CHANGE is the 2003 debut album by Ray Wilson (best known for his work
with Genesis). The disc includes teh songs "Goodbye Baby Blue,"
"Beach," and "She Fades Away." The German edition comes with three
bonus cuts. Special edition of the ex Genesis vocalist's 2003 studio
album debut features 16 tracks including three bonus tracks,
'Gouranga', 'Dark', & 'Cool Water', packaged in a Digipak. Inside
Out.
Schon bei seiner Grunge-Band Stiltskin fiel die ungewöhnlich
melodische und variable Rockstimme von Ray Wilson auf, die sich dann
auch Genesis als Ersatz für Phil Collins sicherten. Mit seinem
zweiten Soloalbum Change hat sich der Schotte endgültig
freigeschwommen. Nicht nur mit dem Titellied -- dem offiziellen Song
für das World Nature Festival 2003 -- erweist er sich als
Songwriter und Sänger traditioneller Schule. Die besten
klassischen Zutaten prägen seine 17 Songs: klare Rock- und
Popmelodien, die auch ohne detailverliebte Arrangements Bestand haben,
dazu eine ausdrucksstarke, emotionale Stimme, die ein Liebeslied wie
"Goodbye Baby Blue" ebenso kitschfrei transportieren kann, wie einen
Song über den tragischen Badeunfall eines Jungen auf "The Beach".
Dank seiner angerauten Rockstimme rutscht auch die
bittersüße Stimmung auf "Cry If You Want To" niemals ins
Sentimentale ab. "Beautiful Child", mit einem Schuss
Rock-'n'-Roll-Übermut, erinnert an die ganz frühen
Genesis-Aufnahmen, anderes wiederum an Van Morrison oder gar John
Lennon. Der Multiinstrumentalist Ray Wilson (Bass, Klavier,
Mundharmonika und Streicherinstrumente) wird u.a. von seinem Bruder
Steve (Gitarre, Gesang) und der wunderbaren Stimme von Sängerin
Amanda Lyon begleitet. Ein rundum gelungenes Songalbum mit feinen
Folkanleihen.
Ingeborg Schober, Amazon.de
Given his already lengthy and turbulent career path through the music
business, it's hard to believe that 2003's Change qualifies as the
first proper solo album from erstwhile Genesis lead vocalist Ray
Wilson. Five years on from that particularly nasty debacle, which saw
Wilson left holding the rope Genesis fans tried to hang him with while
Messrs. Banks and Rutherford conveniently looked the other way, Wilson
wisely chose to stick with family for this release, relying on brother
and longtime collaborator Steve for assistance. Together, the siblings
composed a set of relatively mellow and introspective numbers, rich in
vocal harmonies to back up Wilson's warm tones and often marrying
acoustic simplicity with lush strings for a nicely soothing mix.
Outstanding examples of this include opener "Goodbye Baby Blue," the
haunting ballad "Beach," and the all-purpose radio-friendly title track
and "Along the Way." The also-excellent "Cry if You Want To" adds some
crunchy riffing to the equation to wrap up the album's stellar first
half, after which Wilson's inspiration seems to taper off somewhat
until dreamy closer "The Last Horizon" wraps everything up with a nice
flourish. Still, Change represents a solid comeback statement and
promises much for Ray Wilson's future solo career.
Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide
Ray Wilson’s career cannot be described in two words. He had
enormous success, fell, had streaks of luck and lots of bad luck as
well. His career took many turns that he could not influence. People
tripped him up far too often, but Ray always stood back up. It is
therefore just normal that he says – okay, this is me and this is
what I want to do and nothing else. Everything else is not of primary
concern. Now he releases his first real solo album on InsideOut.
Change comes in two different versions. There is a 16 song digipak and
a standard jewelcase edition with thirteen songs. That sound like lots
of music. If you look closer you still only get some fourty minutes of
music, and one of the songs was already released on the CUT album
(albeit in a different version). The special edition offers therefore
far more music, but there is another ‘old’ song on it, too.
Fans remember Dark as the B-side of Cut, the single that wasn’t:
Neither single that Dark was to back was released. It was, however, put
out on various promos. The special edition adds Gouranga, the Change
b-side, and another new song called Cool Water.
