Album of the Day

By the time of Ride's fourth studio album, primary songwriters Andy Bell and Mark Gardener were barely speaking, and the quartet's break-up was announced shortly before TARANTULA arrived in stores in March of 1996. Needless to say, the album got little promotion and quickly vanished – which is a shame, as it includes some fine music (even if these riff-driven songs are closer in spirit to the Brit-pop of the day than the shoegaze of the band's first recordings). Bell carries most of the weight here, as writer and lead vocalist on 9 of the 12 originals, among them such highlights as “Black Nite Crash” and “Dead Man.” The Expanded Edition of TARANTULA includes a trio of B-sides as bonus tracks, and we'll give the set another spin today in honor of Andy Bell's birthday.