CONNECTED (NL+E)

Zo'n twee jaar na een ep en een new ageplaat is Gary Wright, de voormalige toetsenman van Spooky Tooth, terug met Connected, een volwaardig album met symfonische popliedjes in de voor hem zo kenmerkende stijl. 's Mans hese stem herken je uit duizenden, evenals zijn synthesizers. Hij bespeelt de synthbas en doet ook de orkestraties en de 'leads'. Tien composities, merendeels zelf geschreven, gespeeld, gezongen en geproduceerd met wat hulp van drummer Will Kennedy (Yellowjackets, Lee Ritenour), gitaristen Joe Walsh (Eagles) en Jeff Baxter en niemand minder dan Ringo Starr als gast bij de openingstrack. Satisfied is een uptempo nummer en door de arrangementen, die op een blazerssectie lijken, en het type achtergrondzang lijken er qua sfeer wat Afrikaanse invloeden te zijn vergelijkbaar met Graceland van Paul Simon. Na het nummer Get Your Hands Up, dat wat bluesinvloeden en een hoog meezing- en meeklapgehalte bevat, volgt de prachtige ballad Under Your Spell, waarin Wright alles alleen doet. Kennedy en Wright verzorgen een heerlijke 'funky groove' in No One Does It Better. In Can't Find No Mercy is weer zo'n fantastisch synthbasje te horen met soulinvloeden, terwijl de achtergrondzangeressen Valerie Pinkston en Lisa Vaughn goed van zich laten horen. Het Dream Weaver-gevoel keert terug in Life's Not A Battlefield met iets wat lijkt op gospel met wederom de kristalheldere productie en verfijnde arrangementen van een doorgewinterde veteraan in het vak. In Gimme Some Time is het weer swingen geblazen en doen Kennedy en Baxter er alles aan om een puike prestatie neer te zetten, terwijl Wright alle zang voor zijn rekening neemt. De titeltrack bevat een vergelijkbare sfeer als Broken Wings van Mr. Mister; een rustig en meeslepend stukje muziek. De tweede ballad heet Kirra Layne en is waarschijnlijk opgedragen aan een kleindochter. Het tweestemmig gezongen You Make Me Feel Better doet herinneren aan The Everly Brothers, maar het verandert in de refreinen toch in een meer funky popsong.

Connected is bijna net zo 'minimaal' als Gary Wrights succesvolste albums uit midden jaren zeventig en wat mij betreft van dezelfde hoge kwaliteit en een dito gehalte aan originaliteit. Gelukkig dat Wright na zo'n twintig jaar weer terug is aan het front als popartiest!

ENGLISH:

Gary Wright made fame in the late sixties as keyboardist and vocalist of Spooky Tooth, a band by many regarded as one of the first progressive rock bands. With this band he produced seven albums before embarking on a solo career in the mid-seventies and scoring a huge hit with Dream Weaver. After a number of rather successful solo albums he concentrated on raising his children, producing only a handful of albums from the nineties to the new millennium until the Spooky Tooth reunion in 2004 came. In recent years he released the EP The Light Of A Million Suns and the new age album Waiting To Catch The Light. Having toured in Europe with the reformed Spooky Tooth, Gary returned in 2010 with his first solo pop album in twenty years. From the ten compositions, he wrote six and co-wrote the other four. Based on the same principles as in the mid-seventies with lots of synthesizers, vocals and only drums and an occasional guitar, Gary Wright uses his tremendous experience as a musician, composer and producer to come up with Connected, a really stunning album. In the first track it's already clear what Wright's music is all about: catchy melodies, groovy rhythms, a delightful bass synth, tasteful arrangements and superb use of the many different sounds of all his synths. The background vocalists Valerie Pinkston and LIsa Vaughn and the brass sounding arrangement create an atmosphere comparable to Graceland by Paul Simon. He also gets a little help from his friend Ringo Starr on drums and from Joe Walsh (The Eagles) on the guitar. A bit blues orientated soulful sing-along tune is called Get Your Hands Up with a nice synth-lead. This should make a great live track. Under Your Spell is a lovely ballad, reminiscent of the Deam Weaver-episode. Wright does everything himself on this song, both instrumentally and vocally. The other guest on this album is drummer Will Kennedy (Yellow Jackets, Lee Ritenour). Together they create a perfect groove in No One Does It Better, subtle but very nice! I just love that synthesizer bass Wright uses so often. It has become a kind of a trademark for him, next to his characteristic hoarse vocals. In Can't Find No Mercy the almost as an electric piano sounding synth and the funky rhythm give the music a lot of seventies soul influences, reminiscent of Stevie Wonder. I got tears in my eyes on hearing the ballad Life's Not A Battlefield, a sax resembling lead and subtle humming noises as background vocals. Most of the lyrics are about love and no doubt most of them are inspired by his wife Rose. In Gimme Some Time it's swinging again and Kennedy as well as guitarist Jeff Baxter try their best to add their flavours to this up-tempo groovy tune in which Wright does all the vocals and the brass arrangements. The Dream Weaver-feel is back in the rather slow title track in which the symphonic side gets really obvious. Some moments remind me of the atmosphere in Broken Wings by Mr. Mister. Probably dedicated to a grand-daughter is Kirra Layne, a well-balanced ballad with a minimum of keyboards, a string arrangement and a sole vocal. In the last track You Make Me Feel Better the verses for two voices - both by Wright - remind me of  The Everly Brothers with a distinct sixties feel. The choruses, however, are modern pop in the vein of the synthi-pop of the eighties. Walsh delivers another great contribution her.

Though this album is more about pop than symphonic or progressive rock, Gary Wright inspired al lot of musicians in that genre of music particularly by the way he creates all the different sounds on his synths and his symphonic orchestral arrangements. The warm but crystal clear production and all the varied as well as top-notch arrangements make this record rank among his best albums. As far as I'm concerned Connected can compete with Dream Weaver and I'm thrilled Gary Wright is back to front.