The cover reads “Don’t think that I can change”. But
what Ray does is changing towards his own personal reality. He cannot
be the singer who for one album was the singer for one of the
world’s greatest rock bands anymore. Neither does he want to.
Pure music is the motto, he wants to be close to the people who enjoy
his music. That’s how the Storytellers tour came about. The
acoustic sound strongly influences his solo debut. Many people expected
Ray to really crank up the power; they were expecting something along
the lines of Gypsy or No Place For A Loser. What Ray presents on this
release, however, is much closer to the Mechanics than to Cut or
Stiltskin.
Many of the songs were already performed on the Storytellers tour. It
comes as a surprise that Gouranga is not on the regular album version
because Ray always played it and hinted that this song would be on the
album.
Change leaves a relaxed impression. The lightness of the sound is
remarkable. Ray made sure that the space in the musical structures is
not stuffed with heavy-duty sounds from the keyboard or the guitar. The
central point on the album is Ray’s voice, this secret mixture of
numerous rock legends like Michael Stipe, Bono and Peter Gabriel.
The beginning is called Intro. Everyone can figure what it is. Nothing
spectacular, but it sets the mood for the album. The second song,
Goodbye Baby Blue has a typical song format. It’s an average pop
song that, like the whole album, does without artificial sounds. The
title song was released as the first single and it sticks in
one’s ear. No wonder that Change gets so much airplay. This
catchy song has a great melody and it’s not overproduced. It
reminds of the Mechanics’ output. Along The Way was written by
Ray’s brother Steve. This track consolidates the impression that
Ray knows what he does: Change is a collection of good songs but by no
means a prog rock concept album. Yesterday is no cover of the
Beatles’ classic, but a fine acoustic song about the mistakes one
makes in a relationship and the loss that follows it. Yesterday is one
of the highlights on this album. So is the ethereal Beach which could
well be the song of the album. It tells of two children who were
murdered on a beach. The outcome is a calm classy song and one could
imagine Beach as (part of) a Genesis song.
The next track was already in the set list of Ray’s acoustic
tour. When he played Gelsenkirchen Ray was not sure if Cry If You Want
To would be on the album. But the song grew during the tour and did end
up on the album. It’s the first song to bring more power with it.
About halfway through the song there begins a thicker carpet of sound,
woven mainly by guitars. The song is about a failed relationship which
still bothers the man because his former girl-friend still meddles in
his life. The sound is rough and rather aggressive. That is also true
for Beautiful Child which, however, is stuck somewhere between heaven
and earth. It is a fine short song, but the “lala-lalala”
at the end does not really fit in – at least it twists the mood
of the song. Then there is another old friend from the last tour. Steve
Wilson wrote She Fades Away, another song about a failed relationship.
It is a short, unobtrusive but solid song. I Look For You There is
almost too short to be good or bad or special, except for its length,
of course.
Ray has stressed in many interviews that he is a Bob Dylan fan. It is
therefore no surprise that the numerous mouth organ bits in Believe
remind one of Dylan. Believe is in the same league with Yesterday,
though the melody is not quite as catchy. Then there is the
re-recording of Another Day. It is more solemn and uses different
instruments. A smooth transition takes us to the final song The Last
Horizon wich occasionally quotes Another Day. The album ends in
ethereal sounds.
While Intro and The Last Horizon were intentionally written to
represent the beginning and the end, the song sandwhich Change looks
good. It is a comparatively short album, but the songs are pleasant
with some real gems. Ray has left behind the bombastic sounds of
Calling All Stations and of Millionairehead. The album reminds of the
Banjo Man who just wants to bring his songs to the worlds. It also
sound like a well-matured Guaranteed Pure album. The song is
what’s important, the voice is the captain. And Ray does not
steer a luxury yacht, but a classic sailing boat. The journey that is
his debut album (which isn’t his real debut album) is short, but
delightful.
from Genesis FanClub Author – Christian Gerhardts Translation – Martin Klinkhardt
Ray Wilsons Karriere ist mit zwei Wörtern nicht beschrieben. Er
feierte riesige Erfolge, stolperte, hatte großes Glück und
Unmengen Pech. Viele Entwicklungen seiner Karriere lagen nicht in
seiner Gewalt. Zu oft stellte man ihm ein Bein, aber Ray stand immer
wieder auf. Es nur verständlich, dass er nun sagt - halt, das bin
ich und das will ich machen, sonst nichts. Alles andere ist erst einmal
sekundär. Und so veröffentlicht er bei InsideOut nun sein
erstes, echtes Soloalbum.
