Grayson Wray Project

Grayson Wray
Picasso's Dream
Impressive Music
16 song CD

What an appropriate title for this strange amalgam of popular music. Grayson Wray pulls from a host of influences and sounds, creating an album that rambles and careens without a focused direction. While this admittedly doesn't always work, sometimes it does, and the result can be fabulous.

Wray is at his best when he flirts with standard pop sensibilities. The fun part is that he only borrows what he needs, without taking us down the same old roads again. This is most evident in songs like What's Inside and With You I'm Alone, where he uses deconstructed beats and disjointed melodies to piece together these beautiful pop songs. There's a late-Beatles quality to his approach; think the weirder moments of The White Album-meets-Abbey Road and you might get an idea of what's going on here.

Much like the album's namesake, Wray takes his art and turns it around so we can look at it from a completely different angle, and that's quite a feat.

MISH MASH Mandate: Picasso Pop

http://mashmusic.tripod.com/february04.html - MISH MASH MANDATE

Grayson Wray - Road to Paradise

Multi instrumentalist Grayson Wray puts together an album of retro pop with influences which probably include the Beatles , in a big way !Grayson's vocals are strong as he croons his way through this trip of pop culture which transcends decades and sounds at times like the 60s and 70s with a tender mix of the 80s pop scene too .
The songwriter at times seems a bit too retro , but the lyrics are strong glimpses into the heart and mind of Wray . He can surely play the instruments that flow a strange ease along the tracks with the harmonies of Grayson and Angie Donkin , Then all of a sudden we get thrown into the late 70s with "Destination Love" and " Anytime it Gets Too Slow" which have an eerie disco quality to them with a rock edge .

The players.... Grayson Wray - Vocals , Guitars , Keyboards ,programming , Drums and Bass , Angie Donkin - Vocals , Lorenzo Grass - Guitars on "I will Never Know" , Matt Starr - Drums on "I Will Never Know" and Karl Katterfeld -String Bass on "When You Cry".

The tune "When You Cry" takes you into an 80s style soul song that sounds just a bit out of place here , but kind of works on it's own . The production is clean, and the CD sounds nice . Of course Grayson has had some practice as well producing other works including Franki Baaz recordings . I however don't quite know what to make of the style of the entire project . At times it sounds as if Wray knows where he is heading , and then sends us on a total mind warp to another decade and style .

"1,2,3,4,5" is another one of those songs.... It is heavier than the rest , and is a bit mismatched when it comes to the general flow of the album . But ,individually the songs do hold up , and give you a strange glimpse at an even stranger world . Wray sure has the talent to produce good material . I would fit in well with some college radio play lists , but will fall short of the "commercial" success
which I am not sure Wray was shooting for in the first place . I will say this , if you're into the retro thing with a bit of modern a\ sarcasm thrown in, give "Road To Paradise " a try . You may be surprised at the grooves you find here .

I like this CD .... . If you enjoy music and would like to dive into a pool of jazz influenced retro pop , sometimes with a bite ,
check out Grayson Wray .

( 4 stars out of 6 )

http://www.graysonwray.com

- Rikk's Revues

02:06am, 17th Mar 2005   Spotlight -

If variety is the spice of life then
Grayson Wray has built an empire, a
temple to the rock gods that have long
since passed on. He could have been
successful in any decade of music with
his homespun down to earth process.
He offers a multitude of styles and
sounds on the new album Tales of
Mystery and Loneliness.

Wray goes from song to song trying to
make each one unique, unable to
repeat himself, even if he tries. He
makes his best efforts to put songs that fit together for an album, believing that it is better for the listener to have variety. Listening to his music was like
a trip back in time for me.

I heard many bands that I listened to
on a regular basis in this music. I
heard the Beatles (That's What I'm
Talking About), the Beach Boys (Too
Many People), Dylan (Gladiator), King
Crimson with Adrian Belew on vocals (
Bad Girl and Sun God, amongst
others), 10cc (I Will Never Die), then
flat out rockers like "Hate About Love," which made my temperature escalate and my blood pump. The variety of sounds and influences are simply mind- boggling. It was almost as if this person knew what kind of music I grew up on, it was freaky but I loved it just the same.

Artist like Grayson Wray are rare these
days. Take away the glitter and glitz,
the overproduction and overt emphasis on computer-generated
sounds (he does sample but with care
and brevity) and you have simple rock
'n' roll with essence. This is what
artisans like Wray are made of. He is
solid in his approach, diversified in his
tastes, and above all, sensitive to an
audience that demands quality and
originality. He has all bases covered,
just as a hand weaved blanket or a
patchwork quilt that keeps you warm
on cold winter night.

