The Byson Family "Riches" guitar cover

I was completely gutted when I learnt that Phil Campbell was leaving The Temperance Movement after the band's magnificent "A Deeper Cut".

I think the guy's one of today's finest rock voices, plus he has an insane talent for songwriting and I was going to miss his input in the band.

So, when it came to my knowledge that Phil was recording with a homegrown, Glasgow- based, band called The Byson Family, I kept a weather eye on the horizon.

The Byson Family's debut "Kick The Traces" turned out to be nothing short of a wonderful album, filled with killer tunes firmly based on a wonderful, solidly tasteful songwriting and arrangement foundation, creating as a result a gorgeous bunch of songs that, to my ears, bridged seamlessly Glasgow's sweet pop tradition (think of Teenage Fanclub here) with some sweet southern rock accents, so at times you'd think that Tom Petty did leave some unrecorded songs behind and the guys just found them.

An unlikely mix to some, "Kick The Traces" got me really hooked for some months straight, and still come back to it quite often for my fix of sweet nice tunes like "I Wish You No Ill", "If You See The Emptiness", "Lean In And Love Me", "Hope And Pray", "Angel Of The Reckless" (that wind section!!) or the magnificent opener "Riches".

In all fairness I could write down the whole tracklist here, as even the songs that were thrown in for good measure in a special edition's second CD the following year are worth mentioning ("Echoes In The Dust", "Bluer Things", "Trouble Was The Road"...). I reviewed the album some months ago so I won't extend more on this.

Anyway, last week I was giving the nth spin to the album (as you do) and I decided I wanted to try and learn at least one of the album's songs.
I decided to give the opener "Riches" a go, and see what'd happen.

So here it is, for you, the fine "Riches", a wee tune out of a wonderfully crafted album that should be among any music lover's collection.

As always, I hope you enjoy it lads and lasses, and will forgive any random fuckup!

Peace out!