 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
GOIN' BY FEEL • Ray Bonneville
Singing "Crow John," Goin' By Feel's opening tune, Ray Bonneville's voice recalls a recent era Bob Dylan. On the next track, "What Katy Did," it might make you think of J.J. Cale, while the title track vocals carry a hint of Eric Clapton--all in all, not bad company. This not to say that Bonneville doesn't have a voice of his own. It is prevalent in these tunes, as well as throughout the recording, riding comfortably above a set of grooves that attest to the CD's title.
Yes, when it comes to greasy, down-home, back porch rhythm, Bonneville's "feel" resides at a small boutique hotel inhabited by an elite clientele that includes the aforementioned Cale, as well as Tony Joe White, Bo Ramsey, and very few others. Bonneville is also a member of the, you-will-pardon-the pun, "Canadian Club." Its roster--Daniel Lanois, Colins Linden and James, Harry Manx, Kevin Breit, etc.--continually reminds us that "Americana" refers not just to the "US of A" but to all of North America.
Live, Bonneville is a one-man-band, fingerpicking his guitar while playing haunting harmonica and stomping on a miced piece of wood for extra rhythmic punch. His co-producers--Gurf Morlix and Rob Heaney--have helped him maintain his intimate sound, while lightly fleshing it out with drums, bass, extra guitars, and Eliza Gikyson's occasional background vocals.
As a songwriter, Bonneville is always honest and occasionally brilliant. A veteran road-dog who divides his time among Montreal, Arkansas, and Texas when he is not touring, he is able to imbue a travelogue/story song like "Sabine River" with the air of truth that compensates for a slight lyric awkwardness. Elsewhere, individual lines can often be quite powerful, like "Twenty-one guns don't help you none when your world has been shattered," from the anti-war "Carry The Fallen."
When the lyrics all come together, like in "The Big Easy," they create one of the best of a spate of "New Orleans post-Katrina" songs: "I was born on the edge of the Big Muddy flow / My daddy was French, my mother Creole / I'm slow and heavy underneath the sun / But I'm more than willin' when the nighttime comes." Each line in this tune paints a perfect picture of the city that contains a large chunk of the (North) American soul, while sitting perfectly in a groove that implies the Second Line without actually stating it.
Bonneville is a musician who tours the globe, quietly purveying his art, under the mass media radar. There is a category in the annual Downbeat jazz poll called "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition," a phrase that aptly describes Ray Bonneville. Perhaps an even better description is a lyric he applies to New Orleans, but one that could easily fit this laid-back musical raconteur: "I got soul and I got heart / all alone coming out of the dark / I am the Big Easy." • Michael Ross
listen to clips return to covers
raybonneville.com Ray's myspace Red House Records
more photographs by Sandy Dyas (and see our interview with Sandy in which she talks about doing this photoshoot with Ray)
