|
|
|
BANDS: Punk
& Ska INTERESTS: Venues ETC... About
LOTD
|
The Rick Ray
Band:
Stay Awhile
Into the Hands of Sinners by The Rick Ray Band is guitar-oriented rock in the style of Hendrix, Zappa, and other guitar legends. Rick Ray himself is an accomplished guitarist who demonstrates his chops with extensive soloing throughout the album. There is also an element of psychedelic flavoring here, in the track Feel Like Im Gone for instance, that is reminiscent of Pink Floyd. I have a boat-load of complaints about Into the Hands of Sinners, but let me start with the vocals. There are four different vocalists on the album, and vocalist Phil Noch does the most singing of the four. Unfortunately, I find his voice to be terribly grating; it seems like all his vocal lines are delivered with an obnoxious moan. Most of the actual words are too muffled to understand, but the lyrics that can be understood make the experience even more unpleasant. On The Road to Freedom, he groans: The road to freedom has been closed, so take a detour / Limits are imposed. When you add the grating delivery to the comically bad metaphor, its like getting punched in the face by two fists at once. Most of the songs sound like jam sessions that are boring or just dont go anywhere usually both. Take the song From One Side to the Other. The bluesy rhythm section bounces away repeatedly while Rick Ray plays tons and tons (and tons and tons) of guitar solos that sound totally incongruous. It sounds like a bunch of people playing instruments. Did someone write a song? I dont hear one. The only exceptions to the total incoherence of the music are the few spots where Rick Ray comes up with an interesting idea, the beginning guitar melody on Youre Not Alone for example. The song still feels sloppy, but at least it is based on an idea that sounds good. The instrumental Loriannwith its atmospheric synths and pretty acoustic guitars is a welcome respite from the noisy mess of the other tracks. The reprieve is all the more important seeing as this album is almost 70 minutes long. The best thing that I can say about Rick Ray is that he is a skilled guitarist with great chops. So yeah, I suppose the guitar playing is jaw-dropping or something. But when you add up the horrible vocals, the obnoxiously muddy production, the endless and pointless jamming, and the incoherent songwriting, it doesnt make me care.
This album can be purchased at The Rick Ray Band Official Website About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
