Ricardo Williams has just released a quartet of albums (+ EP) and each one seems inspired by motivational posters at a 12-Step AA meeting. Affirmations abound, perhaps to a degree which renders them partially impotent. The titles will tell you almost everything you need to know about this music:
- Crazy About Values
- Growing Safe
- Go Green
- Building My Habits
- Knowing My Fears
Thing is, I don't know what Ricardo's target demographic is. He's got two albums named "Bullying: No!" which I won't bother listening to and hope I'm correct in assuming they're directed to teens. Then again he exhorts his listener to "recycle yourself" in "Recicle" (sp) from the Go Green album and that sounds like a morsel of advice intended to a universal audience. Then he turns around and counsels the grieving (teen?) on the sobering yet consoling "Death" (Knowing My Fears).
I'll go out on a limb and state that these albums are indeed primarily intended for young adults, although the arrangements are so sappy it's hard to imagine anyone under the age of 55 who wouldn't be embarrassed to admit he/she listens to this stuff.
But Williams has a pleasing voice, all the more endearing for his grasp of English, which is obviously not his native tongue. His lyrics betray this as well but far from being a distraction his grammatically/phonetically challenging writing and delivery are quite pleasing to the ears, although best experienced in small doses. It sounds like he's overdubbing his own voice for the harmony parts and these harmonies are probably the strongest, most enjoyable musical aspects of all these albums. There's a very sparse Latin feel to what I've heard although it's not so prevalent that you would dismiss everything about it because maybe you don't care for Latin music, right?
Anyway...yeah, Ricardo Williams is pushing positivity to the youth of the world, I'll admit it. Though adults may find a few chunks of self-help wisdom to chew on it becomes very obvious that Ricardo Williams is reaching out to touch the youth of the world. They definitely need to hear the messages he brings but I somehow believe these records will have the reverse effect...they really do make positive thinking seem the least "cool" thing in the world.
Buckle up, put your seatbelt on
Life is fun when your life goes on
Buckle up, put your seatbelt on
And make the difference between right and wrong"
"Bukle" (sic) (Ricardo Williams)
RICARDO WILLIAMS on Spotify
(Dude's got 24 albums out)
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