A. Ray Fuller : The Weeper

Ray fuller may an unknown face to most people, but nonetheless, he is an extremely talented musician, with decades of success and lots of talented and prolific friends in the music business. If you check you record/CD collection there a fair chance you'll bump into his name several times as he has been playing guitar on hundreds of albums through the years.

Ray has played for more or less "anybody who's anybody in music", e.g. Quincy Jones, Anita Baker, Whitney Houston, Staple Singers, Curtis Mayfield etc. etc.

Just as, recording artist - Juewett Bostick did last year, Ray debuts as an artist at a relatively late point in his career.

The title of his CD "The Weeper" is a nickname Ray was given by no less than producer/keyboardist George Duke, who also plays on the album, along with a host of others. Among the contributors are saxophonist Branford Marsalis, Ricky Lawson, Everette Harp & Phil Perry.

With a couple of exceptions "The Weeper" is an instrumental album ... and an excellent one at that! It's primarily jazz-funk/smooth jazz (think Norman Brown or Ronny Jordan) with a touch of soul and some ingredients from traditional jazz.

8 of the albums 12 melodies are cover versions, mainly from the 1970s. However, most of them aren't tunes you have heard covered over and over. An exception is the impeccable "Superstar". A song first made famous by Carpenters in 1971, but soul fans probably best remember Luther Vandross rendition from 1983. Ray's version features very emotional (improvised?) vocals from Phil Perry. It's one of the best songs ever written and surely one of the best tracks on "The Weeper".

Phil Perry also sings on the albums one "full-text" track "Work To Do" and a bit on "Speak Brother", both great tracks.

Also the first two tunes on the album, Stevie Wonder's "If You Really Love Me" and "Weeper Thang" stand out. Finally I'll mention "Friday" and "Free Spirit", two very solid smooth jazz tracks and the quite jazzy and very different version of Teena Marie's "Portuguese Love".

"The Weeper" is cream to your ears & your soul, music that is very relaxing, but at the same time music with a lot of details to explore, a CD you can listen to many times and find many nuances in. The album is very personal.

Ray Fuller plays guitar so well and elegantly that it's almost scary. It sounds so easy that you almost feel like you would be able to do it yourself!

All in all, it's an excellent debut CD from Ray Fuller, which SoulPortal.dk rewards with 4 and a half stars!

Added: January 28th 2004
Reviewer: Michael Krogh
Score:
Related Link: A. Ray Fuller website.
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