In the Golden Age of 45’s, we would’ve called Rich Arithmetic’s latest single a Double-A side.
On YOU ARE ALWAYS RIGHT, Rich opens one of his most vital arteries, and with his longtime singing partner Lance Morgan, they spill sweet harmonies on to a canvas of late ‘60s folk rock (by way of mid-’80s Athens jangle). Kansas guitar legend Marvin Hunt appears with a Beatlesque slide guitar solo and also provides background vocals with his wife, Ann, while Arkansas mainstays James Nicholson and Kevin Bonner provide the backdrop to jangle-pop bliss.
And on UP TO YOU, the so-called B-side of the single, it’s as if Andy Partridge murmured to Rich Arithmetic in a dream: “Add some of my Oranges and Lemons to your echo of sunshine-pop over Southern California.” Rich acquiesces, trading vocals with The Legendary Chucklenuts’ front man Charlie Maliszewski, whose harmonica seals the deal.
–Steve Stav
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