Arts & Entertainment
Review: Rick Ray Band CD Release Concert
This Cleveland based prog rock band has a whole lotta classic sound.
After nearly 40 years on the music scene, The Rick Ray Band continued its prolific career with the release of their 32nd CD, Can’t Lie Hard Enough, at The last night. With Ray on guitar, Rick Schultz on sax and other woodwinds, Wally Spisak on Bass, D.C. on lead vocals and harmonica and Paul Geltch on drums, the band has a classic quartet plus sax setup that facilitates the psychedelic progressive fusion, steeped in classic rock, that you can find on their albums.
The band started strong with some of their older originals, but really caught their stride on a heavier cover of “I Want You So Bad (She’s So Heavy)” by The Beatles. They followed up with the title track from their new album, “Can’t Lie Hard Enough” a driving, bluesy, riff-based tune with plenty of room in the middle for Ray to lay into a few licks.
The song was inspired by one of the band members dealing with some trouble at work, and coming to terms with the fact that, “You can’t lie hard enough to get away from the truth,” Ray said.
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They continued with more originals, as well as a few more covers as a nod to some of the bigger names they’ve gotten to play with. Their sound was tight with each song, a testament to their individual experience, and the result of three years of playing together.
“This I consider the permanent band,” Ray said. “We really hit our stride. There’s
no way we could find five guys that sound so good.” He’s been leading his group since 1973 and when asked about each different incarnation he said, “I really consider it one whole piece, it just changed names.”
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Ray’s good friend and keyboardist for the album, Sam Guinta (of Syzygy), dropped in for a few songs before the band closed the first set with King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man.”
Their songs each seem to cover some aspect of the sound of classic rock. From the blues riff-based sound of Zeppelin to the heavy prog Of Edgar Winter. The addition of saxophone to their slower songs, combined with their progressive tendencies, gave them a Dark Side of the Moon-esque ambiance from time to time. There was always a hint of fusion throughout, in their choice of chord voicing and progressions and some harmonies may be a little far out for some, but in general their sound is very accessible.
Despite the music’s impressive list of influences, it sometimes sounded a little too classic, giving a couple songs that ‘It’s been done before’ vibe. Some lyrics suffered the same fate as well and came off as clichéd, despite D.C.’s spot-on delivery.
Overall, the show was very entertaining, and fans of progressive rock and fusion should make an effort to check The Rick Ray Band out. Their album can be purchased at CDbaby.com and their performance schedule is available on their website.
