Here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today, we’ve been listening to the latest single from Roger Ricks. What A Place was released on March 10th, 2023. This is the second single we’ve reviewed of Roger – the previous being ‘Lost’, a superb 80s/90s hair metal rock song which we described as “anthemic rock at its finest.” Unsurprisingly, this made us excited to hear this latest release.
What A Place is a call-to-action song urging listeners to make the world a better place for future generations. With lyrics from Emme Pierre, all proceeds from this single will be donated to kids in need, making a tangible difference in the lives of those who need it most. Aside from the fact that this is a superb track, we would urge listeners to get involved.
What A Place starts with an 80s rock feeling drum fill before launching into a full-on rock song. Reminding us again of Motley Crue or Poison, this track also has a definite early Def Leppard feel, with the chorus of layered vocals and an anthemic rock feel.
There are some very cool chromatic guitar riffs used as incidentals as well as some gorgeous harmony guitars. The song has a great rise and fall and makes superb use of stops to create and release tension. There is always something happening for the listener to be utterly engaged with. The use of different sections in this track gives a thoroughly exciting listen all the way through.
Vocally, in places, we heard moments of Bryan Adams. The breakdown with vocals, toms, and swirling guitars has moments of Aerosmith and the second breakdown with huge bass sounds and panned instrumentation has some great delays on the vocals.
Ricks has superb power and control in his voice, and the long notes in particular, display an effortless skill to belt out with the best of them! The guitar solo here as well is of particular note, with fantastic note choices and fast licks, perfectly suited for this style of rock.
Ideas from our ears
To our ears, a little more punch and brightness, particularly in the drums, could be achieved with a couple of single-band compressors, one at 80Hz and below and the other at 7kHz and above, both with around 5-7dB of make-up gain. As always, these are just some ideas from our ears.
Final Thoughts
Roger Ricks is creating consistently impressive nostalgic rock music, all in the name of charity. This latest single, What A Place, is a thoroughly engaging and exciting rock song with guitar riffs and drum fills to satisfy your 80s rock cravings!
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