Recorded in his South Philly basement during summer 2001, Bill Ricchini's Ordinary Time mixes the gentle vocal style and quiet folk arrangements of Elliott Smith with the sparse, fey glam of a Belle & Sebastian, yieldi... more »ng a familiar yet affecting warmth. Though delayed until late 2002 for a proper release, Time was included on Salon.com's list of 2001's "best unreleased CDs." It's easy to see why, as Ricchini's sure-handed songwriting, though derivative at times, transcends the record's lo-fi origins, lazily bouncing along on the wandering thoughts of a young man staring up at the clouds. Songs like "Rain Parade" and "Ballad in 2-D" show Ricchini's talent for creating dreamily repetitive structures and jangle-pop, and a richly symphonic, Pet Sounds slant gives depth to "Julie Christie" and "Like Falling Asleep." Ricchini's influences are well chosen, regardless of how nakedly they're represented. Here is an artist to watch as he develops his own voice. --Matthew Cooke« less
Recorded in his South Philly basement during summer 2001, Bill Ricchini's Ordinary Time mixes the gentle vocal style and quiet folk arrangements of Elliott Smith with the sparse, fey glam of a Belle & Sebastian, yielding a familiar yet affecting warmth. Though delayed until late 2002 for a proper release, Time was included on Salon.com's list of 2001's "best unreleased CDs." It's easy to see why, as Ricchini's sure-handed songwriting, though derivative at times, transcends the record's lo-fi origins, lazily bouncing along on the wandering thoughts of a young man staring up at the clouds. Songs like "Rain Parade" and "Ballad in 2-D" show Ricchini's talent for creating dreamily repetitive structures and jangle-pop, and a richly symphonic, Pet Sounds slant gives depth to "Julie Christie" and "Like Falling Asleep." Ricchini's influences are well chosen, regardless of how nakedly they're represented. Here is an artist to watch as he develops his own voice. --Matthew Cooke
CD Reviews
Equal to the best work of the smiths and belle & sebastian
petsounds11 | San Francisco, California | 10/14/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"can i tell you that i totally am in love with this record since i bought it about a week ago. I can't remember being this into a record since If You're Feeling Sinister or The Queen is Dead. it literally has not left my cd player. if you are into this sort of gorgeous folky pop thing i think you'd really enjoy this album.bill ricchini is sort of an american stuart murdoch or badly drawn boy but a bit less precious than many in this genre... he comes off more as a young, confident brian wilson if he had a 4 track and a few musician friends over for beers a month after Petsounds came out to roll tape. it's totally amazing that this kid had these songs in his back pocket and was just rolling tape in his bedroom, it make it all the more impressive... like he's there with you at 3am whispering these melodies in your ear. Yep! this is a late night record with a solid mood like Nick Drake's "Pink Moon." very gorgeous stuff with a sort of rough around the edges production that makes it all the more charming... folk guitar, nice strings and trumpets and his voice is like butta. just buy it."
Trust me!!!
E S. Smith | 07/29/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you're a fan of Elliot Smith or Badly Drawn Bow( Magic in the Air type songs), You'll love this CD. He has similar vocals(IMHO) Every song starts off nice and mellow, then finishes strong.
I love the mixture of acoustic and horns in his songs. I just bought this CD last week...and it makes me wonder how much good music I'm actually missing.
Scott
Peace"
There's magic here.
jeremy | Chapel Hill, NC | 07/14/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Recorded in his apartment in Philadelphia in the summer of 2001, Ricchini (rhymes with bikini) created a lush soundscape of cellos, trumpets, guitars, piano, organ, percussion, sleigh bells, accordion and even a toy xylophone. The whole album feels... Familiar. And I mean that in the best way. There's magic here. The same magic I feel when I listen to Big Star's Thirteen, The Velvet Underground's Sunday Morning, The Beach Boys' God Only Knows but... It's every single song that has this magic. Ricchini has described Ordinary Time as a summer album about winter. That's fitting but really doesn't do it justice. All 18 tracks are the soundtrack to a memory. A long winter drive in the dead of night you fear you won't survive. A childhood where scars are sealed with paste and glue. A night on the town where you imagine yourself as Terrance Stamp and the object of your desire as Julie Christie. A sharp character sketch of a girl who believes the stars are just held up by strings. A near short story about a college incident where an undergrad ruminates on how he wants to be thought of as a place. Not like someone you know/But somewhere to go if you get cold. Bill Ricchini builds a world in this album. It's a world I can't stop visiting. Yeah, but what does the music sound like, you ask? Gentle. Dreamlike. Life slowed down so details can be examined. Like I said before, Ricchini has recorded a soundtrack for his memories. Technically, they might not all be his. But they're someone's. Maybe yours. I'm not going to compare Ricchini to other artists because he's in a class by himself. I've listened to this album over a hundred times and I've never grown weary of it. There's only a handful of albums that I revisit as often as Bill's. The Pixies album Doolittle, Love's Forever Changes, Neil Young's On The Beach, The Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat, Joni Mitchell's Blue and a carefully constructed Pavement mix CD that I compiled from all of their albums and b-sides. Ordinary Time makes the cut. I trust this album. It never lets me down. This isn't a hard album to find. Pick it up. It deserves to be listened to and cherished."
Sadly beautiful
johnathon | Portland, Oregon | 10/11/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For some of us music such as The Velvet Underground's Stephanie Says or Cat Stevens or Big Star or The Smiths or Nick Drake represent a sort of gorgeous pop world unified maybe only in Wes Anderson films. Ricchini is in that group. His record touches that same touchingly life affirming note that the above mentioned does in a way that is so moving and accomplished. Ordinary Time is the kind of record that after a full listen you wonder why you'd ever consider putting anything else in your stereo. This record just genuinely touches me. Timeless."
Simply The Best CD Of The Year!
johnathon | 10/03/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This cd is unreal! Every song is strong, and it's actually a rare beast in that it's a song cycle of great depth. If you like Nick Drake and Belle & Sebastian, you will die for this cd. A very strong debut from a guy so young. It's not your typical singer-songwriter stuff, but much more lush and original. Most of the songs are 2 minutes long and very melodic. Watch out!"
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1