Ricky Lee Robinson Secret Love Tricks CD

Fortunately for those who dare to venture into one-man band’s land, the days of the backbreaking metal death trap and harmonica headgear are over. The inventions of the loop pedal and the Octaver have not only made things considerably less clunky, but have also opened up an array of new musical possibilities for the solo ensemble.Oakland-based Ricky Lee Robinson is a member of that new generation of one-man bands, and he’s damn proud of it. Robinson’s live instrumental repertoire usually consists of a three-piece modified drum set, with kick, hihat and snare, and an overdriven acoustic guitar. His third album, Secret Love Tricks, embraces the all-around joys of the recording studio by incorporating his beloved Wurlitzer 200 keyboard into the mix, often left in the shadows at concerts.Robinson’s songs boast gritty similarity to the lo-fi growl made famous by The White Stripes, except he doesn’t need a soft-spoken Meg to keep the beat. His acoustic guitar softens the occasionally coarse rhythms, and his steady tenor dips in and out of John Lennon’s nasally whine and Paul McCartney’s candy-coated croon. The first track, “Black Diamond Mines,” showcases Robinson’s wicked ability to multitask, even with the technology of the mixer at his disposal. As the album progresses, Robinson alternates between driving bluesy jams and catchy but sensitive ballads. Among those jams is “Hostess Extraordinaire,” with its punchy, syncopated chorus, and “Ideas and Notions,” which layers the vocals to simulate an echoing choir of little Ricky Lees. Of the ballads, “Darling if He Drops You” stands out as a falsetto-tinted homage to a sock-hop slow song.If a talent like Robinson is pioneering the soloist revival, then the one-man band just might become the new three-piece. -West Coast Performer Magazine