Rick Shaffer – Sleeping Dog
Rick Shaffer – Sleeping Dog – Album Review
New year, same Rick!
That’s not to say you won’t find something different within the lineup of songs on Sleeping Dog, that’s more of a comment on a man that’s a testament to consistency. Shaffer’s the pinnacle of authenticity & what it means to be true to yourself, and he’s been that way for longer than we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know him through his music & the interviews he’s taken part in on our pages. Rick came out as the real deal from day one we suspect, and he’s continued to own his sound for every day thereafter.
For what it’s worth, I get it! I listen to the way “Short Straw” has that wildly electrifying, raw grind to its guitars, and I’m instantly interested in hearing what else he’s got in the lineup of Sleeping Dog. Dude does Rock the right way, and the energy is as enticing as it is entertaining. If you’ve ever been the type of person inclined to pick up a guitar and plug it in to make some serious noise and rock the fuck on out, believe me, you’ll understand what I’m talking about as you listen to “Short Straw.” It should basically send you musicians running right back to your amplifiers in your garage, crankin’ up that distortion and finding the pocket of groove you just wanna live inside of…that’s the feeling I get when I listen to “Short Straw.” It’s got that kind of sound that inherently makes you wanna rock along with it, and that’s a priceless gift ain’t it? This is what I’ve been tellin’ ya from the get-go here…Rick’s such a born rocker that the vibe transmits through his music effortlessly – your ears know the real deal when they hear it. Killer sound in this opening cut, smart hooks in the riffs, solid vocals…everything in its right place, 100%.
The music the man makes is generally classified as Garage/Blues-Rock, and I feel like it’s fairly safe to say you can somewhat recognize which of those traits are the dominant aspect, even though he’s definitely a hybrid artist in that regard. Like, “Short Straw” for instance…you’d probably notice the Garage Rock vibe more-so than anything else. On “Last Refuge” up next in the set-list, you’d likely feel like Blues Rock was guiding this tune more, you follow me? It’s an Alt-Blues of course, but there’s really no mistaking the fundamentals of its structure or what you’ll find at the core of its sound. What’s actually impressive to me, is that I like what I hear on “Last Refuge,” and I’d usually swear up & down that I’m not much of a fan of the Blues or Blues Rock when it comes right down to it. Rick’s got the advantage of authenticity if you ask me…he FEELS these moments where he’s making music, and because of that, we do too. I ain’t made of stone y’all…as I’ve said hundreds of times on these pages of ours, the more YOU there is in YOUR music, the better chance there will always be that WE love it – Rick’s a perfect example of how that’s the truth. He can get me to dig on Blues Rock without hesitation, because there’s a remarkable degree of purity and authenticity in what he creates…I can feel the JOY he gets from making music, and I’m completely sure that I’m not alone in that. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that every one of his loyal fans out there gets that feeling out of his music and finds it every bit as enticing & exciting as I do. “Last Refuge” has that rhythm & groove to it that’s familiar with its back & forth movement, but it’s also wildly irresistible too if you ask me…the tones in the instrumentation are second to none, straight up.
I find one of the most interesting things about the way he writes his music is how quickly everything snaps together. Like, you know how half of the artists and bands you listen to have some kind of long, extended intro that eventually builds into the song you’re actually listening to? Yeah…there’s none of that with Rick’s music – this dude creates tracks that are essentially fully formed from the moment you start listening to’em. From what I understand, it’s “Bogalusa” that’s being floated around out there on the internet…you can actually get yourself a download of that track for free by visiting his main website. It’s a solid choice. Ultimately I suppose you could argue there’s a bit more of a tangible melody at the core of this tune, and a fairly universal one at that…so sure, I’m all for this cut being the gateway in for the people out there. I dig the beat, the short guitar solos as well, and I like the way that Rick sings it too. It’s inviting, and even though the Rock is a bit more subdued and subtle on this track, you can still hear the electricity flowin’ right through “Bogalusa.” Like I’ve been tellin’ ya, the man wears his style.
