Album Review: Will Richards

Will Richards- ‘Ready to Talk Now’ (self-released)

Will Richards wrote, produced, mixed and played most of the instruments on ‘Ready To Talk Now’ which I suppose could be considered an achievement in itself. His vocals are a bit like Jeff Buckley and stylistic comparisons can be made to the likes of Richard Ashcroft and Ed Harcourt.

There’s no doubt Will Richards is a musically talented individual- he produced and mixed ‘Ready To Talk Now’ as well as playing most of the instruments, which I suppose could be considered an achievement in itself.

His vocals are a bit like Jeff Buckley and comparisons can be made to the likes of Richard Ashcroft and Ed Harcourt. The album is very well produced, and the level of instrumental performance is of a high standard. Where things fall down for me is with the actual songs themselves. Richards has a good voice but his lyrics are often less than inspired. ‘Can’t help admitting you’re tired of praying to Jesus/And this sales pitch no longer leaves you with a self-righteous high’ he sings on ‘Good as Gold.

As well as religion, Richards sings about his dreams, relationships and money, All his songs pass by pleasantly enough but the problem with ‘Ready to Talk Now’ is that there’s nothing that really excites the imagination. Unfortunately for Richards, no amount of slick production or flashy musicianship can compensate for the fact his songs are pretty average. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some interesting moments, but ultimately its all just too well-polished and innocuous. Maybe he should spend less time multi-tasking in the studio and more time on his songs.

Check out Will Richards on myspace