ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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Parry Ray
THE WAY I'M WIRED PARRY RAY 12.7.10 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk
“I would still come to you if I thought you still wanted me”, sings Parry Ray in an aching voice, before a muted trumpet and deep double-bass notes. This is a melancholy jazz song, one for a tumbler of whisky, low lights and a long, lonely night. Parry has a carefully phrased voice, this is bruised emotion under control, not a Billie Holliday elision. It comes over sweet and smooth, with lots of individuality and is seductive. The backing team are solid and smooth – playing what you’d expect and highlighting the song structure. Out Of The Water is more of a survivors song, whereas Is It Any Wonder is a slinky, New Orleans-influenced groove. Angels Stroking Your Hair is maudlin in lyric but gives Parry a chance to let her voice flow and that voice can carry me over any misgivings about a song. Let Our Chaos Reign is the stand-out of the album – a funky groove about Newton’s Third Law, gravity and lust. I Feel For You is wiggly, smiley and in the tradition of jazz mutations of popular songs – a fine re-working of Prince’s song that Chaka Khan made a hit. Where Do You Start is a carefully enunciated and heart tugging cover of a Michael Feinstein classic that’d sit comfortably with other interpreters of the Great American Songbook like Tony Bennett et al. Camel’s Back Is Broken is as chirpily downbeat as the title suggests – this is territory Parry is very comfortable with and my ears feel like they are being given a warm massage. The track that’s been getting the news stories is, of course, Snuff. Here, she takes the Slipknot track and sings it as a big show-tune – astonishingly it sounds as if it was written as that. This is a lovely voice, like swimming in warm honey and having your earlobes rubbed. It’s a rebuke to the soulless pap that passes as “Smooth jazz” in recent years. One to watch. www.parryray.com |
