originals plus some notable covers. Dylan’s ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ is superb with a fine harmonica solo from Boddi Bodag and a great guitar solo (very much in a Chuck Berry groove), Jagger & Richards ‘Heart Of Stone’ has a real ‘bar-band’ feel to it and Jimmy Cliff’s ‘Many Rivers To Cross’ is done straight, utterly soulful with no attempt to ‘reggae it up’. The Doors ‘Soul Kitchen’ is a stunning set closer.
It’s an album that bears listening to a lot more than once. There are depths here and some superb music. It’s a lovely reminder of just how bloody good Mitch Ryder was back then but also shows that he still has it.
