Trick Pony R.I.D.E. CD

Trick Pony: Heidi Newfield Johnson (vocals, harmonica); Keith Burns (acoustic guitar); Ira Dean (bass instrument).
Personnel: Richard Bennett (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Keith Burns , Jimmy Panda, Billy Hullet, Michael Spiggs, Michael Spriggs, Larry Baird, Ira Dean (acoustic guitar); Pat Buchanan (electric guitar, dobro); John Willis (electric guitar, banjo); Chris Leuzinger, John Jorgenson, Johnny Hiland, Troy Lancaster, J.T. Corenflos, Bobby Terry (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar, lap steel guitar); Mike Johnson (steel guitar); Anthony Smith (banjo); Larry Franklin, Joe Spivey, Audrey Haney (fiddle); Heidi Newfield (harmonica); Gordon Mote (piano, organ, Wurlitzer organ, keyboards); Jim "Moose" Brown (piano, organ, keyboards); Steve Nathan (organ); Chris McHugh, Greg Morrow, Owen Hale, Tommy Hardin, Milton Sledge, Shannon Forrest (drums).
Additional personnel: Darius Rucker (vocals).
Audio Mixers: Bob Campbell-Smith; Ed Seay; Brian Tankersley.
Photographer: Jim Shea.
Trick Pony was doing rough and rowdy long before Gretchen Wilson came along and flew the flag for redneck women, but their third album (and first for Curb), R.I.D.E., proves that the trio sounds rougher and rowdier than Wilson. Trick Pony are a quintessential Southern bar band, nominally country but just as comfortable with rock & roll and blues. They'll also throw a little pop in the mix -- as in "When I Fall," a bid for a crossover hit -- but they're better off when they relax and kick out music that's the ideal soundtrack for a weekend. Heidi Newfield has a sexy, throaty growl that adds grit even to the slower songs and she's complimented by Keith Burns' clean swagger, and the combination of two lead vocalists helps give R.I.D.E. a welcome sense of variety. Sometimes, the trio can get a little silly and sometimes their material leans a little bit too close to the generic, but for the most part this is a lean, mean redneck country-rock album, one that promises and delivers a damn good time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
R.I.D.E., the title of Trick Pony's third album, stands for "Rebellious Individuals Delivering Entertainment." Of course, in 2000's Nashville, rebelling could often mean playing straight-up old-school country while not taking oneself too seriously, two pursuits at which Trick Pony excels. A slice of good-time barroom country rock, R.I.D.E. manages to sound staunchly traditional while never sticking too close to a formula. Primary lead vocalist Heidi Newfield comes off like a bawdy mix of Tanya Tucker, Loretta Lynn, and Mae West, delivering the pure honky-tonk of "Ain't Wastin' Good Whiskey On You" and the tears-in-your-beer emotion of "When I Fall" with equal panache. It's guitarist Keith Burns, however, who delivers the record's most accessible song with "Sad City," which features a guest vocal from Hootie & The Blowfish's Darius Rucker. A mix of sawdust, sweat, and jumbotron-ready party spirit, this R.I.D.E. is guaranteed to be a wild one.