Bob Ray
Band members Related acts
|
line up 1 (1970-2012) - Bobby Ray (aka Bobby Ray Henson) (RIP 2012) -- bass, backing vocals
supporting musicians: (1970) - Hal Blaine -- drums, percussion - Jim Gordon (RIP) -- drums, percussion - Jim Horn -- flute, sax - Joe Osborne -- bass - Larry Knechtel -- keyboards, bass
|
- Bob and Kit (Bob Ray) - Thorinshield (Bob Ray)
|
|
Genre: psych-folk Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Initiation of a Mystic Company: Soul
City Year: 1970 Country/State: Los Angeles, California Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: gatefold sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $55.00
|
I stumbled across a copy of this album without a clue who Bob Ray was. I bought 1970's "Initiation of a Mystic" mainly for the fact it was released on Johnny Rivers' short-lived Soul City label with Rivers producing. It was only then I realized the late singer/bassist Bobby Ray had been a member of one of my favorite mid-'60s psych bands - the Los Angeles based Thorinshield.
Featuring
eleven Ray originals with backing from members of L.A.'s Wrecking Cre
"Initiation
of a Mystic" track listing: 1.) (Girl With The) Cameo Ring (Bob Ray) - 3:55 rating: **** stars Powered by beautiful strumming acoustic guitar, Jim Horns flute and Ray's sweet voice and melodic bass, every time I hear the opening ballad '(Girl With The) Cameo Ring' it reminds me of an American version of prime '60s Donovan. Perhaps that shouldn't be a major surprise given Ray had played on Donovan's 1966 "Sunshine Superman" album. It's definitely a slice of "hippy happiness" but screams '60s peace, love and happiness at the top of its lungs. 2.) Live Today (Bob Ray) - 3:32 rating: *** stars 'Love Together' could easily have been mistaken for another slice of Donovan folk-psych. Unfortunately this time out Marty Paich's heavy MOR orchestration stood at odds with the songs hippy lyrics, 3.) City of Toys (Bob Ray) - 3:33 rating: *** stars Seemingly a love song to Los Angeles, opening up with some fat bass, 'City of Toys' has always reminded me of something The Mamas and the Papas, or The 5th Dimension might have recorded in their efforts to sound hip and contemporary. The track was certainly bouncy and commercial with Jim Horn's flute solo on prominent display. 4.) Green Green (Big Big River) (Bob Ray) - 3:16 rating: ** stars Another L.A, song, the lyrically dense 'Green Green (Big Big River)' reminds me of something out of the Jimmy Webb catalog. Yeah, that meant it was "deep" and insightful. This is one I could do without. 5.) Smog Song (Bob Ray) - 5:20 rating: **** stars Clearly inspired by life in L.A., 'Smog Song' was one of the album's most rhythmic and funky efforts. Kudos to Ray for his early pro-ecology commentary. Jim Horn on flute and sax solos. Always like Ray's "flat" vocal delivery and the running brook sound effects reduce my blood pressure by a couple of points.
(side
2) A pretty, literate ballad, 'Resurrection' was a nice platform for showcasing Ray's beautiful voice. It's another track that underscores the Donovan comparison for me. This was one of two Ray songs Johnny Rivers covered. RIvers' version appeared on his 1970 "Slim Slow Rider" album. 2.) Money Tree (Bob Ray) - 3:40 rating: **** stars Powered by Jim Horns' sax, 'Money Tree' was one of the album's isolated "upbeat" tunes. The breezy melody could have easily been found on a Johnny Rivers solo album, or a Mamas and the Papas release. Surprising it wasn't tapped as a single. 3.)
Personal Movie (Bob Ray) - 2:58
rating: ** stars 4.) Woman Of The Highlands (Bob Ray) - 4:15 rating: ** stars Well the title had me thinkin' "crap, a Dylan-styled ballad ..." Close, but no cigar as this was another Jimmy Webb-styled slice of singer/songwriter angst. 5.) Right Relations (Bob Ray) - 3:30 rating: *** stars The acoustic ballad 'Right Relations' started out slowly, but when the strumming acoustic guitars broke out things improved. The lyrics were certainly daring for the timeframe ... This was the other tune Johnny Rivers covered, releasing it as a 1969 single. 6.) Islands (Bob Ray) - 2:10
Ray subsequently joined a post Jim Morrison line-up of the Doors, undertaking a couple of early-'70s tours with the group as bassist and backing singer. He then seemingly dropped out of music, returning to his native Tennessee where he passed on in 2012.
© Scott R. Blackerby August, 2024
© Scott R. Blackerby |
BACK TO BADCAT PAYMENT INFORMATION
w,
this one frequently gets slapped with a "Baroque pop" label.
I get the categorization, but to my ears Marty Paich's
heavy orchestration occasionally pushed the album painfully close to
Jimmy Webb MOR territory - checkout
tracks like 'Green
Green (Big Big River)' and
'Personal Movie.' Anyhow,
based on the general quality of these compositions one
of the first puzzles is trying to figure out why Thorinshield didn't make
more use of Ray's talents. He co-wrote most of their album, but the
late James Smith served as lead singer with Ray relegated to backing vocals
and bass. Given how good Ray's voice was, you had to wonder what was
the band thinking? Next puzzle: for Ray's solo debut, even
though it was released in 1970, it certainly sounded like it had been
recorded a couple of years earlier. In fact, Rivers released a cover
of 'Right Relations' as a 1968 single (Imperial catalog number 66335).
Regardless of when it was actually recorded, musically this was a time piece
capturing that unique mid-'60s "hippy" vibe. Tracks like
'Live Today', 'Resurrection' and 'Money Tree' all bathed in that
"peace, love and happiness" vibe - well, before things turned
darker. Tracks like 'City of Toys' and 'Smog Song' also served as a
love letter of sorts to Ray's hometown Los Angeles. Finally;
mystery three - was it intended as a co
ncept
piece. Listening to the individual tracks I didn't pick up a unifying
theme, but when you read the interior sleeve liner notes it appears the
album did have a there. I won't quote the entire narrative, but it begins
with "When the
world has divided itself and each stands strongly upon its own way, The word
will come forth To recognize these divisions ..."
I'm sure I could try to puzzle the plotline out, but there's a good chance
someone out there has already done. Anyone want to share? Anyhow, going back
to Ray's voice, a couple of folks have drawn a comparison to the late Gordon
Lightfoot, or early Cat Stevens (aka Yusuf Islam).
When I listen to performances like the opener '(Girl
With The) Cameo Ring', the bouncy
'Money Tree' and
'Live Together' Ray reminded me of an American Donovan Leitch. That
may not be a major surprise given Ray played bass on some of Donovan's
sessions that resulted in the "Sunshine Superman" album. Is
it a great album? Well, it certainly had flashes of greatness, but
ultimately there are too many sensitive singer/songwriter ballads and the
pretense factor a bit too high for me. It's still good and worth
hearing, though increasingly difficult to score in good shape.