Ricky Byrd is a man for all seasons. He comes more fully alive, though, during baseball season, especially when his beloved Yankees are in First Place. But when it comes to gritty down’n’dirty ‘70s-inspired rock’n’roll, it’s hard to think of another artist who is carrying the torch that Mott The Hoople, The Who, T-Rex, Free, Bad Company, Bowie, Stones, Stax, Motown, Wilson Pickett and James Brown passed on to him.

You gotta hand it to Rock’n’Roll Hall of Famer Ricky Byrd. He’s in the Hall as the lead guitarist in Joan Jett & The Blackhearts but he’s so much more. Roger Daltrey, Ian Hunter and Southside Johnny have all benefitted from his Keith Richards style of rhythmic thump and shred-light. He’s even mastered that odd-angle of Keith’s onstage movements. But Byrd is no clone to anyone. NYC Made includes the first instrumental Bryd has ever released.

Ricky Byrd may be in the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame as part of Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, but he’s also been in the bands of Mott The Hoople’s Ian Hunter, The Who’s Roger Daltrey and Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes. As a solo artist, he’s put out a string of Stones/Faces-inspired rock’n’roll that never fails to satisfy.