Ray, Rick - Cast Into Our Dimension

Year of Release: 2000
Label: Neurotic Records
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 72:18:00

Yet more material from Ohio's prolific guitarist Rick Ray, as we take a quick look at Cast Into Our Dimension.

While the opening track, "Always In Your View" is much like previously reviewed material, "Guitarm and Hammer" has a mid-80s feel to it - I thought of Sammy Hagar- well, his band at least, as this is an all instrumental track. Ray's playing is open and breezy - almost like the open road. This is quite good, quite compact.

Too often though, Ray goes for the darker sounds - I want to say grungy, but that word has a different connotation these days. It's rough, coming from a deep, dark place. It isn't bad, but it makes for tight listening - everything seems crowded into a small space. Whether that's a function of production or design, I don't know - meaning if this were a major label funded recording would it sound cleaner or is this the effect Ray is going for.

Ray sounds eerily like John Lennon on the Beatles-esque "Time Seems To Fly" circa Magical Mystery Tour. What sounds out of place, and pulls it away from the Beatles sound is the clarinet. So Beatles-like, you'd swear he was lifting the arrangement of "All You Need Is Love"

My approach toward these discs has been from progressive guitar-rock perspective, but it might be more appropriate to look at from a space-rock perspective. Ray utilizes here as on previous releases, an almost dreamy vocal approach - dreamy through a cigarette haze, as there's a certain rawness to his voice. There are occasions where I think of Rush (which I have from the outset).

A couple of these tracks are spoken word pieces ("Utopian Order" and "Freedom No Longer") - using soundbites of a voice I recognize but cannot name. Ray's music, of course, runs underneath.

Other highlights: "Deadman's Boogie," "A Wheel Within A Wheel," and the "Voices of Tartarus," the latter of which is more ambient as Ray bends guitar notes in swoops and dives.

Tracklisting:
Always In Your View (6:56) / Utopian Order (1:12) / Guitarm and Hammer (3:27) / Embracing Insanity (6:41) / Another Dimension (4:29) / Time Seems To Fly (8:33) / Freedom No Longer (1:54) / Cast Into Our Dimension (4:06) / The Monolith (4:37) / In This Sphere (4:58) / Deadman's Boogie (3:30) / Bloppy Stuff (part 5) (4:05) / A Wheel Within A Wheel (4:46) / The Voices of Tartarus (1:41) / The Writer (5:13) / Corruption Had Taken Over (6:10)

Musicians:
Rick Ray - guitars, vocals, bass, keyboards, percussion, and RX8
Rick Schultz - clarinet

Discography:
Abnormal Road (1999)
Balance Of Power (1999)
The Great Antagonist (1999)
Clone Man (1999)
Atomic Soldiers (1999)
Neurotic Tendencies (1999)
You People (1999)
Looking Into the Past (1999)
The Key To The Bottomless Pit (1999)
Cast Into Our Dimension (2000)
Living In An Insane World (2000)
Mind Control, Inc. (2000)
Guitarsenal (2000)
Manipulated DNA (2001)
Insanity Flies (2001)
Existing Passages (2002)
The Guitarsonist (2002)
Rick Ray Band - Into The Hands Of Sinners (2003)
Rick Ray Band - Out Of The Mist Of Obscurity (2003)
Rick Ray Band - Night Of The Living Dedicated (2004)
Chainsaw Manicure (2005)
Rick Ray Band - Temporary World (2005)
Rick Ray Band - Nothing To Lose (2007)
Rick Ray Band - Violence Marred By Peace (2008)
Rick Ray Band - The Setlist (2009)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin US

Added: February 1st 2000
Reviewer: Stephanie Sollow
Score:
Artist website: www.rickray.net
Hits: 2537
Language: english