This is definitely near the top of my list of best releases of 2003! I had heard of Mr. Bonneville before, and somehow knew that with a name like "Bonneville" (French for "good town" and also the name of a car), his music would be good, but until now, it was an unknown entity to me. Originally from Arkansas, and still a winter resident there, he also calls Montr�al his home, at least in the summer. He makes a good case study, musically anyway, for tearing down the border between the U.S. and Canada, referring to himself simply as "North American". (You've inspired me to consider melding the separately-cited Canadian and American links on my website, Ray!)
Ray, like many another unfeted musician who has won a Juno award (1999), tours extensively, yet curiously remains a lesser-known character in the Canadian music industry. Whether that's because the award show itself lacks in popularity or because commercial radio stations chose to ignore music that doesn't quite "fit" into their programming formats is anyone's guess. I'm just pleased that Roll It Down has found its way into my hands!
Straight from the opening track, "Tomorrow's Yesterday", this easy-going, happy-go-lucky collection of originally-penned roots-rock and Cajun-flavoured country-blues songs will have you tapping your foot and humming along with the guaranteed repeat listens and long after the final play ends! To add icing to the musical delicacy, Ray's smooth-as-velvet vocals lie somewhere among those of Paul Simon, Otis Taylor, J.J. Cale and even Eric Clapton, at times, all long-time favourites of mine!
This is actually one of those CDs that I would hate to see being chopped into single tracks, as they seem, collectively, to be essential working parts of one big happily chugging vehicle. That being said, the individual songs that stick in my head are "Under the Bridge", "Roll It Down", "July Sun", "Oxford Town", "Slow Matin (en bilingue)" and "Who's Talkin' to Me".
The notable project was produced by Rob Heaney, Colin Linden and Ray Bonneville and was recorded in both Montreal and Nashville. I don't have a scrap of info on any guest performers on the CD, so I'm assuming it's Ray himself playing the wide variety of instruments - acoustic, electric, slide and bass guitar, organ, harmonica, fiddle and violin. I did detect back-up/harmony vocals on a number of songs, especially "Oxford Town", but their identity remains a mystery (for now, anyway), until I get confirmation of this.
The tracks are all short and sweet, with non-pretentious, non-profane lyrics, which would also make it suitable for the listening enjoyment of not-yet-jaded people of the younger generation. It's absolutely beautiful in its entirety! |
