CD and Recording Reviews
Rick Fines Solar Powered
“Just try not to smile when Rick Fines is on the stereo. A gorgeous picker with a down-home voice and attitude, even Fines’ blues can lift your spirits. Recorded at his “little cabin in the woods” on, as the title suggests, solar powered systems, the material sounds sun-infused…the most interesting song in the collection is a “co-write” with the late Carol Shields, Mrs. Turner is a Sight, an adaptation of Shields’ short story Mrs. Turner Cutting the Grass, a simple but evocative moment in time.” 3 ½ Stars
Norm Provencher, The Ottawa Citizen Saturday Aug 19 2006
“…just Fines' parlour-sized flat-top guitar, its strings exquisitely picked and eloquently bent in the style of the great American country blues artists (Mississippi John Hurt, Doc Watson, Elizabeth Cotton, et al) from whom Fines learned this craft, and his gentle, throaty voice… In the peace and isolation in which it was created, Solar Powered is enhanced by several wonderful performances, the most worthy of which are an eerily world-weary reading of Gordon Lightfoot's "Ribbon of Darkness" and "Mrs. Turner is a Sight," 3 ½ Stars
Greg Quill, Toronto Star, Thursday Oct. 26 2006
“…there is a palpable freeness of expression that literally oozes from this record… guitar chops to spare and a signature voice that cuts to the quick… an apt description of the human condition: it has moments of humour and despair, hope and contentment. This is a beautiful record.” –
Del Vezeau, Penguin Eggs, Winter 2006
Rick Fines & Suzie Vinnick - Nothing Halfway
“A stunning collection of duets…a must-have disc!”
John Valenteyn, Toronto Blues Society’s
MapleBlues Newsletter, September 2006
“…energy that lifts off the page and warms your heart. This is Saturday afternoon music that makes you feel good.”
Eric Thom, Exclaim Magazine, November 10, 2006
“Doubling up a pair of top Canadian roots artists won't guarantee a winning collaboration, but it doesn't hurt. At all... John Hiatt may compose a soul-rocker for Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt, but until that day comes, the Fines and Vinnick-penned We Got a Love Like That will more than do. Marked by spirit and effective songwriting, there is nothing halfway about Nothing Halfway.
” 3 Stars
Brad Wheeler Globe and Mail 13/10.06
“This disc keeps finding its way back to my CD player as if it had a mind of its own. I can’t seem to get enough of it, and I seem to hear something new at every listening… This disc has the potential to take over your life. You’ve been warned.”
Mike Sadava, Penguin Eggs winter issue 2006
Performance Reviews
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