Artist: Ray Martin Cerimeli
Album: Back in Bloom
Review by Alex Henderson
In the brief liner notes that he wrote for Back in Bloom, singer Ray Martin Cerimeli explains that this 2011 release “is about rebirth and awakening—when being comes to touch the dormant and sleeping seeds that are resting beneath the frozen, snow-covered ground, providing a spark, which sets into motion a new season of growth and change.” Upon reading that, one might assume that Back in Bloom is the type of overblown concept album that is too lofty and too pretentious for its own good. But it turns out that Back in Bloom is actually very accessible, straight-forward and easy to digest, and it is accessible in a decidedly pre-1990s fashion. Cerimeli, who produced this 67-minute CD in a Phoenix studio and wrote all 16 of the songs, is obviously committed to the arena rock and FM rock of a pre-Nirvana, pre-Nevermind, pre-Pearl Jam, pre-grunge era; this is a 2011 release that sounds like it could have been recorded in the 1970s or 1980s, and although most of the songs were copyrighted in 2008, 2009 or 2010, they are very much a throwback to a time in which artists like Peter Frampton, REO Speedwagon, April Wine, Foghat, Survivor, Bad Company and Kansas were favorites on FM rock stations. Cerimeli’s songs aren’t mind-blowing, but they are generally catchy and agreeable.
Back in Bloom ventures into hard rock territory on “Thorns,” “Baby, Get Going,” “Miles and Miles from Nowhere” and “Don’t Bother to Call Me,” all of which are bluesy without actually falling into the 12-bar blues category. Those tracks aren’t heavy metal, but they are clearly examples of bluesy hard rock. Of course, there can be a fine line between heavy metal and hard rock; back in the 1970s and 1980s, there were plenty of bands that were relevant to both hard rock and heavy metal (Kiss, Blue Öyster Cult and Van Halen, for example). But when Cerimeli rocks aggressively, there is no doubt that he comes down on the hard rock side of things rather than the heavy metal side of things. And Cerimeli, an Ohio native who is now based in Chandler, Arizona, has his moodier, more relaxed moments as well; “Man, It’s Hell,” “Loving You” (not to be confused with the Minnie Riperton hit from the mid-1970s), “Living in Your Songs” and the ballad “After Our Time” are faithful to the spirit of 1970s and 1980s arena rock/FM rock, although they don’t have the hard rock sensibilities of “Baby Get Going” or “Don’t Bother to Call Me.”
Back in Bloom has a fair amount of variety. While “Forgotten Artist” has some Latin flavor, “Greasewood Flats” draws on both arena rock and country-rock. But it isn’t the rowdy, hell-raising, whiskey-soaked country-rock/southern rock of Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Molly Hatchet, the Outlaws, the Marshall Tucker Band or .38 Special; rather, “Greasewood Flats” is not unlike something that the Eagles would have recorded back in the day.
“Forgotten Artist” hints at Santana, who were one of the most innovative and ambitious bands to make their presence felt on the FM rock playlists of the 1970s; their ability to combine arena rock, salsa, soul and jazz was risk-taking and even visionary. Cerimeli isn’t innovative by any means; Back in Bloom is totally derivative, but that doesn’t mean that it lacks variety. “Forgotten Artist” does have a Santana-ish outlook, and that acknowledgement of Carlos Santana in his heyday makes for enjoyable listening.
Again, Back in Bloom doesn’t pretend to be groundbreaking. Cerimeli is committed to the rock of a bygone era, which is OK because there is nothing wrong with being retro or old-school as long as the material is decent. And while Back in Bloom won’t go down in history as a five-star masterpiece, it is a decent celebration of FM rock’s pre-1990s era.
Review by Alex Henderson
Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
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Ray Martin Cerimeli / Blog
Alex Henderson reviews "Back In Bloom" album
Artist: Ray Martin Cerimeli Album: Back in Bloom Review by Alex Henderson In the brief liner notes that he wrote for Back in Bloom, singer Ray Martin Cerimeli explains that this 2011 release “is about rebirth and awakening—when being comes to touch the dormant and sleeping seeds that are resting beneath the frozen, snow-covered ground, providing a spark, which sets into motion a new season of growth and change.” Upon reading that, one might assume that Back in Bloom is the type of overblown concept album that is too lofty and too pretentious for its own good. But it turns out that Back in Bloom is actually very accessible, straight-forward and easy to digest, and it is accessible in a decidedly pre-1990s fashion. Cerimeli, who produced this 67-minute CD in a Phoenix studio and wrote all 16 of the songs, is obviously committed to the arena rock and FM rock of a pre-Nirvana, pre-Nevermind, pre-Pearl Jam, pre-grunge era; this is a 2011 release that sounds like it could have been recorded in the 1970s or 1980s, and although most of the songs were copyrighted in 2008, 2009 or 2010, they are very much a throwback to a time in which artists like Peter Frampton, REO Speedwagon, April Wine, Foghat, Survivor, Bad Company and Kansas were favorites on FM rock stations. Cerimeli’s songs aren’t mind-blowing, but they are generally catchy and agreeable. Back in Bloom ventures into hard rock territory on “Thorns,” “Baby, Get Going,” “Miles and Miles from Nowhere” and “Don’t Bother to Call Me,” all of which are bluesy without actually falling into the 12-bar blues category. Those tracks aren’t heavy metal, but they are clearly examples of bluesy hard rock. Of course, there can be a fine line between heavy metal and hard rock; back in the 1970s and 1980s, there were plenty of bands that were relevant to both hard rock and heavy metal (Kiss, Blue Öyster Cult and Van Halen, for example). But when Cerimeli rocks aggressively, there is no doubt that he comes down on the hard rock side of things rather than the heavy metal side of things. And Cerimeli, an Ohio native who is now based in Chandler, Arizona, has his moodier, more relaxed moments as well; “Man, It’s Hell,” “Loving You” (not to be confused with the Minnie Riperton hit from the mid-1970s), “Living in Your Songs” and the ballad “After Our Time” are faithful to the spirit of 1970s and 1980s arena rock/FM rock, although they don’t have the hard rock sensibilities of “Baby Get Going” or “Don’t Bother to Call Me.” Back in Bloom has a fair amount of variety. While “Forgotten Artist” has some Latin flavor, “Greasewood Flats” draws on both arena rock and country-rock. But it isn’t the rowdy, hell-raising, whiskey-soaked country-rock/southern rock of Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Molly Hatchet, the Outlaws, the Marshall Tucker Band or .38 Special; rather, “Greasewood Flats” is not unlike something that the Eagles would have recorded back in the day. “Forgotten Artist” hints at Santana, who were one of the most innovative and ambitious bands to make their presence felt on the FM rock playlists of the 1970s; their ability to combine arena rock, salsa, soul and jazz was risk-taking and even visionary. Cerimeli isn’t innovative by any means; Back in Bloom is totally derivative, but that doesn’t mean that it lacks variety. “Forgotten Artist” does have a Santana-ish outlook, and that acknowledgement of Carlos Santana in his heyday makes for enjoyable listening. Again, Back in Bloom doesn’t pretend to be groundbreaking. Cerimeli is committed to the rock of a bygone era, which is OK because there is nothing wrong with being retro or old-school as long as the material is decent. And while Back in Bloom won’t go down in history as a five-star masterpiece, it is a decent celebration of FM rock’s pre-1990s era. Review by Alex Henderson Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
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Subject: Is the Species Worth Saving?
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him,but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid t he most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100. This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context? One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
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