Andy Bell live with Ride in London. July 2017. (Alberto Pezzali / Live4ever)
Since their reformation in late 2014, Ride have been ubiquitous.
Firstly there was a tour in 2015 to reacquaint themselves with the songs and their audience. Then, in 2017, they released the wonderful Weather Diaries, an album which managed to update their atmospheric soundscapes with the songwriting skills Andy Bell had only improved during his time working with Noel Gallagher and Oasis.
There followed another tour, an EP and a remix album, both released earlier this year. Possibly saving the best for last, this show is one of a handful of special acoustic shows celebrating their 30th anniversary.
A cynical soul would say they are milking it, but it’s more accurate to say the Oxford quartet are making up for lost time. At first glance an acoustic set seems a brave move; so definitive and recognisable is their own unique wall of sound, would stripping away the bombast reveal the band’s strength to be in the noise they make rather than the songs they write?
Not a bit of it. In actual fact it has the opposite effect; these songs have stood the test of time. From the sense of melancholy on Howard Hughes to the brief blast of joy served up by Taste, each number perfectly reflects the tone of the night; intimate, reverential yet celebratory.
Last year’s Lannoy Point sets the tone with its intricate, almost flamenco guitar as Bell and Mark Gardener trade vocals with Steve Quaralt’s blunt, lesser-spotted acoustic bass holding things together. Weather Diaries (the song) throbs along in its hypnotic beauty while From Time To Time becomes a thing of wistful wonder.
The gig also highlights what a good guitarist Andy Bell is, and how strange it was that he was happy to be on bass duties during his time with Oasis. He clearly runs the show, and comparing his driving guitar on Lateral Alice to the dexterity he demonstrates on the aforementioned Weather Diaries flags up an unheralded talent.
He’s ably supported by his old friends: Mark Gardener is all smiles, toe-tapping whenever Bell takes lead vocals, and embracing with smiles when he’s called on to perform his day job as lead vocalist. When the band cover R.E.M.’s The One I Love to a rapturous reception, his glee at being Michael Stipe for a few seconds is matched only by the uncanniness of his impression. Quaralt and drummer Loz Colbert obviously have less to do than normal, but keep their percussion simple and effective.
At times the gig is almost ethereal. More so than many of the others, Drive Blind is a guitar-based song that shouldn’t work so well acoustically but does. It’s too early to ascertain newbie Shadows Beyond The Sun’s suitability to this environment, but it sits well alongside the behemoths surrounding it. In the encore, the sublime Vapour Trail is matched only by closing number Leave Them All Behind, wisely edited but losing none of its power. 18 songs pass by in the blink of an eye.
One of the reasons Beady Eye parted ways in late 2014 was due to Andy Bell’s desire to reform Ride. Gem Archer and Chris Sharrock re-joined big brother, while Jay Mehler became part of Liam’s touring entourage.
Ride are unlikely to be playing any huge shows, but creatively they are at their most rewarding and, after fifteen years in the shadow of the Gallaghers, Bell, together with his old friends, certainly isn’t coasting.
