Ricky Ross :
Metro 15th April 2002

'That,' announces Ricky Ross with some pride,'was the sound of a dog, a child and a phone falling through a door.' Disappointingly, it's not the beginning of a new avant-garde sampling direction for Ross, bur merely an echo of domestic uproar during a telephone interview to promote his album,'This Is The Life.'

 

'My kids have been putting on a dance routine with their cousins,' explains Ross, sounding simultaneously amazed and confused. 'Two songs by S Club 7, two by Green Day. Alternately.'

 

Like his children, the Deacon Blue singer has frequently been caught between pure pop and something more tougher, in his own case between the upbeat anthems of Deacon Blue and the heartfelt sounds of his own dark solo material (his own listening includes the darker sounds of both Sparklehorse and Lambchop).

 

'The album isn't Deacon Blue, it's not about keyboards and guitars, we just wanted to make a fine, acoustic record. I've put my voice higher in the mix too, because it really has to tell a story,' he says. His latest release has garnered Ross some of the best reviews of his career, but he's not about to go overboard about the critical reception.

 

'You want to dismiss the bad reviews, and be flattered by the good ones, but sometimes you can be cut up badly by them. With this album especially, I really wouldn't have known where to begin trying to please the critics,' says Ross. 'I'm just looking forward to getting out there, playing live, talking in between the songs and trying to get people to understand where the music is coming from.'

 

Without a dance routine from Mr. Ross, one should hope. Although. then again............Eddie Harrison.