The press release for this album lists 12 tracks. So you can imagine how thoroughly confused I was when I popped the CD into my computer and it read that there were actually 24 on the disc. Turns out that what we got here folks is a case of conceptual experimentation. There are actually only 12 songs. The thing is, Richie thought it might be interesting to create an album that is essentially a mirror image of itself. The last 12 tracks on the disc are actually just the first 12 played backwards. This sounds annoying – and if you consider the audacity pulling a stunt like this, it kind of is – but these inverse reflections of Richie’s original recordings work surprisingly well on their own. The inverse version of ‘Roast’ for example begins in a frantic haze of acoustic and electric guitar strumming only to subside peacefully into some of Richie’s gently wailing backwards gibberish. In other words, the musicality isn’t lost in the distortion of the effect, and it’s interesting to see how a track modified in such a simple way can mean two different things. Richie’s country-folk rock also isn’t for most folks, and borrowing the old school metal/psychedelic rock gimmick of playing records backwards gives his music a more ominous and edgier tone. Follin gets points for creativity. That counts for something, however the country-esque overtones are still a little much to bear at times. Richie James Follin’s ‘battle’ is over whether he thinks he’s a rocker or a country singer. I don’t know if he’s either.
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