Boo Ray, Tennessee Alabama Fireworks Review
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Boo Ray grew up in the mountains a couple of hours west of Asheville, North Carolina, where he began songwriting at twelve years old, Ray learned how to play guitar at fifteen and put a band together at sixteen, playing clubs around the region. In 2005, Boo Ray wandered from Athens, Georgia, out to Los Angeles, where he spent a few years working with a slew of west coast musicians before he was picked up by a bondsman and hauled back down south. Needing some quick cash, he engaged the help of Steve Ferrone, Noah Shain, Paul Ill, Monica Ewing and Producer John “Q” Keggler. He released 2010’s Bad News Travels Fast out of a halfway house. His first Nashville record, Six Weeks in a Motel followed in 2012 and gained enough attention to lead to a successful publishing deal, plus the recording and release of Sea Of Lights. Now in 2019, the release of Tennessee Alabama Fireworks is set to release on February 15, 2019.
Positives:
Ray has a gritty yet believable voice, his storied songs lay nicely against the human experiences portrayed in his lyrics.
Bottom Line:
Ray is alt-country outlaw in his every fiber. He has walked in the shoes and gets to the “nitty-gritty” of the human condition in this modern world. With “A Tune You Can Whistle,” Ray laments about “one nation under the influence” of computer screens that have cast humanity into a shroud of anxiety and detachment. Whereas “She Wrote the Song” Boo Ray sings about true love mangled by miscommunication, dysfunction and addiction. “Don’t Look Back” is the proverbial road song of a weary traveler and his insatiable love of the journey. The defining element to the success of Tennessee Alabama Fireworks is Ray, his authenticity and gritty panache is heartfelt and completely convincing. That’s the short of it!