Roll It Down

Ray Bonneville

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 2004)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Red House
• ASIN: B0002IQI60
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #154,511 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
On his fifth release, Ray Bonneville marinates his music in the blues, but adds a few extra spices to keeps things simmering nicely. Bonneville is an accomplished songwriter with a good ear for metaphor--"Tiptoe Spider" perfectly captures a certain type of creepy guy, and a willingness to experiment. On "Slow Matin," for example, his lyrics switch back and forth between French and English, an unusual move in a blues tune, but one that deftly creates the appropriate mood of early morning laziness and lust. Bonneville plays electric guitar on just about every track, but the laid-back tempos give this CD an almost acoustic feel. He eschews the wailing pyrotechnics of many blues guitarists in favor of loping infectious grooves that owe more to the down-home sound of, say, Mississippi John Hurt than to the more raucous Chicago bluesmen. Bonneville is not as flashy as some, but his poetic lyrics, laconic delivery, and irresistible groove have charms that grow with repeated listening. --Michael John Simmons

Product Description
From Montréal to Austin! Ray Bonneville (king of the smoldering groove) makes his US record label debut with this very hip and spell-binding CD. Guests artists include rising-star vocalist Jonell Mosser, Richard Bell (Bonnie Rait, The Band) and Joey Spaminato (NRBQ). A master of electric guitar, harmonica and vocals in the tradition of JJ Cale and Eric Clapton, Ray delivers this awesome collection with his characteristic "been there/done that" delivery. His fresh take on songwriting and inventiveness are the epitome of cool and never cease to amaze.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Roll It Down" Will Lift You Up, November 5, 2004

By	D.D. Rocker (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

Mr. Bonneville makes a good case study, musically anyway, for tearing down the border between the U.S. and Canada, referring to himself simply as "North American".

Straight from the opening track, "Tomorrow's Yesterday", this easy-going, happy-go-lucky collection of originally-penned roots-rock and Cajun-flavoured country-blues songs will have you tapping your foot and humming along with guaranteed repeat listens! To add icing to the musical delicacy, Ray's smooth-as-velvet vocals lie somewhere among those of Paul Simon, Otis Taylor, J.J. Cale and even Eric Clapton, all of whom are long-time favourites of mine!

This is actually one of those CDs that I would hate to see being chopped into single tracks, as they seem, collectively, to be essential working parts of one big happily-chugging vehicle. That being said, the individual songs that stick in my head are "Under the Bridge", "Roll It Down", "July Sun", "Oxford Town", "Slow Matin (en bilingue)" and "Who's Talkin' to Me".

The tracks are all short and sweet, with non-pretentious, non-profane lyrics, which would also make it suitable for the listening enjoyment of not-yet-jaded people of the younger generation. It's absolutely beautiful in its entirety!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars #4's a Champ!, November 13, 2004

By	Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Roll It Down" is Ray Bonneville's 4th CD. His 1996 debut "Solid Ground" on the Canadian Audiogram label was a great beginning. "Gust of Wind" was entirely excellent with the title track being a great classic track. I got the song "Rough Luck" on a Folk Alliance Showcase compilation, but have not found his 3rd release. "Roll It Down" was one, therefore, that I wanted to get before it goes out of print or becomes hard to find. The opener "Tomorrow's Yesterday" gets more bounce to the ounce from Bonneville's guitar, Colin Linden's big bounce bass and Geoff Arsenault's percussion than most musicians get from a full band. The title track also moves and snakes joyfully, "Wrote by a trembling hand on the shore in the sand, do you love me like I love you; the tide is gonna rise & make the words slide away, but they're still true." "Slow Matin" is interesting for the way that Bonneville interweaves English & French as if they were one language, able to be rhymed & combined together at will. "Matin" meaning "morning" & "aujourd'hui" being "today," he sings, "You got sleepy eyes aujourd'hui; it's a slow matin." "Tiptoe Spider" highlights more of Bonneville's unique guitar sound with the strings plucked sprightly imitating the quick little footsteps of a spider. "Oxford Town" is a sweet slow melody about a guy who fantasizes about his ideal love, "I lie awake in my hotel room, in my mind you're coming on strong, same story line plays on & on." "Walk With Me" is superb & catchy. Bonneville is making consistently strong CDs with flashes of classic brilliance, not to be missed. Enjoy!