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Guitar Noir Reviews

Reviews by Ben Ohmart     Artist: Ray De Tone Title: One More... With Feeling!!! Label: Dancetone Music     Jeff Beck lives!! I was hoping that was the case. Nowadays whenever I ask anyone if they have any Beck to trade, it ain't Jeff they come back with. But if JB is getting too old, Ray's in there, not just going the distance, but WINning!! Like Brian May, he knows his guitar inside and out. This is the sort of player who makes us no-talent guitarists hate and admire his guts all in the same moment. You can imagine him picking up the guitar after 15 years of not bothering, and he's still super; he can play the latest songs easily, if he's heard them. Take the incredible opener 'Ray's Stew' which has all the force of a rock band at a jazz festival. In fact, Ray's doing all this stuff by himself. Keyboards, bass, a drum machine. Don't know how he'd do it all live, but I like studio stuff better anyway. For just this reason. Ray gets it right, he can overdub to the point of Queen perfection. He knows what he wants, and just does it. The only song that has words is 'Up On the Wire' which is nice enough. But after the songs surrounding it, you'll want to get back to just the music. His strong point. And strong it is. I'd recommend this cd to anyone. It's too short - 37 minutes - but let's harp on the quality, not quantity. Up tempo piece of disc. Great.                                                   Ben Ohmar    Copyright © 1999 Tag It

Review by "Halford" guitarist, Mike Chiasiak

 To say that Ray De Tone's music is "in the vein of Jeff Beck
and Eric Johnson" as his press materials state, would only serve
to tell part of the story.
     Sure, the mostly instrumental "Once More With Feeling"
features twisted time signatures, inventive melodies and ,of
course, lots of top-flight shredding on tracks such as the jumpy
"Ray's Stew", the frenetic "Thirteen What?!" and the soulful
 "Slow Grind", but wait...there's more.
     On "Country Thang", De Tone utilizes Commander Cody's
"Hot Rod Lincoln" riff to launch into some electrified chicken
pickin', sounding not at all unlike Steve Morse.
     The CD's lone vocal track, the dark "Up On The Wire",
showcases De Tone's solid grasp on phrasing and harmony with
his respectable (debut!) vocal performance.
     On the other side of all the hub-bub is the acoustic "Sitting
Pretty", showcasing some nice fingerpicking work, while the set's
closer, "Sad To Say Farewell", ends just as its gorgeous
progression makes it full circle.
     Not only has De Tone deftly handled his own bass playing on
all but two tracks and all drum programming, he has also done
an excellant job on the technical side of the glass for this fine
self-production.
     Ray De Tone is a guitarist's guitarist and proof is in "Once
More With Feeling". High points include the aforementioned
"Thirteen What?!", "Ray's Stew" and "Ben's Boogie".
                                       - George A. Fletcher

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                                                       I n d i e  R e v i e w

                                                                                 Ray DeTone - Once More... With Feeling!!!
                                                                                       © 1998 Dancetone Music

                                     Shred: 7
                                                          Production: 7
                                                                                       Vibe: 9
                                                                                                          Songwriting: 8
 

                             Guitarists can spend their entire career looking for
                            "that sound" and never find it. Everybody wants their unique
                             sound, one that makes their music easily identifiable.
                             Ray DeTone is lucky enough to have found "his sound" so
                             early in his career. I am intrigued by the unique sound he
                             has found, that attacks your senses song after song.

                             To his record, Ray has toured with Iron Maiden's Paul Di'anno
                             and the legendary Ronnie Spector, just to name a few.
                             He has even written scores to films by Charles Bronson.
                             With his solo project, he has compiled a list of 10 songs
                             that will thrill the guitar lover. From the
                             Stevie-Ray-Vaughn-meets-Scott-Henderson "Ray's Stew", to
                             the Gary Moore sounding "Slow Grind", Ray presents us with a
                             varied collection of everything from blues, to pop, to fusion and
                             progressive rock. This CD finds its way to my CD player quite a bit.
                             I can't wait for the next release!

                             Pick of the lot: "Ray's Stew" (4:40)

                             Reviewed by Thingfish

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By Barry Barnett

"This is an album with plenty of flashes of guitar dexterity that
occasionally reminds me of Jeff Beck at his very best - a good point of
reference would be Beck's "Wired" album. Having said that, Ray De Tone is
too good to just copy his or anybody else's heroes. He's very much his own
man and that strength of personality shines on the 10 mostly instrumental
tracks that make up this album.

