Ray Humphries - Nothing to Hide

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 22 / 12 / 2016

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Review

It’s been four long years since we last heard from Warrington-based singer-songwriter Ray Humphries. His album ‘Is It That Time Already?’ impressed greatly back then and still does today. There was little information about Humphries around back then and, although a little digging results in a few facts about him, Humphries is still something of a mystery. What we do now know is that Humphries started off his music career in a band named Spruce and, as far as we can tell, the last band he played in before going solo was the Tribal Elders. The only band that Humphries has been involved in that registered with this writer is a period with Buster although there’s doubt if it’s the same band, the one that had a minor hit in the mid-seventies on RCA with ‘Sunday’, as the one that Humphries was a member of. While other parts of our review for ‘Is It That Time Already?’ could also be repeated here, Humphries has lost none of the talent of setting his story-songs in the most attractive of melodies. His guitar skills are still sharp and inspiring. He’s used the same core of skilled musicians to bring his songs to life and he certainly has a wide musical vision taking in elements of various genres to make his sound exciting, but there is one major change which is noticeable almost immediately. On his last album Humphries employed the singing talents of Ken Mellor, Mike Evans and Dave Hollington for backing vocals and some stunning harmony work which he also does on ‘Nothing to Hide’. For this album he’s also added the voice of Suzie Lowe, a name unknown around these parts until now but it was a shrewd move by Humphries to feature this singer. Lowe can go from singing like an angel to a soulful belter in the space of a minute, as she does on this album; it adds another dimension to Humphries' already attractive sound and really pushes some of these songs to places Humphries hasn’t visited before. The album starts with a gorgeous melody played on acoustic guitar; I could live inside a loop of the first fifteen seconds of this song all day. It’s pretty and never fails to shed light into the darkest of days. It’s one of those pieces of music that makes you feel good to be alive. Then Humphries' distinctive vocals come in. There’s a touch of the Wreckless Erics in there somewhere which hasn’t been noticed before and ‘Come Fly with Me’ is off. It unfolds from a pretty ballad into a power- pop chorus that is simply irresistible. And that’s the first time that Lowe’s remarkable vocals are heard which will almost knock you off your feet so powerful and soulful they are. It’s an absolute killer of a song, complete with melting, chiming electric guitar from Humphries, when Lowe joins him on the last lines of “I just wanna stay with you” is a perfect pop moment. As on his previous album you begin to wonder if repeat buttons were invented just for Humphries' work. ‘The Ballad of Snow White’ quickly follows, displaying a totally different side to Humphries, another feature carried over from his last album; no two songs follow the same path totally. With Evans and Mellor repeating the brilliant backing vocals they delivered on ‘Is It That Time Already?’ it’s another thought-provoking Humphries tale, weeping strings and acoustic guitar framing the song which features another irresistible chorus by now a trademark of any of Humphries more down tempo songs. ‘Lost Buddy Blues’ sees the welcome return of Steve Watkins on slide guitar and again when Suzie Lowe’s vocals come in you’ll just melt. That’s if Humphries' guitar solo doesn’t get to you first. ‘A Mother’s Love’ should be essential listening for any person who takes (or has taken) their mother for granted (that’ll be all of us then), Humphries' wise words directed at a troubled daughter on this gentle acoustic ballad will ring true for so many. It’s nearest neighbour is, of course, Cat Steven’s ‘Father & Son’ and we all know how well that has stood the test of time. “Just make the call and let her know you’re fine,” he sings, the top of every parent’s list. Shorn of any additional vocals the song also highlights just what a fine, expressive singer Humphries is. Humphries isn’t all reflective love songs; ‘Come On Down’ is a Friday night barn knees-up, Pete ‘Sarge’ Frampton’s Dobro and mandolin adds to the party atmosphere that the singer so effortlessly creates. It’s another unexpected diversion from Humphries that works so well in keeping casual listeners interested. ‘Dance for Me’ is a dramatic piece about falling for the wrong person, for which Steve Watkins' classical guitar adding a chilling, Spanish flavour to the song. ‘A Simple Man’ displays Humphries' power-pop leanings again with Lowe providing stunning, soulful background vocals. It’s another slice of hook-laden classic Humphries pop with a scorching yet short guitar solo. And so it goes on through the twelve tracks, the touching ‘I Wish I Knew’ is a typical Humphries string-laden love song, made all the more effective with the addition of Evans and Mellor on angelic backing vocals. ‘Light in the Sky’ is the Police having a shot at ‘Watching the Detectives’, another departure from all that has gone before and yet another reason why the album never gets boring. Looking back to our review of ‘Is It That Time Already?’, once again we noted that Humphries was "currently one of the best and most talented singer/songwriters around" and that still rings true. Whatever the reasons for why it has taken him four years to follow that album with an even greater set of songs, we can only hope that he doesn’t leave it quite as long for the next one. The closing track, ‘Call Off the Howling Wind’ in which Lowe plays a major part vocally is making a good case alone for ‘Nothing to Hide’ to make some of those upcoming ‘best of the year’ lists.

Track Listing:-

1 Come Fly With Me
2 The Ballad of Snow White
3 Lost Buddy Blues
4 A Mother's Love
5 I Don't Want To Be Alone
6 Come On Down
7 Dance For Me
8 A Simple Man
9 I Wish I Knew
10 Light In the Sky
11 So Lonely
12 Call Off the Howling Wind

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/RayH55