Goin' By Feel

Ray Bonneville | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: May 8, 2007
• Label: Red House
• Total Length: 49:00
• Genres:
• ASIN: B0013EWVMC
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #117,386 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do you want to know what Katy did?, April 28, 2008

By 

Pieter Los "plons" (misserie, usa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Goin' by Feel (Audio CD)

Happened to see this guy on a whim in the local cultural center. You know, the guy with the guitar and the harmonica... Well damn, blew me away. Baseline with the thumb, melody with the pointy finger, great voice, great foot tapping. A live One man band, on the record he has back up (not needed, but neat!) I think he is in his early fifties. Has a band with many places but very much so with New Orleans. He sings this one song from the perspective of the city of N.O. "I am the big muddy, my father was french my mother Creole. Like often it takes me a few listens and then you find some wonderful melodies, music and lyrics. sounds more like John Hiat than Dylan, if that helps any. Do check out this album if you got a few bucks to spare. My fave song is about something Katy did. Can you keep a secret? Yes? Well so can Ray Bonneville.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In a Dry River Bed, May 17, 2008

By 

Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Goin' by Feel (Audio CD)

This is my 3rd disc by Ray Bonneville. "Gust of Wind" went to #1 in my personal top ten and stuck @ the top like a flag back in 2004. Great song & disc! "Roll It Down" was also an excellent disc. On "Goin' by Feel" Bonneville seems like a troubadour who's been listening to Tony Joe White & Bob Dylan. "I got soul & I got heart; all alone I'm coming out of the dark," Ray sings in his New Orleans homage. "So Long Blues" is a classic Bonneville track with its easy catchy groove, "Tell flowers growing in a dry river bed, how long before the rain comes down again, they don't have no cares for their time end, they got one another in the middle of the night." "Reckless Feeling" percolates delightfully with Bonneville's world-worn vocals about a singer in a club, "Must be the queen of fools for all the tears I cried for you." Several of the tracks are excellent story songs like "Sabine River" & "Run Jolee Run." All of the tracks on the disc are strong. This is another excellent set from Ray Bonneville! Enjoy!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars (4.5 stars) A rhythmically diverse set of contemporary blues and folk-blues, June 1, 2009

By 

Colin Spence (Formby, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Goin' by Feel (Audio CD)

You can always rely upon Ray Bonneville to serve up an album of groove-laden, blues infused music with a light sprinkling of other influences. RB's delivery gives the impression that he's never in a hurry to get anywhere (probably because he's been there already), and his weathered low tenor/baritone seems to get better with every release. Compared to 'Gust of Wind', 'Goin' By Feel' has a funkier sound (and occasionally, it's more folksy also) - but the blues influence still prevails. RB is in good voice on this album - I think his distinctive vocals are more focused than on 'Roll It Down'. This time around, production honours are shared with Rob Heaney and Gurf Morlix.

The supporting cast deserve a special mention - as with other albums, the playing is spare yet refined. The keyboard playing is less prominent than on earlier albums (I rather miss the deft playing from Richard Bell on Hammond and electric piano); but to compensate, there is greater emphasis on lead guitar (mainly from RB) - his clean and resonant guitar licks can be heard on many tracks. Also of note is the percussion, as it 'clatters and clanks' in accompaniment on 'Cemetery Road', 'Reckless Feeling' and a few other songs. RB seems to choose his harmony vocalists with care - on this album, Eliza Gilkyson adds her delectable and sultry tones on 3 songs; additional harmonies are from RB and Gurf Morlix.

The songs continue to reflect the worldview of a travelling troubadour who's 'been around the block' a few times. I liked most of the songs on 'Goin' By Feel' (only 'What Katy Did', with its brisk vocals, is a borderline choice); some brief comments about a selection :

'Sabine River' - a smooth and relaxing piece of 'blues-pop', features RB on harmonica; 'Cemetery Road' - a mid-tempo, bluesy/folksy toe-tapper; 'So Long Blues' - 'easy on Sunday morning' reggae influenced pop, gorgeous electric guitar to the fore, harmonica also; 'Carry the Fallen' - a slow tempo, dark and spooky song, Gurf Morlix accompanies on banjo and EG provides the harmonies; 'Goin' By Feel' - hypnotic and rhythmically intoxicating, driven along by pulsating electric bass from Gurf Morlix; 'Shy Star' - a folksy number with RB on acoustic guitar and EG on harmonies.

Although each has a slightly different sound, I find there is little to choose between 'Gust of Wind' and 'Goin' By Feel', and I prefer both of these albums to 'Roll It Down'. 'Goin' By Feel' is another strong offering from an artist who produces consistently good music; Ray Bonneville 'ticks all the right boxes' for me.