You know what you’re getting with Shaffer’s music, and I’d assume that’ll always be the case. “Here Now” is a solid representation of what his tunes tend to sound like, even though I suppose it’d be just as fair to say they all do based on what I’ve been saying so far. What I dig about this particular track is that “Here Now” has me appreciating the subtlety in what he creates more-so than a few of the others do by comparison. You know what I mean? It’s not always about the BIG moves we make with our music so much as it can be about the tinier fractions of songs that stack up BIGGER than they might ever appear to do at first. Like, when I listen to Rick shift his way outta the verses on “Here Now” and into the chorus of this tune for the first time around the 1:15 mark, every time I hear it, I’m like THAT is THE moment y’all. And I guess what I’m saying is that he’s not exactly moving mountains when it comes to what the song sounds like from part to part, but that subtle & sly transition he makes, is outright irresistible if you ask me, and leads “Here Now” to contain one of the most addictive moments in any cut you’ll find on Sleeping Dog. There’s real craft in the way he slides right into this spot and takes us by surprise as he does it…we’re practically right in the middle of it by the time we realize how brilliant this part of the song is and recognize how much gravity it has in its hook. There’s real weight in this moment and I personally couldn’t get enough of it. I’ll admit, I was a little on the fence about “Here Now” at first and wasn’t quite sure that the verses were gonna quite have enough for me, but listening to the way that they worked with the chorus and how essential each part was to the other…it’s all seriously clever.
When you come across an artist with the consistency in sound that Rick Shaffer has, it can often be the little details that matter most and make the largest impact in what changes from track to track. As I listened to “Please Stay,” I felt like Rick deserved a real shout-out for the expressive performance he puts into his vocals on this track. I ain’t gonna stretch this out and say this was my favorite song of the bunch…I don’t really think that was the case – but his performance is right up there with the best of the best for sure. It has its moments for sure – all his songs do in my opinion. I really like what he’s got goin’ on with his guitars around the 1:50 mark, and felt like that carried on strong for about a minute straight. I also liked the transition into the chorus again, though I wouldn’t go as far as to say I was nearly as attached to that spot as I was with “Here Now” beforehand. Y’all know me…I don’t really ever need to love each and every song to be into something, and the majority of the time I don’t even think my personal opinion ever matters, even though I’m technically a critic. To me what’s always going to matter most is that I hear YOU giving everything you’ve got to every moment of your music, and I feel like that’s where Rick will never let you down, ever. “Please Stay” has him locked right into the magic, and my ears appreciate the way that he owns this performance. Ultimately, I think it takes a track like “Please Stay” & allows it to potentially punch above its weight in terms of its overall appeal to listeners.
When you’ve got your thing, whatever that thing may be, and you know what you wanna do with it & it makes you happy – there ain’t no shame in riding that wave as far as it’ll take ya. It’s pretty easy to hear that Rick largely works within a framework, a certain set of ingredients, and a vibe that he’s comfortable rockin’ in – and if that’s the way he wants things to be, there’s no real advice any critic can have for that aside from ‘keep going.’ No one out there needs to make any changes just to make the masses happier, nor would I personally recommend they do. You do what YOU wanna do & what makes life worth livin’ y’all…anything else is savagely pointless. No one’s been telling the Rolling Stones they gotta switch it up, you feel me? They do what they do, and they do it ‘cause they love it, and you love them for doin’ exactly that – seems like a pretty solid way to go about things if you ask me. Rick’s very much playin’ the “Same Game” in that regard…at least as far as I can tell. For those listening intently, they’ll hear enough variation – for those listening part time, sure, maybe a whole lot of the catalog sounds similar. I’m sure Rick knows how to separate valid criticism from comments coming from casual listeners…and in either event, I don’t think much would ever affect him on an artistic level. Rick’s gonna be Rick – you worry about being you. “Same Game” is a good tune – that’s coming from a fan of Shaffer’s sound mind you. I dig what this guy does and I’m always happy to hear him serve that recipe of his up in a variety of ways.
