I normally don't have that much time for "hard working" rock bands, but I took some time out to listen to this disc, and discovered that Ray and his band are firmly entrenched on the melodic side of the rock spectrum and are well worth a listen. The worst thing that I can write about this disc is that it is too short! Ten songs, yet a total playing time of twenty seven minutes, due to the total lack of soloing, and concentration on the melodic possibilities of each song.
Ray Mason is responsible for vocals and guitars, as well as writing all the songs. Accompanying him are Stephen Desaulniers (bass, vocals), Frank Marsh (drums), Tom Shea (guitars, vocals) and producer Jim Weeks (keyboards, acoustic guitar, dobro). This lean and mean unit produces a sound that has the strange knack of being individual and derivative at the same time. There are parts of songs which remind me of The Pretenders on "Newsboy's Toss," early 10cc on "Footrest," and Steely Dan on "Someone I Can't Get Over," but I take these similarities to be part of the rock tradition -- borrow what's good, discard what's bad and invent your own in order to complete the picture.
The lyrics tend to be rather off beat, but as I haven't notated them (they're not printed on the CD sleeve), I don't want to pass judgment as to their quality. The oddest seems to be "I've Got A Good Dentist," whose title neatly sums up the contents of the song; I must admit that I haven't heard many songs on this theme before. The country-tinged "You'll Never Play Here Again" is written from the viewpoint of some honky tonk club owner, but it's not clear whether he's talking about Ray's band or about some other unlucky performer. The song I most enjoyed was the ultimate track, "Someone I Can't Get Over," which employs a more intricate rhythmic style, cooler harmonies and a more impressive arrangement than the other tracks -- hence the comparison to Steely Dan. It's a suitable way to close the album.
Ray has his own Web site, which gives minimal information about the band and upcoming gigs. There one can find three songs (the opening trio, "Blessing The Girl," "Footrest" and "Three Dollar Man") from this disc available for download, and it's also possible to purchase this disc. I can understand why an independent operation would choose to minimize packaging costs and not include a sumptuous booklet (the savings are passed onto the buyer, as the disc is being sold for $10), but a better design could have included much more information, instead of the paltry amount included. No doubt Ray considers the music to be more important than the sort of information that anal retentive types like myself treasure, and in that, he's correct.
