Don't ask me how to pronounce his last name, but this fella is one of the finest musicians I've some across in quite a while. Think of a musical smoothie machine. All you need is 2 parts Van Morrison, 1 part Otis Redding and a sprinkle of Jeff Buckley and Davd Gray (older stuff). Let on frappe for about 2 minutes and....voila! Ray. A friend of mine bought his newest CD a few weeks ago. He had bought a few (the Shins and the Killers) at the same time an was struggling to give each of them their due attention. I offered (at least in my own head) to ease him of this burden . Since I was the one who recommended the Shins to him and since i was not all that fond of the Killers i decided to "borrorw" his Ray La CD.
This is not a Party CD nor is it something you can listen to while doing that "candiflip (sp?)" thing the kids are doing nowadays. This CD is laaaaaaaiid back. Highlights include: "Trouble", "Hold you in my arms", "Forever my friend" and "How come". That last track is the only one that involves any type of electrofangled instruments. The rest of the album is appropriately acoustic.
Now, I don't know what the rest of the planet thinks about this album because, honestly, I haven't really looked. This album becomes a very personal addidtion to your CD or mp3 collection. I do not recommend downloading this album on mp3 unless it's for simply to preview a song or two. The mp3 compression takes away from the fullness and warmth of the guitar's tone and weight.
I give the album 4 1/2 stars a thumbs up and a thumb sideways and an ass print on my monitor.