Comments for Ride, Tarantula

OK, so we all know it's Rides last album. They started off with the incendiary Nowhere, followed that with the slightly disappointing Going Blank Again and then made the record which killed them off, the beautiful Carnival of Light. After that albums protracted recording period, Andy Bell (guitars/voals) decided to go for a raw, live approach, and here it is, Tarantula. Recorded with little overdubbing, using mostly first and second takes, it is not so much produced as recorded (indeed no producing credits are listed, just engineers), and it heralds back to the days when Ride were the next big thing circa Nowhere. Except now they can all play very well, and it's a little more refined. It kicks off with my main contender for single of the year in 1996, Black Nite Crash. It is not vintage Ride in many ways, apart from the fact it's loud, and has more guitars on it than virtually any other group can manage. There are a couple of slightly drawn out tracks here, but with the touching acoustic Castle on the Hill followed by the total Nowhere-ish of Gonna Be Alright, who can argue with what is the perfect way to end a career? Ride may have gone, but this album will be a lasting tribute to their unrecognised importance to British music in the 90s.

This is a good album in its own right, the end product of Andy's push back towards the 60's sound, and it is much better than anything by,say, Ocean Colour Scene. There are plenty of enjoyable rock-outs with a raw sound and lots of organs. However, it is sad for a fan of the early Ride sound to listen to this as the guitar barrage, Mark's vocals and the exciting chaos of the songs have evaporated. I can understand why Mark left after this.

What a way to exit! The final Ride album has it's hits and misses, but the hits are incredible. Twenty years from now, this album may well be regarded as an ignored pop masterpiece. Mainly the product of Andy Bell's writing, Tarantula successfully conjures the best of 60s Britpop and succeeds where its predecessor, Carnival of Light failed. Walk On Water is the closest things to the Byrds since the Byrds. An amazing, yet simple love song. Dead Man is a showcase for Bell and drummer Loz Colbert, with those two doing their best Townshend and Moon impersonation. Black Nite Crash stands out as the obvious single, designed to give Ride one last entry into the charts. Tarantula is a blistering swan song, and I highly recommend the album. The hits outnumber the misses, and are definitely worth the cost of purchase. Farewell guys, we've enjoyed the Ride.

This album was the perfect way for the Ride to come to an end. Although I find some of the less popular songs on the album to be the best - Ride The Wind, Deep inside my pocket, Burnin' - The others have their own place. A brilliant album. I can't wait for the hurricane.....

There''s an old adige. A change is as good as a holiday. Applying this phrase to the album Taranatula finds Ride booking in to a half built hotel with piss on the floor and flies in the soup. They should have stayed at home. But they were still the greatest.

This is the last ride album before they broke up. I read somewhere that sire released it, kept making the CD for a week and then deleted it. i got my copy at a used CD store. the album isn`t all that great there`s about 4 tracks that i really like and the rest reminds me too much of "carnival of light" the only ride album i don`t own. in my opinion (don`t burn me if you disagree) ride stopped being really good after "going blank again". "carnival of light" and "tarantula" just don`t stand up to the quality of the other albums.Anyway, the standout tracks are "dead man", "black nite crash" (first single), and "the dawn patrol". you see glimpses of older ride material (black nite crash could have been a smile song, and dead man sounds a little bit like some of the going blank again material).. oh well unfortunately, a disapointing ending to one of my favorite bands ever.lot