Artist: Ray DeTone CD Title:  "Strange World" Reviewed by: Nick Martinelli Reviewed: 1/29/2001

     Do you want variety in a CD or what? Ray DeTone delivers the goods on his newly released CD "Strange World." I was just introduced to Ray very recently. In fact, I just go the CD in the mail from him this week. I ordered it online at his web page. www.raydeTone.com  It was worth every penny!  This CD has it all; rockers, vocals, classical, gypsy, jazz, and tons of wild guitar effects. Simply put it, "Strange World" rocks. I hope to see more releases from this artist.  Ray DeTone has to potential take over the instrumental / vocal guitar industry by storm.

     You'll even get to hear a few all-star guest performances by: Van Romaine (Steve Morse's drummer),  Adam Holzman (Organ/Keyboardist) who  played keyboards for The Miles Davis Quintet.  These guys add a little extra to make the songs the even cooler.

     Ray's writing skills are exceptional. He adds a lot of layers to his songs and gives them lots of life. His backing riffs are sharp, and cut right through the songs. The bass believe it or not, really stands out.  No instruments are buried at all. Lots and lots of walking bass lines can be found on this album.  You truly get your moneys worth out of this CD. Like I said before, "Strange World" has just about everything including the kitchen sink! The recording quality is surprisingly good. Most independent artists have a budget and kind of skimp on the sound quality do to money constraints, but this CD is crystal clear. Sounds extremely professional. Hats of to the producer (Ray) for giving the mix lots of life. Even the artwork is cool, the cover looks something out of a J.R.R. Tolkien story. The back of the CD looks cool to, good photography. Lets get on with the track by track.

     Track one "Gateway" is a cool intro for "Strange World."  It gives you the feel like your rising up form some dark abyss into the light. Kind of like that monster hand reaching up through those murky lake waters. Sweet sounding guitar effects blended into the tone. Gives the guitar lots of life, almost turns it into a whole other creature. Lots of dive bombs and even a repeating lick. His lead tone in this track is phenomenal. Someone please send me that processor! Good song to wake up to.

     Track two "Strange World" really gets the record moving. With a "technoish" "hammer and anvil" sound effect. Then comes in a monstrous guitar riff. Can we say metal? Very catchy riff. The vocals really rock on this song. Hats off to Ric Prince on this one. This has to be my favorite vocal tracks on the CD. Ray really displays some great guitar riffing on this song. The "hammer and anvil" sounds pop in every so often to add flavor to the song. Then at 2:11 the shredding starts! Smoking lines all the way through, smooth bends, really cutting edge. Check out the cool descending line at 2:20, super cool, I've never heard anything like that before. Please check that one out. This song is defiantly one to crank up while driving. Can we say movie soundtrack material here!

     Track three "Hoedown" was written by Arron Coplan, a famous 20th century composer for classical orchestra. In this piece he was trying to inspire the feel of the early West in the US with that piece which is an excerpt from "Rodeo". Grab your partner and swing her all around, doce do.... What can I say. Cool song. I personally hate country style music.  But something to me on this one. Its a really fun song. It will definably crack a smile on your face!  He even tosses in some cool shred lines every so often to keep it exciting.  Ray uses a nice sounding repeating lick to help restate the verse throughout. Reminds me of an old Bugs Bunny cartoon from years ago, you know the one. About all else I can say is to give it a listen. You'll dig it. Just don't forget your cowboy hat and boots, your trusty steed Silver.  

     Track four "The Journey Begins" is a really neat song. The beginning is killer. Sweet sounding nylon string, "classical" sounding. Then comes in a WAH WAH guitar. It really changes the feel of the song. The song's pace is slow, but it carries well. Then pops in a "classical" passage at 1:13, that appears through out the song. The WAH WAH guitar effect is used widely through out this song as well. Ray  uses it with much flavor, honestly it never gets old. He does break up the song a lot using the before mentioned passage. Check out 2:15 for a fusion type guitar line, very neat. Ray again shows how versatile of a player he can be in this song. He ends the song with some great lead passages. Its a great instrumental, that's for sure.

     Track five "Hard Ride" is a very cool song indeed. You can tell Eric Johnson is an influence on this guitarist playing. It should be called "Cliffs of Dover II." This is not a rip mind you. This song completely rocks. Very happy sounding, its got to be in a Major key. Lots of cool guitar work here. His leads just lock in so great with the walking bass lines. The first lines of the song give a Racer X type guitar shred from hell flavor. Then in comes in the repeating main riff, its a hook line and sinker. I love the main guitar lead that takes off at 2:13. Its nuts. Then Ray goes of the wall and shows off some of his speed. He's very clean as well, no bad notes at all. The main guitar line is really catchy, its a hook that you won't forget.

     Track six "Untold" is the second vocal track on "Strange World." Yet another, a great cruising tune. Its got a Extreme feel to it. Jamming riffs all the way through. Again Ric Pierce gives us some cool vocals. Really listen to the beginning acoustic lines, there are sweet. Major sounding, bright and full of life. Some keyboards even pop in every so often, nice touch. Then at 2:22, a Harmonic minor passage steers in.  Its a real shock, I didn't expect it all all. Then at 2:39 DeTone really shows off his chops as a shredder.  Fast and lots of feel. I really recommend listening to this lead a few times over. Overall the song is great, well written, and attention grabbing. Good radio song.

