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Ray DeTone Strange World  (Dancetone Music, 2001)

New York City guitarist, songwriter and producer Ray DeTone has played
with Paul Di'Anno's Killers, Steve Morse Band drummer Van Romaine, and
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, among others.  His previous solo CDs,
WHo CAReS... and Once More...With FEELING!!!, have been
licensed in Japan, and featured on the instrumental guitar 
website/store guitar9.com and on the Instrumental Metal Chart on mp3.com.
Strange World, his third solo CD, also includes vocalist Ric Prince
from WHo CAReS.... 

The music on Strange World includes about a third guitar rock
tunes with vocals and two-thirds guitar instrumentals, including a cover
of Aaron Copland's "Hoedown."  The sluggish intro track "Gateway," two
minutes of guitar solo and dual harmony lead doodling with whammy bar
tricks, moves into the upbeat title track with a dull industrial drum
loop that gives way to driving guitar rock.  The CD would have had more
impact starting directly with this song and foregoing the first track
and the drum loop.  In "Hoedown," DeTone shows off his neo-classical
slide with the original twist of playing a 20th century American piece
instead of the Bach or Paginnini usually playing by shred guitarists,
even though "Hoedown" has been played recently by other rock bands like
the Flecktones.  As usual for any shred cover of a classical piece, the
signature melody gives way to wild guitar solos that barely retain the
feel of the original composition.  "Miles Deep" swings with more fast
guitar and a horn section, and "The Axe Swings" shows off Brian Setzer
type rockabilly chops over upright bass and a static programmed
drumbeat.  The mellow "Street Urchin Symphony," with singing leads over
acoustic guitar arpeggios, brings Strange World to a solid close.

DeTone nimbly covers lead guitar pyrotechnics, with plenty of
neo-classical style riffs and arpeggios in his rock tunes such as "Hard
Ride."  The lyrics are bland rock fare, particularly "Untold" and "Suck
Off," but all the vocal tunes clock in concisely at under four minutes
each.  DeTone spends plenty of time overall on guitar solos, but most of
them don't drag on too long like many shred players.  He also plays most
of the bass on the record, a solid performance without flaws, but his
drum programming in several tracks sounds amateurish and in others
blandly holds the rhythmic foundation together.  The bright acoustic
instrumental "King's Court" moves through a slower section and a fast
jig, and DeTone handles the acoustic guitar adeptly.  The production
sounds professional, but the grinding guitar tone rings a bit flat in
the mix.

Ray DeTone's Strange World is reasonably clever rock/shred
guitar, with a good balance between melodic phrasing and crazy guitar
solos, and stylistic variety in the songwriting although without a 
great deal of originality.  DeTone's web site notes that MTV licensed two of
the vocal tunes and two of the instrumentals off Strange World 
as background music for scenes in their B-grade TV show "Undressed."  The
music on Strange World seems ideally suited to this -- well
executed, driving guitar rock with vocals and without, that sets a
rocking mood but doesn't seem to delve much deeper.

Reviewed by Scott Andrews [scottandrews@his.com]

More Info:

http://www.raydetone.com/ 



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