Rick Redbeard – Awake Unto
Album number two is halfway between the debut and the Phantoms: a fine place to be
In some ways, Rick Redbeard’s second solo album is a neat bridge between his debut and his more fleshed-out work with The Phantom Band. No Selfish Heart was stark and elegant, a world away from the often rollicking output of the Phantoms. Awake Unto, on the other hand, ventures boldly into folk-rock territory more than once: neither of the full-blooded Golden Age and In My Wake would seem out of place on Strange Friend, while the 50s-tinged The Night is All Ours strays further still from the beaten path.
But it’s when Redbeard’s clear-as-a-bell voice is allowed to resonate boldly through the reverb and the subtle strings that this record finds its finest moments. Unfound, the Field Years and Yuki Onna are a haunting, ethereal trio, while the gothic What Fine People is one of the finest in his canon. The plaintive air of the debut remains, but is elevated by the occasional harmony and wheeze of reed.