Ray has been a professional guitarist for a long time now - trivia fans will
need to know that he first started learning music theory with Vic Talerico,
father of Aerosmith's Steve Tyler! Having found his own unique sound, he
continues to develop it by playing with some of the biggest names in rock,
all of whom have been drawn to his virtuosity, subtlety and business like
approach to making music, but on this album it's all pretty much down to Ray
who accompanies himself on some very tasty bass licks and tight drum
patterns.

With such an incredible track record, maybe the most astonishing thing about
Ray, is that this is his first solo album. It's inevitable that his career
will continue to win fans all over the world and I'm delighted to be able to
introduce you to the magic fingers of Ray De Tone."

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RHYTHM AND NEWS
February' s Budweiser Artist Of The Month: Ray DeTone
by Lisa Fairbanks

'I have a plaque on my wall that somebody made up for me. It's a poem called
persistence,' says guitarist Ray DeTone. "When I start doing something, I
don't stop. It's in my nature."

Perhaps it's DeTone's persistant nature that compels him to also maintain a
high standard in his music and business dealings.

"To think about the whole picture is mind blowing - like trying to get in
someplace and putting materials together, going after them - you can't
 rest," he says.

DeTone has seen his career cross paths with artists as diverse as Ronnie
Spector and Steve Vai (he even took music theory classes as a kid with
Steven Tyler's father), but it would seem these days the Hudson Valley-based
guitarist has come full circle.

Today, as frontman of his own instrumental trio (which also features bassist
Rick Mullen and drummer Mike Sciotto), DeTone has his sights set less on
backing a notable artist than on becoming famous all on his own.

"At the age of 14, I wanted to be a rock star," he laughs. "By age 18, I was
naive enough to think that it was actually possible by playing at all the
high school dances. It still comes down to a true belief in the love for
what you do."

Although the musician admits that having a name such as Ronnie Spector on
his resume "adds credibility," DeTone points out that in order to excel in a
variety of musical situations, you have to step back to find what's right
for a particular song.

"I've always prided myself in coming up with the right sensibility for the
right artist," he explains. "It started out as a producer and it's spilled
its way into my guitar playing by doing a lot of session work. You have to
listen to the whole thing - not from the point of view of a guitar player,
but from the point of view of the song."

Musical score
Beyond the R&B/pop of a Ronnie Spector gig, DeTone's chops were courted by
many hard rock-type bands prevalent during the 1980s. The artist soon
discovered he had carved a niche for himself - and a reputation as a
"shredder." DeTone wound up scoring a major sideman stint with CBS recording
artist, Drive She Said.

"By the time I got that reputation, I was already more of a straight-ahead
player," he explains. "But Drive She Said did real well in Europe. It was
interesting because it was at the pinnacle of pop-metal: Bon Jovi,
Whitesnake, bad hair. They would say: 'Oh, by the way, we're doing a show
with Whitesnake and Steve Vai's in the band.' That's when I said, 'I'm going
home to practice.' "

Although DeTone did (not) play the Whitesnake gig, he admits that there were times
he would stop and wonder how he got onto the same stage as these rock icons
in the first place.

"There are so many great players," he offers. "I'm constantly comparing
myself to others and am hard on myself. I'm trying to learn to relax."

DeTone has been tagged to be an endorser for DR Strings and Fender guitars.
His CD "Once More ... With Feeling," released over a year ago, has just been
re-released in Japan and continues to open doors for his music and his band.

"A friend of mine told me a long time ago that I always seem to have a lot
of irons in the fire," he says. "The way I see it, as long as the irons are
in the fire and you have choices and keep looking for new avenues to promote
yourself, at least you are moving forward and doing something positive. That
keeps your energy up."

"Of course," he admits, "you like to score once in a while."

TO

Rhythm & News Magazine   ©8/2001 (also on the web www.rhythmandnews.com)
By Dean Sternberg
 

RAY DETONE
Guitarists take heart, it's still OK to shred. Yeah, Yngwie and the whole Shrapnel scene (the label that played host to Tony McAlpine, Vinnie Moore, Paul Gilbert, etc.) played itself out by the early 1990's, and suddenly it  seemed that guitar solos had no place in rock anymore.
Actually, if you listen to the radio, it still seems like that today. Playing a million miles an hour may not be en vogue anymore, but there is still plenty of room for good guitar players, and the key to staying power is versatility, as in Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and John Petrucci. Guys that can play any style and do it well, basically.

