Rick Springfield

The Snake King

A curve-ball record laced with acoustic twang and chestvibrating beats. Little Demon’s Wild West acoustics are thrown against an onslaught of Rival Sons-esque riffage, swooping into a squealing guitar solo; Voodoo House is the crowd pleaser with its singalong outro and

unshakable groove; the title track is reminiscent of Back Door Man –‘I’m coming for you, babe/ Gonna find my way back in.’

Lyrically The Snake King is a mixed bag, flitting between tongue-in-cheek and extremely poignant; Suicide Manifesto displays graphic cynicism (‘It’s another black dog morning, I can’t take many more’), whereas Santa Is An Anagram is a rock n’roll depiction of Hell (‘Ghandi’s in the corner, beating up a flower child.’) The soliloquies of Blues For The Disillusioned and Orpheus In The Underworld have melancholy and melody in equal measure.

Springfield’s blues-rock digression strikes a great balance within the genre and doesn’t dent his credentials as an excellent guitarist and an insightful lyricist.