Brian Ray

Written by Brian on Feb 27 2010 at 12:41 PM | Music Reviews

SO, Christopher Martin, the winner of my Valentine’s contest a few weeks back just wrote a review of a new song of mine! The prize for the contest winner was an MP3 of the title track of my upcoming album, “This Way Up”.. Here, for your reading pleasure is his review!

Oh, BTW, I didn’t pay him, cajole him, twist his arm, hold his kid for ransom or otherwise elbow him into writing one word of this..

The final mixes are done, too! Read on and stay tuned, ok?

Review of the song “This Way Up” by Christopher Martin

Christopher Martin is a musician/home recordist living in the SF Bay Area who had the unique opportunity to hear a Brian Ray solo track, well in advance of its official release, from his soon to be released album This Way Up!!  Christopher is not a journalist, nor has ever attempted to pen a musical review, as you will soon see.

My email at work pinged, alerting me to the arrival of an email from Brian Ray (bassist/guitarist for Paul McCartney, and all around reluctant rock god) containing a special treat; an advance mix of the second single to be pre-released from his upcoming sophomore solo effort This Way Up!!. It was immediately clear that I was about to hear the title track as I clicked on the MPEG attachment, and out from the computer speakers on my desk jumped a pumping double time drum beat and crisp clear opening guitar riff, soon joined by a bubbling bass and diving guitar and keyboard textures. It was underway.

If the opening sequence is analogous to the Space Shuttle thrusting up and leaving the launch pad, then the power required to reach escape velocity is echoed in the first lyric “let’s go driving in my car… just hit the gas, and we’ll outrun the past.”  The song is only seconds old, and we already are treated to that classic California theme of cars and girls (and guitars, of course), which makes sense since Brian’s early memory of Neil Young showing up at his house to visit sister Jean is anchored by the car Neil drove; a White Mini Cooper with tinted windows. 
I am not the best equipped to make pronouncements on Brian’s lyrics or their meaning,  so I will not try to sound highbrowed about it.  The singer is confident they can “turn this thing around…the whole world’s upside down” and as the intro beat returns, now as the chorus, we learn that this is his “great escape”. So my escape velocity analogy was not too far off the mark.  This song exudes confidence that this is the time to break through into a new paradigm; a future unencumbered by a bleak present and past.

Back to the music, which I AM equipped to opine on.  This track, overall, is a case study in guitar mastery, a tapestry of tones and riffs, spread across the stereo spectrum, propelled by an incredibly energetic drum beat.  Anybody who is familiar with Brian’s solo work is aware that he has friends and collaborators who are world class; providing Brian an embarrassment of riches.  From his website, we learn that the engineer/mixer on the sessions was Joe Zook, so I took a side trip and read up on HIM to increase my understanding of this track and how it came together. 

The second time the chorus comes around, the “great escape” theme is enhanced with a reference to Steve McQueen “crashing the gate”, which hit buttons with me as a HUGE fan of WWII films. The film The Great Escape features McQueen’s character stealing a german motorcycle and vaulting over prison camp gates at high speed in an effort to break out allied prisoners.  Of course “prisoners” could be said to be those stuck in the Upside Down past waiting to be “released” by the singer and his passenger who are on a mission to break out into a brand new world. 

In addition to the extremely talented collaborators Brian brings to bear, technically and musically, it is also true that he is able to spend quality time with his overdubs in his home studio, Bad Manors.  How fantastic it must be to record basic tracks (as can be seen on a video Brian has posted on his website) at a world class studio, then add layers of guitar, keyboard and vocals at home, then have Mr. Zook distil the product into a finely crafted mix!  There is NO substitute for the feeling of playing in a room with people, in eye contact, and feeding off each other, as the tape rolls.  I can only imagine the smiles in the room as This Way Up!!  had her basic tracks laid down.

Perhaps it is my imagination, but when the double time intro/chorus beat returns near the end of the song/CODA,  I distinctly hear the bass (and guitars) growling and throbbing like the engine on Steve McQueen’s hijacked bike as he revs up to make his run on the prison camp gate.  And the song ends quite abruptly, coming in at around 3:15… a PERFECT single length.

This track comes into the world pumping and breathing and stops on a dime at the end. 
Brian Ray is the quintessential California guitar slinger.  He also has a solo career that is in no way a “vanity press”; there is serious substance there. The first single he released years ago, “Tears of a Clown” still ranks amongst the best covers I’ve ever heard, and his first full length record, Mondo Magneto is full of the themes that define him and which appear to be present (and evolved) in the current material.  A song on that first CD was a tribute to his record collection; Vinyl a theme which is reprised subtly in the first single from This Way Up!!  called “I Found You”.  Having only heard two songs from This Way Up!! it is hard to know what lays in store for us, but based on the first two tracks, I think Brian’s fans are in for a Wild Ride.  Hold on Tight.

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