Up until now Ron Sexsmith has been nothing more than an interesting proposition; for one reason or another his music has never quite managed to make its way onto my CD player. On the evidence of his sixth album ‘Retriever’, it’s an oversight that has very much been my loss.
Unashamedly old fashioned and unfashionable, ‘Retriever’ is a superlative collection of classic song-writing. There’s no question that this will get regular airplay on Radio 2: but don’t deny yourself access to music this good just because Bob Harris or Johnnie Walker might champion it; that’s just prejudicial foolhardiness. Besides, Ron’s melancholic vocals and bitter-sweet lyrics prevent any possible accusations of middle-aged M.O.R.
‘I’m a bit run down, but I’m OK’ are the first words that Ron opines on the country-tinged opener ‘Hard Bargain’. They capture perfectly the process of reconciliation that he undertakes over the course of the album, both with himself and with the wider world. When you suspect he’s about to slip into depression, he nearly always manages to seek out redemption or resolution: ‘How's a guy supposed to fail / With someone like you around / I've tried and tried to no avail / You just can't seem to let me down’.
The voice is world-weary – like a heart-broken Paul Young,or better still, a younger Johnny Cash – and its style carries over into the sentiment of many of the songs, but his delivery is never laboured. His melodies are simply too delightful and no matter how bad things may be, the chance of salvation is often within reach. Take the piano and strings ballad ‘Tomorrow In Her Eyes’ where Ron sings: ‘And time shall hold no sad surprise / More hellos than goodbyes / So I don't need my fortune told / I know because I've seen tomorrow in her eyes’.
Or how about the musical exaltation of ‘Not About To Lose’ where he finds from within himself the necessary strength to carry on : ‘If I were to listen to the sound / Of that little voice, I might turn back now / But I won't be taking fear's advice / Not after all I've sacrificed’.
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In addition to seeking out balance in his own life, Ron takes a look beyond himself. The up-lifting soul-pop backdrop of ‘From Now On’ and ‘Wishing Wells’ can’t disguise his critical eye: ‘They're in the business of panic and control / We're in the business of the heart and of the soul’ he sings on the former. On the latter – a song that suggests what XTC might have sounded like if they’d come from the West Coast - his frustration finally spills over: ‘Tell me when, when will the truth prevail / To clear away all the smug and smirking juveniles / And save us from all the blood thirsty thugs…. I've half a mind to hang the next fool to wish me well’.
After such velvet-coated scorn, it’s testament to Ron’s self-awareness and musical control that he can effortlessly change the mood with the sublime soul ballad ‘Whatever It Takes'. The song plays like something from the Al Green songbook: it is that good.
‘Dandelion Wine’ is the one blind spot: the song’s arrangement clumsy, the lyrics syrupy and the pacing pedestrian. All is quickly forgiven with the Kinksian ‘Happiness’ and the touch of Paul McCartney greeting Coldplay on ‘How On Earth’. The album ends with the beautiful but brief simplicity of the soulful ‘I Know It Well’.
Don’t be like me and wait for another six albums before discovering the talent of Ron Sexsmith.
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