“See It Burn” was one of those rare instances where I felt like he could have gotten a bit more out of the song than perhaps he did. When it comes to the music itself – it’s deadly, and I love it. When it comes to the lyrics, I’d tell ya that he’s got some of the best material that you’ll find on the record in this tune. When it comes to the verses, I’m pretty cool with those too as far as their design and vocal melody are concerned…it’s the chorus that I felt drifted a bit wide of the mark in the way Shaffer sings it. Tone-wise he’s still on, but to match up with where the melody in the music is taking him like he does so expertly with the verses…I dunno…it needed a bit more flexibility than what we hear, especially when it comes to the lines with the title “See It Burn” involved. Could be my opinion, could be something we all feel the same way about…I feel like Rick starts heading into a bit of trouble right in that second line of the chorus and it seems tough to steer the ship back on course from there. That being said, I’ve always claimed that a single moment or individual part of a song can square the whole shebang with listeners, and I think it’s only fair to point out that he’s got such killer stuff happening in the music and the verses of “See It Burn” that it could very well be enough to clinch a victory here, regardless of what people would feel about the chorus. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly ain’t turning it off over here – in fact, I’d go as far as to say that what you’ll find in the first minute of this tune is again right up there with the best you’ll find from Rick in terms of his performance on the microphone…the first verses are freakin’ sensational.
Sometimes you dial in even closer in terms of something specific that grabs your attention or makes listening to a song worthwhile. Like, for myself personally, the sound of the snare alone on “Road To Ruin” is pretty much worth the price of admission. For real, I love that very precise & particular sound. In terms of the structure here, for me, the main strengths of “Road To Ruin” felt like they were revealed best in the transition outta the hooks and back into the verses, or the instrumentation mid-tune. You get some of the best tinges of Psychedelic sound from Shaffer’s music in this cut…nothing too dominant, but clever accents to the music that give it the right bend in its vibe. I might not love the opening guitar hook, but I would certainly acknowledge the fact that it IS a hook…in fact, beyond any of Rick’s words, you might actually find yourself singing along with that guitar part more than anything else. I felt like he’s got some seriously kickass stuff in the instrumental mid-section of “Road To Ruin” that was outright irresistible…somewhere around the 1:50 mark for about forty seconds or so as he heads towards the finale, that’s right around where I felt like we get a glimpse of what the real highlights of this song are. Would I have taken a bit more of that? Heck yeah I would have! But that’s not really what Rick does. He keeps tight to that three to three & a half-minute area…no pretentious BS or overly gratuitous solos.
Don’t know that I’d have kept “Tolling Bell” in the lineup, but that ain’t my decision to make. I feel like I get where Rick is coming from in the sense that it sounds like it’d be a ton of fun to jam on and play this tune…but I’m not as convinced this cut didn’t need a minute or two longer in the ol’ incubation stage. With all that slidin’ around and searing tones, you can tell it’s a riot to let loose on this tune and you can feel that organic nature of Rock that Rick loves to dig on flow freely throughout this track…but yeah…I’m still not quite as sure whether or not there’s enough here to warrant its place within this set-list. If I’m being completely truthful, I think it’s probably tough for him to outdo his last record for my own taste – I think he did a stellar job with Tightrope Ride in 2022 and somewhat raised the stakes & standards for his albums with that effort. So now it comes down to more miniscule examples of what could potentially be a bit better or make more of an impact I guess. Again, don’t get me wrong, as a fan of the way that Rick makes music & the sound he’s rockin’ with, I’m always gonna have no problem sitting and listening to a track like “Tolling Bell,” but I can also see this could be the track to make a few folks restless too.
“Round And Round” gives Sleeping Dog an ending with true grit to it…I was pretty stoked about how this final cut came out. Big thumpin’ drums, kickass psych-infused guitar riffs, and a stellar performance from Rick on the mic to finish his new album off…y’ain’t gonna find me complaining about this last track. All-in-all, like I was alluding to from the very start of this review, it might be a New Year, but it’s the same Rick Shaffer you know & love…and if you’re a fan of what you’ve heard from the man in the past, there is literally zero reason as to why you wouldn’t dig on what he’s put into this record’s lineup of songs. The man does what he does really damn well – “round and round and round we go” as we cycle through a new lineup of songs with him. You know what you’ll get from Shaffer in the music he makes every time – but you gotta hand it to the man for being more consistent than most will ever be in one lifetime, and delivering exactly what you’re looking for as a fan. Always good to hear him thriving and continuing to do what he loves…make no mistake, this Sleeping Dog’s got a lot of fight left in him still.
Find out more about Rick Shaffer from his label at Tarock Music here: https://tarockmusic.com
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