     Track seven "Kings Court" is a killer acoustic track. Has lots of feel and moves with grace. Ray does a lot of double tracking here. Meaning that the two guitar lines are never the same.  One carries in on direction and the other in a different one, but they always meet back at the center. Good construction. Ray's time is never off either. This is one of the shortest songs, but it really gives you a lot musically!  I can't recommend just one part, its a song that you really can't skip around in, without missing the whole picture.

     Track eight "The Gypsy's Dance" is a Latin / Gypsy style song. Wish I had one of those dancers here right now as a matter a fact. He came up with a really neat repeating line in this song. This is the shortest song on the whole CD only being 1:43 long total, but you'll have to put it on repeat. Ray's mastery of all fields of guitar shines on this song. Who said shredders can't jam!

     Track nine "Miles Deep" should be on the next Brian Setzler CD. Its nothing but a big rocking jam. It'll have you snapping you fingers and wanting to dance. Even an organ is introduced into this song, giving it a nostalgic feel. You just have to love his guitar work at 1:50, its a really cool descending line. Then we even get some pentatonic blues leads starting at 2:20. This cat can jam. DeTone really locks in with the rhythm section with his leads, they fit into the song well.  Its almost like free from. Then at 3:00 comes one smoking bend idea, very cool. The rest of the song really shows off Ray's polished guitar playing, very good. I'm not a huge fan of this type of guitar playing, but after hearing it I may just have turned a new leaf.

     Tack ten "Suck Off" starts off very strange.  Cool intro effects. Then comes the hard hitting guitar riffs. The vocals in this song have a distant type affect on them.   Ric Prince does some interesting vocal work here.  This song would hit in good with some of the newer styles of music enjoyed by Americas youth. Very different. But the lead is killer at 2:06. I think this this the highlight of the song. I love it. It really adds to the song. Don't get me wrong the song is good, I just have a hard time getting into groove oriented type songs like this one. The lead is defiantly my favorite part. But don't take my word for it, I'm OVERLY biased, because I'm a diehard Heavy Metal fan. So this song takes getting use to for me.

     Track eleven "The Axe Swings" really swings! Totally ear pleasing. The guitar lines are very smooth. I'll bet 10 bucks you could dance to it if you tried. Its a hip song. I'm unsure of what scales and modes he uses through out the song, but would love to find out. The song really takes off at 1:15.  I really like the lines and phrases Ray uses at this point.  This song is very fun. Another good section starts at 1:30. He even uses some trem bar work with chords. Cool line takes off at 2:00, that has to be my favorite part of the song, and its not even a lead. Then in comes the swing shred at 2:26. Smoking, Ray goes ape! Oh, another cool thing about this song is that Ray uses little distortion at all, remember those days before overdrive? You can tell how clean Ray's guitar work is in this song.

     Track twelve "Homework" will make you sit down and go over your guitar playing homework! Very melodic and  intricate. He pops in an interesting section at 00:22. I have to say I've never heard anything like that before. The jam lead comes in at 1:42, very cool passage. Ok, check out 2:07 this part is insane! Lots of cool guitar overdubs, blended together. Then at 2:25 Ray kicks in a evil lead, very scary. Done with lots of taste. DeTone's lead tone sounds really good throughout that section. Then form there he goes back into the groove thing again. Ray has a great ability to change styles throughout a song, without throwing you off. He is a master a song construction.

     Track thirteen "Street Urchin Symphony" is the best instrumental lead driven song on "Strange World."  No wonder he saved it for last. Its great. Tons and tons of emotion and feel, the guitar really weeps to you in this song. My favorite part starts at 00:50, very happy upbeat line. Ray really uses lots of different techniques in this song as far as his leads, they go from complex, to soulful in a heartbeat. That's one of the reasons I really like him as a guitarist, he is so versatile. Then the song goes clean at 2:12, very melodic guitar work here, with his rhythm playing. It really sets a mellow mood. Over that he rolls in with very well chosen guitar passages, also slow in nature, pausing every so often, to help start the next passage. Again in this song, Ray's guitar tones really help add to the flavor of the song. At 3:48 a sweet harmony pops in under the main leads. Very well done, it just pours out in emotion here. Even the keyboards come in and add to the texture. Then to finish it off, Ray builds his leads to a high point. Staring low then escalating the feel of them. Again here DeTone utilizes the guitar overdubbing to add tons of texture. I would hate to sit down and try to figure them all out. They so good!  This is why this tune has to be my most favorite on "Strange World."  Ray really uses all his energy and creative abilities in this song, and you'd have to be deaf not to feel it too!

     All and all "Strange World"  is a great release. It gets an A+ in variety, he covers all grounds on this CD. No wonder its called "Strange World," because Ray takes your ears and mind into a whole new dimension with this release. Fans of all types of guitar can really enjoy the CD, whether its Jazz, Fusion, Metal, rock, or mainstream. Ray covers every base. I think that's why I like his playing so much, he stands out. Not many guitarists can pull of what Ray does without being abrupt. In Ray DeTone's book, its a no brainer! I highly recommend this CD if your looking for a new perspective on your guitar playing. Ray opened my eyes to some new avenues that I never dreamed of trying. Coming form me the "Metal Monster" that's big praise! So go visit Ray Detone at www.raydetone.com  He has CDs for sale, ready to ship right away. So go open your wallet and spend a few bucks, you won't regret it, I promise. n They are also on sale at www.guitar9.com