His success is readily apparent with
Tales of Mystery and Loneliness,
which is finding its way into college
airplay quite frequently. Wray attributes his quick rise in popularity to the melodic sophistication of the album and the warmth that may be lacking in our surrounding world, not just in a musical sense of the word.

http://www.graysonwray.com/ - Keith

Grayson Wray - Picasso's Dream
Impressive Music - IMP 203200

Picasso had inventive ideas that he transferred to canvas, and L.A.'s Grayson Wray follows that philosophy with the music on the CD that bears the painter's name. Whiffs of both the Beatles and Stones and maybe a touch of Zappa, twisted with modern technopop weirdness. Wry lyrics and intelligent songwriting fuel songs like the frisky "She's The One," the vaguely punkish "Universal Girl" and the frenetic "Pure Delight." This is enjoyably strange music. URL: http://www.impressivemusic.com E-mail: mail@impressivemusic.com - Music Morsels

Grayson make us enjoy with retro pop (you know, that great pop music made in the 60's), although not all here is retro and not all is pop either... The music of Wray is painted with vivid colours, but it is mainly music "in green", music that sounds to fresh grass, but not all are "flowers", Grayson also offers mystery, emotion, instrospection and a little of magic, very varied; as said before not only retro pop, since you will find also influences from the 70's and 80's (in both fields: pop and rock) and some other things not so clear, there are surprises in every track, if not pay attention to the placid jazz influences of the last piece or the dark drama of "When You Cry" (the two tracks with female vocals by Angie Donkin); "1,2,3,4,5" is also a surprising track, with a violent and noisy rock (almost punk), or the epic symphonic lo-fi arrangement of "Get Me Off"... all is always new with every track. The music is very rhythmic, it is easy to get enthusiastic with their powerful rhythmic hook, there are some slow tracks but most are this way; the compositions have abundant weird  arrangements which contrast with the immediate voice and rhythms, and you will notice some electronic flirtations too.

A very recommended work of multicoloured retro pop with a very solid rhythmic hook.



Label: IMPRESSIVE MUSIC www.impressivemusic.com
GLOBAL GRADE: 8,9/10
Review by Héctor Noble Fernández.



"PICASSO'S DREAM" CD 2004 (second cd)
Instruments played by the group: guitar, keyboards, bass, drums, programming, samples and male vocals. Additional instruments: guest female vocals by Angie Donkin on one track.

The music: almost the same formula, although I have to say that this time things are probably put in a different order, but the same magnific music. I don't really need new words to explain how is the music done by Wray, all said in the previous review is valid, notwithstanding I would swear that this time he has chosen to sound more strong, the music is more powerful, via rock or via more overwhelming rhythms, but the tracks never cease to be pop bombs; in spite of the fact that it is still his addictive amalgam of multiple colours and sensations, all goes in a more concrete direction, and with more energy, he seems to look for something sunny but maybe not so colourist, now the hook (this is always obligatory in his music) transmits more voltage. The influences are also different, less pop, less Beatles and more rock and taste to late 70's and early 80,s, and a more personal interpretation, besides the own inventions of Mr. Gray; apart from all the modern elements (there are abundant electronic details, space ambiences and that slight odd touch), but above all I notice more tension in the tracks, like new and rougher emotions, with moments where the music becomes very condensed. And how I enjoy this music!

Label: IMPRESSIVE MUSIC www.impressivemusic.com
GLOBAL GRADE: 8,999/10
Review by Héctor Noble Fernández. - mi2n

Grayson Wray's new release "Picassos'Dream" getting heavy rotation on WRAS, Georgia St.U. Number 12 last week. Taking off like a rocket with 46 college stations so far and picking up new ones every day.

 
 
Grayson Wray's new release "Picassos's Dream" is getting played on 46 college stations so far. WRAS,Atalanta Georgia is playing all 16 cuts in heavy rotation. Wras is a major college station with a 100,000 watt transmitter.

(PRWEB) March 23, 2004--Grayson Wray's new release "Picasso's Dream" is getting heavy rotation on WRAS, Atlanta, Georgia, Georgia St.U. Last week he was number 12 on their chart. Wras is a 100,000 watt radio station. They are playing all 16 cuts. "Picasso's Dream" is getting played on 46 college stations so far. Also Grayson was named artist of the day, March 5,in the alternative section on Garage Band .com . He has been geting rave reviews on Garage Band.


 

  - PR Web: Press Release Newswire