Which brings me to Ray DeTone, a NYC-based guitarist that many of you may not have heard of. His resume outlines a massive amount of experience over the years, having played, written and recorded with and for several well-known bands, artists, orchestras, film scores - you name it, he's done it.

From ex-Iron Maiden vocalist Paul DiAnno's band Battlezone to a stint in the orchestra pit for "Godspell" and "Jesus Christ Superstar", DeTone has touched all musical territories from one end to the other and everything in between. And it shows on his second solo CD, "Strange World." Ray DeTone does not attack his instrument with neo-classical fury or pepper every song with not-humanly-possible bursts of speed showcasing every note on the scale in a 10-second time frame.
What he does do is fuse an enormous amount of technique with very good songwriting, producing tunes that can be appreciated by fans of any style of guitar playing. The funny thing about this CD is that it's catchy enough to not fly over the heads of non-musicians, but if you listen to it with a guitarist's ear, it's enough to make you want to tear your hair out. "Oh, Lord in heaven! Why didn't I take those Flamenco lessons? Why didn't I listen to Roy Clark on Hee Haw? Why did I have to show up to music theory class hungover? WHHYYYY?"

I'll let you in on a little secret. See, a lot of us guitarists are pretty good at playing within our respective genres, practicing mainly what we like to listen to. For example, it's unlikely that a decent metal guitarist tore himself away from his Ozzy, Metallica and Testament records during the learning stages long enough to figure out a few Chet Atkins licks. I, er, I mean, he should have taken the time.

Anyway, there are 13 tracks on this finely-produced CD, which guests drummer Van Romaine (Steve Morse), keyboardist Adam Holzman (Miles Davis, Grover Washington), and vocalist Ric Prince, who sings with a Rage Against the Machine-style on three of the disc's heavier songs. The rest of the tunes are instrumental, a multi-genre display of guitar perfection devoid of wanking with the occasional prog-rock touch.
Like any really good guitarist, DeTone has his own signature style, although I hear traces of Steve Vai and Eric Johnson here and there.  I highly recommend "Strange World" to anyone who appreciates good guitar. Now start practicing.
 
 

TO

FIREWORKS MAGAZINE UK
OCT/NOV 2001

RAY DETONE
By Nick Baldrian

We start this issue’s column off with an extremely gifted new fusion guitar player called Ray DeTone who has been recently receiving lots of praise for his new instrumental and vocal record "Strange World" which I think everyone should own, as it is an absolutely brilliant record filled with thoughtful pieces
of music and is not made up of your usual guitar hero stuff.

Self produced, the albums quality, sounds like a major label release. And the great thing is that the songs never get boring, as each song is diverse and unique in it's own right. You get metal funk numbers like the title track which, come mid chorus, rip out some fine guitar shredding. 'Hoedown' goes for a more country approach kinda like Stu Hamm's famous 'Country Music' and has a very happy sounding chorus with great catchy licks.

The cool thing about "Strange World" is that it's one of those albums that you need to spend time with as each time you play it there is always something of interest to listen to.Variety is the essence of this album as each song is different, check out 'The Journey Begins', a soothing melodic piece which swaps
changes with cool fusion and Latin ideas. 'Hard Ride' is very infectious and will have you tapping your feet in tune with the great swirling Eric Johnson influenced melodies. 'Untold' is one of the vocal led songs which is a great song, very funky, moshy and catchy in the vein of Extreme and is one of my favourite songs on the record. The singer is a gentleman called Ric Prince and he is very good, coupled with Ray's intoxicating melting riffs this song is just damn good.

So anyway as the madness of this song ends we are treated to a beautiful flamenco piece called  'King's Court' which is in tune with guys like Al DI Meola, Nuno, Michael Fath and Shawn Lane. Llisten to how this song progresses, its simple melody is very effective. Next song proper is the jazzy swing of 'Miles Deep' which is another song in the Eric Johnson tradition. It's got horns in it and jazzy keys and is a very experimental song that could have been used as the music in the John Travolta film "Get Shorty" as it has a similar vibe to that films soundtrack. This is another of the albums highlights and shows just how interesting DeTone's music is. He's completely versatile and everything on "Strange World" is just divine.The playing throughout is spectacular. Things get a bit experimental on the next track 'Suck Off' which borrows rappy influences from Primus, Bumblefoot and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Then the fusion continues on chunky 'The Axe Swing' which has some amazing tapping sequences, whilst 'Homework' is a traditional guitar piece in the Vai,Satch, Van Halen vein and sounds technically complex but is catchy and memorable.

