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May 2017 - p.34
Ron Sexsmith’s status as one of the greatest
songwriters of his generation has never been in
doubt, even from the moment he released his
self-titled major-label debut album in 1995. His
career arc since then has in some ways been a
study in how that pure ability has been handled
in the studio. On his 12 albums, Sexsmith has
worked with some of music’s most celebrated
producers—Daniel Lanois, Mitchell Froom,
Tchad Blake, Ray Kennedy, Martin Terefe, Bob
Rock and Jim Scott. With all of that experience,
it would stand to reason that Sexsmith has
learned a thing or two over the years about how
to make a record.
That thought indeed struck him as the
Toronto-based Sexsmith prepared to make his
thirteenth solo album, The Last Rider, where for
the first time he, in tandem with his longtime
collaborator Don Kerr, has taken matters into
his own hands as a producer. For fans, that fact
alone should heighten the listening experience
in terms of getting to hear Sexsmith’s complete
musical vision for the first time. However, it’s not
much of a surprise that, as an artist whose
music never fails to draw out raw emotions,
Sexsmith the producer has made The Last
Rider perhaps the most intimate and welcoming
album in his catalogue.
Over the course of its 15 tracks—most clocking
in at about the three-minute mark—The Last
Rider is by turns romantic, bittersweet, uplifting
and humourous, as might be expected. But
what is most striking is how naturally the songs
flow together, and how at ease Sexsmith
sounds, accompanied by his trusted touring
band who know his creative process perhaps
better than anyone.
Working primarily at The Bathouse, The
Tragically Hip’s studio near Kingston, Ontario,
sessions for The Last Rider were a marked
change in approach from Sexsmith’s previous
album, 2015’s Carousel One, which was laid
down in less than a week in L.A. with a host of
the city’s top session stars. While that was not
an unfamiliar setting for Sexsmith, and one he
admittedly thrives in, it’s not the kind of pressure
any artist should be under every time they go
into the studio. For The Last Rider, then, it felt
right to stay closer to home, and as a result,
Sexsmith believes it’s one of his most personal
albums.
“I didn’t plan on it being that way, but as we were
assembling the songs, this theme did start to
emerge about leaving the city, which my wife
and I are going to be doing soon, and other big
life changes.” Sexsmith adds, “The album title
stems from these thoughts I’d had going into it
that this actually might be my last album for a
while, just because of how frustrating the music
business can be these days. But the way
everything played out, it felt a lot more free, so
I guess we’ll see what happens.”
Like one of his main inspirations, Ray Davies,
Sexsmith is a rare songwriter able to extract
profound meaning from even the most mun-
dane aspects of urban life. But always, hope
springs eternal. That’s evident from the outset
of The Last Rider with “It Won’t Last For Long,”
a song that couldn’t be a more appropriate balm
for the scars left by 2016. The same can be said
of “Dreams Are Bigger,” should particularly
appeal to Sexsmith’s Twitter followers familiar
with his love of clever wordplay.
RON
SEXSMITH
Canadian singer/songwriter and legend...
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