T-Ride were a supremely talented and under estimated trio from the Bay Area of San Francisco who released their one and only album during 1992, though who had been in existence for many years prior.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: T-Ride
ALBUM: T-Ride
LABEL: Hollywood
SERIAL: HR-60993-2
YEAR: 1992
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Dan Arlie – vocals, bass * Jeff Tyson – guitars, vocals * Eric Valentine – drums, vocals
TRACK LISTING: 01 Zombies From Hell * 02 Backdoor Romeo * 03 Ride * 04 You And Your Friend * 05 I Hunger * 06 Luxury Cruiser * 07 Hit Squad * 08 Bad Girls And Angels * 09 Bone Down * 10 Fire It Up * 11 Heroes And Villains
Background
T-Ride were a supremely talented and under estimated trio from the Bay Area of San Francisco who released their one and only album during 1992, though who had been in existence for many years prior.
For a trio, these guys surely pack a punch: technically adept, resourcefully different, with a flair for the dramatic. Guitarist Jeff Tyson is a bit of a guitar prodigy, having being taught by guitar guru Joe Satriani, while Valentine is the bands producer, the band themselves thumbing their nose at established producers to work on the material for the debut album.
For three guys, they can all surely sing and harmonise. It’s no secret that Queen and Van Halen have been a big influence on these boys: the bombastic vocal arrangements are second to none. T-Ride’s cut and thrust musical approach featuring some mad-dash histrionics from Tyson. There is a funky element to their music too, not unlike Extreme from their debut.
The Songs
We get a movie soundtrack like intro to ‘Zombies From Hell’, a strange title yes, but varied, interesting, and definitely cool. It ends up being like a hi-octane cross of Shotgun Messiah meeting Extreme at the entrance to the Underworld (literally).
‘Backdoor Romeo’ apart from the dubious sounding title is a bit of melodic rock theater, all sorts going on within this track. ‘Ride’ is a short and sweet power-blast, followed by the strange and quirky ‘You And Your Friend’. We’re back on target with the electric razzle of ‘I Hunger’, still very funky sounding mind you, despite the nimble fingerwork of Mr Tyson.
Not sure what the inspiration was behind ‘Luxury Liner’, it stomps along for the most part, with the occasional lead guitar breakout. The insane rap on ‘Hit Squad’ is straight out of the ‘alley’, while Mr Van Halen gets a sonic mention on the impressive instrumental ‘Bone Down’.
In Summary
Obviously there’s some tongue and cheek humor in T-Ride’s songs, and it’s definitely not as weak as ersatz Queen clones Lost City (Scotti Bros) who released an album around the same time. Unfortunately due to the changing musical landscape (ie: Nirvana), T-Ride the album was not picked up by the mainstream public, despite its off the wall appeal. Unsure what the band are doing, perhaps someone can drop us a line.
T-Ride on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
