GRAYSON WRAY REVIEWS
Grayson Wray - Road to Paradise

Multi instrumentalist Grayson Wray puts together an album of retro pop with influences which probably include the Beatles , in a big way !Grayson's vocals are strong as he croons his way through this trip of pop culture which transcends decades and sounds at times like the 60s and 70s with a tender mix of the 80s pop scene too .
The songwriter at times seems a bit too retro , but the lyrics are strong glimpses into the heart and mind of Wray . He can surely play the instruments that flow a strange ease along the tracks with the harmonies of Grayson and Angie Donkin , Then all of a sudden we get thrown into the late 70s with "Destination Love" and " Anytime it Gets Too Slow" which have an eerie disco quality to them with a rock edge .
The players.... Grayson Wray - Vocals , Guitars , Keyboards ,programming , Drums and Bass , Angie Donkin - Vocals , Lorenzo Grass - Guitars on "I will Never Know" , Matt Starr - Drums on "I Will Never Know" and Karl Katterfeld -String Bass on "When You Cry".
The tune "When You Cry" takes you into an 80s style soul song that sounds just a bit out of place here , but kind of works on it's own . The production is clean, and the CD sounds nice . Of course Grayson has had some practice as well producing other works including Franki Baaz recordings . I however don't quite know what to make of the style of the entire project . At times it sounds as if Wray knows where he is heading , and then sends us on a total mind warp to another decade and style .
"1,2,3,4,5" is another one of those songs.... It is heavier than the rest , and is a bit mismatched when it comes to the general flow of the album . But ,individually the songs do hold up , and give you a strange glimpse at an even stranger world . Wray sure has the talent to produce good material . I would fit in well with some college radio play lists , but will fall short of the "commercial" success
which I am not sure Wray was shooting for in the first place . I will say this , if you're into the retro thing with a bit of modern a\ sarcasm thrown in, give "Road To Paradise " a try . You may be surprised at the grooves you find here .

I like this CD .... . If you enjoy music and would like to dive into a pool of jazz influenced retro pop , sometimes with a bite ,
check out Grayson Wray .

( 4 stars out of 6 )

http://www.graysonwray.com


Thanks so much ,

Rikk Matheson
sole revuer & webmaster http://www.RikksRevues.com
" Cheeky samples and deep harmonic strings add emotional depth. For someone who would like The Beatles, Beck, Gomez."

JCS. Emergent Music
GRAYSON WRAY
"ROAD TO PARADISE"
Style: retro pop (with a modern edge).
Release year: 2002.
Formats: CD.
Label: IMPRESSIVE MUSIC.
The music: Grayson make us enjoy with retro pop (you know, that great pop music made in the 60's), although not all here is retro and not all is pop either... The music of Wray is painted with vivid colours, but it is mainly music "in green", music that sounds to fresh grass, but not all are "flowers", Grayson also offers mystery, emotion, instrospection and a little of magic, very varied; as said before not only retro pop, since you will find also influences from the 70's and 80's (in both fields: pop and rock) and some other things not so clear, there are surprises in every track, if not pay attention to the placid jazz influences of the last piece or the dark drama of "When You Cry" (the two tracks with female vocals by Angie Donkin); "1,2,3,4,5" is also a surprising track, with a violent and noisy rock (almost punk), or the epic symphonic lo-fi arrangement of "Get Me Off"... all is always new with every track. The music is very rhythmic, it is easy to get enthusiastic with their powerful rhythmic hook, there are some slow tracks but most are this way; the compositions have abundant weird  arrangements which contrast with the immediate voice and rhythms, and you will notice some electronic flirtations too.

A very recommended work of multicoloured retro pop with a very solid rhythmic hook.

GLOBAL GRADE: 8,9/10
Review by Héctor Noble Fernández.

"ROAD TO PARADISE"
Estilo: retro pop (con un borde moderno).
Año de edición: 2002.
Formatos: CD.
Sello: IMPRESSIVE MUSIC.
La música: Grayson nos hace disfrutar con retro pop (ya sabéis, esa gran música pop hecha en los 60), aunque no todo aquí es retro y no todo aquí es pop tampoco... La música de Wray está pintada con vivos colores, pero es principalmente música "en verde", música que suena a hierba fresca, pero no todo son "flores", Grayson también ofrece misterio, emoción, introspección y algo de magia, muy variada; como dije antes no solo retro pop, ya que también encontraréis influencias de los 70 y 80 (en ambos campos: pop y rock) y algunas otras cosas no tan claras, hay sorpresas en cada tema, si no prestad atención a las plácidas influencias jazz de la última pieza o al oscuro drama de "When You Cry" (los dos temas con voces femeninas de Angie Donkin); "1,2,3,4,5" es también un tema sorpresivo, con un rock violento y ruidoso (casi punk), o el épico arreglo sinfónico lo-fi de "Get Me Off"... todo es siempre nuevo con cada tema. La música es muy rítmica, es fácil entusiasmarse con su potente gancho rítmico, hay algunos temas lentos pero la mayoría son en este plan; las composiciones tienen abundantes arreglos estrambóticos que contrastan con la inmediata voz y ritmos, y también notaréis algunos devaneos electrónicos. 

Un muy recomendado trabajo de retro pop multicolor con un gancho rítmico muy sólido.
PUNTUACIÓN GLOBAL: 8,9/10
Crítica por Héctor Noble Fernández.

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