The last song 'Street Urchin Symphony' ends a really enjoyable album and is almost a theme similar to the style of  George Harrison's "Cheer Down" and like the Lethal Weapon soundtrack music that is fresh and innovating. Make sure you check Ray DeTone out folks.Respect where respect is due. Great stuff.
www.raydetone.com OR contact : - rdt@raydetone.com
 
 

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RUSSIA's GUITAR.RU

RAY DE TONE       STRANGE WORLD(©2001, Dancetone Music)

The panic created by the press release before the release of the album was unjustified: the CD is not hip-hop or industrial. The only song in which you can hear the influence of RATM is "Suck Off", and NIN only influenced decorative fragments which make the music sound better, but which do not completely change the guitar sound. Even the rhythms programmed on more tracks sound authentic  and this only happens when "real" sounds are added with the computer. The three vocal tracks are sung by a singer whose deep and slightly hoarse voice is of the highest hard-rock standard, and in fact it is hard to believe that Ric Prince is actually a rapper.

From a technical point of view, Ray’s new material can be defined very easily: it is highly above the usual "neoclassical" material. And probably even the tones are warmer. Almost. Even the many acoustic fragments are quite austere. This does not mean that Ray is only a cold technician, he is also a highly emotional musician. He easily changes the tempo, going from electric to acoustic, and at the same time improvising (as in the brilliant song "the Journey Begins", featuring Van Romaine on the drums - Ed. some of our readers might know the Steve Morse Band)

All the different styles present in the album will make you feel dizzy: crazy blues, progressive, some Greek elements, a part of popular music and a strong jazz influence. And metal, of course. One of Ray’s first jobs was with the KILLERS, the group of the original IRON MAIDEN vocalist, Paul Dianno.

All these styles can be mixed, but only a very few artists can do it with DeTone’s ability. The metal hit "Strange World" and the swing tracks "The Axe Swings" and "Untold" with gothic passages and an unexpected oriental melody; the acoustic "King’s Court" and "Gypsy’s Dance", and "Miles Deep"-I don’t know what style it is… it has a loose rhythm, and Adam Holzman (ex Miles Davis, Grover Washington jr.) plays a solo at the organ, which is then carried over by the guitar. Everyone is going to love this album! More on this artist at: www.raydetone.com

Sergej Tishchenko
Translated from the Russian e-zine GUITAR.RU by Federica Sarti

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Artist: Ray DeTone (www.raydetone.com)
Title: Strange World
Label: Dancetone Music

Guitar rock. Mostly instrumental. 3 word-songs
including the title track, 'Strange World.' This is a star's
cd. The opening 'Gateway' should demonstrate that,
  with its Brian May over the top layering. Though certainly the most
interesting, ambitious and Fun has to be the famed Aaron Copeland tune,
'Hoedown.' Okay, that's the composer who scored the Beef - It's What's For
Dinner tune. But before this dead guy got into commercials, he wrote some
Pulitzer prize winning symphonic Western music representations. Never
before have I heard 'Hoedown' covered on a rock cd. Thank God the first
 time was with a DeTone brilliance.

When classical music gets covered by a master guitarist, you have to call it
progressive in nature. However even the follow up 'The Journey Begins' is of
that ilk with definite irregular rhythm flavor, spurned on by Steve Morse
(prog!) drummer Van Romaine. Ray's elegance in the acoustic guitar break
proves the man can conquer whatever punctuation he touches. A 5 minute
work of art.

For those interested in a 'Hard Ride,' check out the only-electric stance of
Ray in the saddle. Bass hooves provided by the ever-working Rick Mullen.
Technically, Ray demonstrates on this track and the entire disc that he can
 do anything, and often does.

'King's Court' is a beautiful acoustic sideline with Ray and no one else.
Lasts 2 minutes and is incredibly peaceful and rich in its vibrant tone. Not
as show-off as Steve Howe, and equally as proficient. Time for credits now.
Do you have a few minutes? Ray:

Studied music with Steven Tyler's dad

That's all right off the bio, and there's much more than that. But who cares.
The point is this is some of the best guitar music going, especially if you
see the instrument as an extraordinary tool with the ability to make sonic
symphonies and Strange Worlds out of nothing but talent and fingers. Ray's
 got more than his fair share of both.