Russell, Ray - Dangerous Bends CD

SKU Rune 553
Ray Russell - electric & acoustic guitars, Prophet 5
Simon Phillips - drums
Ian Palmer - drums
Laurence Cottle - bass guitar
Jim Watson - keys, ARP Odyssey, acoustic piano
Tim Whitehead - tenor & soprano saxes
Johnny Thirkell - trumpet, flugelhorn

The first thing you’re likely to notice when you hear Ray Russell ’s Dangerous Bends is his sound. With his guitar, he flies at heights only attempted by David Gilmour’s soaring melodies, navigating musical twists and turns with the nuanced filigree of Jeff Beck and the angular fluidity of Allan Holdsworth. No surprise though: This is no list of heroes – these are Russell’s peers. And while his name might not have reached the same kind of household status as that trio of legends, his guitar playing has.

That’s a teenage Russell you’ve heard on vintage James Bond soundtracks, recorded back when he was a member of the John Barry Seven. His presence accompanying the silver screen spans his career—you can even hear him on the soundtrack to the modern comedy classic Anchorman—but his list of first-call studio credits may still supersede that work. To only briefly touch on his credits feels like an impossible task, with names like Tina Turner, Heaven 17, Phil Collins and David Bowie vying for mention.

Additionally, Russell created some of the early '70s' most outrageously outside music, releasing hallmark works of guitar shock-and-awe. Russell's "stabbing, singing notes and psychotic runs up the fretboard have nothing to do with scalular architecture," wrote All Music's Thom Jurek, "but rather with viscera and tonal exploration." The inspiration for Dangerous Bends was to do a quintet record mostly live off the floor, sharing the melodic frontline with saxophonist Tim Whitehead (Nucleus, Loose Tubes). For a rhythm section, he tapped Laurence Cottle (Black Sabbath, Bill Bruford) for the bass slot, Jim Watson (Kurt Elling, Sting) on keys, and drummer Ian Palmer (Randy Brecker, Climax Blues Band) for most of the record, who collectively provide what he calls “a telepathic thing—they know where you’re going when you start.”

Dangerous Bends isn’t just a welcomed new entry from a preeminent 6-stringer, it’s proof that Russell continues to forge ahead, his ever-evolving Strat sound on full display, making a case that though he’s a player who quite literally has done it all, there’s still more to discover...
  • LabelCuneiform
  • UPC045775055329
Your Price $15.00
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