Ray Wilson - Song For Friend
This great acoustic CD ‘Song for a Friend’, was released by Stiltskin frontman and ex Genesis lead singer Ray Wilson on 10 June and is dedicated to his much missed friend James Lewis who passed away in 2015.
Song for a Friend’
showcases Ray’s ‘up close and personal’ storytelling style, stripping his soul
bare with tales of loss, friendship and human emotions. The opening track ‘Old
Book on the shelf’ takes us to a cafe in Amsterdam, where a man sits alone
unable to find inner peace. When he notices a solitary book on a shelf he comes
across a memoir of his own life, and with that the realisation that his peace
and happiness will only come if he accepts himself for who he is and stops
trying to fight it or prove himself to anyone. The lyrics on the song are so
well crafted you almost feel like you are sat in the cafe with him.
The quality of the song writing shines through
on all tracks turning this CD into a fantastic collection of musical short
stories.
Title track Song for a Friend is a lovely song
that paints a vivid picture of Ray’s childhood and his love for his mother. Other stand out tracks are Backseat Driving, Parallel
Souls and the catchy Tried and Failed, which should really be out as a single.
The CD closes with a cover of the Pink Floyd song High Hopes which has a haunting piano cord running through the song, before building to a fantastic guitar climax. Another memorable song on this beautiful album.
Helping Wilson on ‘Song For A Friend’ are Stiltskin
guitarist Uwe Metzler, drummer Nir Z are Lawrie McMillan on bass, Kool Lyczek
on piano, Hammond and melotron, Ali Ferguson on guitar, Marcin Kasper on sax,
brother Steve Wilson on backing vocals, Mario Koszel on percussion and Peter
Hoff on percussion loops, with mixing courtesy of Yogi Lang.
Track
list as follows:
01. Old Book on the
Shelf
02. Over my Dead
Body
03. Cold Light of
the Day
04. Song for a
Friend
05. How Long is too
Long
06. Not Long till
Springtime
07. Backseat
Driving
08. Parallel Souls
09. Tried and
Failed
10. High Hopes
Ray Wilson will be returning his full electric
production when he releases his 6th studio album MAKES ME THINK OF HOME on 7
October.
NH