Though Ray’s Music Exchange takes its name from the run down Chicago music shop run by Ray Charles’ character in the movie The Blues Brothers, the Cincinnati quartet’s fusionistic eclecticism might confound the purist tastes of the movie’s heroes, Jake and Elwood Blues. The band’s second studio release, Blue in the Face, focuses more on its moniker’s Exchange element than the late Charles’ soulful blues. There are a small handful of moments on the album when the individual musicians take a little solo time under the spotlight, but for the most part, RMA concentrate on a group dynamic that melds a funk and jazz aesthetic with just about every other genre under the sun.
With such a mutt-like pedigree, one might expect goofy jamband juxtapositions, but aside from “Blue,” a bastardized reggae tune about an aging canine having trouble getting around the house,
Blue in the Face is most closely akin to 70s fusion efforts somewhere between Weather Report and the Headhunters. Trumpeter Michael “Mad Dog” Mavridoglou adds a bit of soul to the slow-funk groove of “Gapers” and plays the cooler cousin to guitarist Brad Myers’ occasional freakouts on “Blue” and the shit-hot bounce of “Jimmy Jenga.” Myers tries his hand at Mahavishnu-style jazz rock on “Exidor,” which opens in the middle of vacuous Miles Davis ambience before building to an uncomfortable chaos broken by bassist Nick Blasky’s machine gun bass harmonics weaved through a loose Caribbean rhythm. Myers shatters the peaceful ocean breezes with a single, ringing chord and proceeds to noodle through a few lines of classic John McGlaughlin until the band’s Bahamian mood can catch up.
“Free Ride and a Hotplate” kicks off with a funky stutter-step bass line before drummer Eli Hludzik and an expanded horn section reign it in for a 1980s family vacation travel theme, while “Boris the Bedsnake” takes things a bit further back into TV land for a moddish car chase through the mid-70s. After veering off south of the border for a reckless trip through a dusty mariachi bar, Hludzik takes a rare moment in the spotlight before plunging back into L.A. traffic.
Some attempts at more genre-specific sounds come off flawlessly—the Dixieland jazz of “Bowie Knife” blends well with its syncopated horn line and funky guitar vamp and “Synchrocosmic” is slow Zappa blues complete with a spot-on Ike Willis impression by Blasky on vocals —but others stray too far from Ray’s Music Exchange’s bread and butter. “Blue” is just catchy enough to squeeze by, but the band’s attempt at down and dirty funk descends into bland smooth jazz on “Red Rocket.” The foursome’s sense of adventure and experimentation is far more fruitful than any pre-fabricated recipe, and when they measure out the ingredients, their rich fusion stew gets watered down to a generic broth.
Blue in the Face is a good album from a meaty line-up of great players still finding their way around the kitchen, but RMA definitely have something good brewing.
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