Change erscheint gleich in zwei Formaten, einem Digipak mit 16 Songs
und der Standart Jewelcase-Version mit 13 Songs. Das hört sich gut
und viel an. Bei näherem Hinsehen aber hat man schließlich
nur gut 40 Minuten Musik in Händen und einen Song, Another Day,
kennt man in anderer Version noch vom CUT Album. Insofern bietet die
Special Edition netto weit mehr Musik, aber auch hier tummelt sich ein
"alter" Song. Dark ist vielen eingefleischten Fans natürlich
bekannt als die B-Seite von Cut, die es nie gab - denn beide Singles,
auf denen Dark vertreten sein sollte, wurden seinerzeit nicht
veröffentlicht. Dennoch war Dark auf diversen Promos vertreten.
Dazu kommt auf der Special Edition die B-Seite von Change, Gouranga
sowie ein weiterer neuer Song, Cool Water.
"Don't think that I can change" steht auf dem Cover, dabei ist das, was
Ray macht, ein Wandel zu seiner eigenen Wirklichkeit. Er kann nicht
mehr der Sänger sein, der für ein Album für eine der
größten Rock Bands der Welt sang. Das will er auch nicht.
Musik pur ist das Motto, die Nähe zu den Menschen, die seine Musik
hören, ist ihm wichtig. So entstand die Idee der Storytellers-Tour
und der akustische Sound prägt letztlich auch sein Solodebüt.
Mach einer hatte erwartet, dass es ordentlich zur Sache geht, Songs im
Stile von Gypsy oder No Place For A Loser waren nahe liegend. Aber was
Ray der Musikwelt hier vorlegt, erinnert mehr an die Mechanics als an
Cut oder Stiltskin.
Viele der Songs hat er bereits auf der Storytellers-Tour gespielt. Eine
kleine Überraschung ist das Fehlen von Gouranga auf der
regulären Albumversion, da der Song eigentlich immer gespielt
wurde und Ray mehrfach darauf hinwies, dass Gouranga auf seinem Album
sein wird.
Das Album macht einen insgesamt relaxten Eindruck. Besonders auffallend
ist der flockige Sound - Ray hat Wert darauf gelegt, nicht alles
zuzukleistern mit schweren Keyboard- und Gitarrenklängen. Und so
steht seine Stimme im Vordergrund, die nach wie vor diese
geheimnisvolle Mischung aus einer Vielzahl von Rocklegenden wie Michael
Stipe, Bono oder auch Peter Gabriel ist.
Der Beginn heißt Intro und jeder kann sich denken, was das ist.
Nichts spektakuläres, aber man bekommt einen kleinen Eindruck
bezüglich der Stimmung es Albums. Schließlich hat Song
Nummer zwei, Goodbye Baby Blue, ein typisches Songformat. Ein
durchschnittlicher Popsong, bei dem, wie auf dem ganzen Album, auf
künstliche Sounds verzichtet wird. Der Titelsong und gleichzeitig
die erste Singleauskopplung und klebt sich direkt im Ohr fest. Es
verwundert nicht, dass der Song eine ganze Menge Radioairplay hat. Der
eingängige Song - tolle Melodie, nicht überproduziert -
erinnert tatsächlich etwas an die Mechanics. Rays Bruder Steve hat
den nächsten Song, Along The Way, geschrieben. Auch dieser Track
macht deutlich, dass Ray sein Handwerk versteht und untermauert, dass
Change eine Sammlung guter Songs sein will, aber kein Konzeptalbum im
Stile des Progressive Rock. Mit Yesterday folgt nicht etwa eine
Coverversion des Beatles Klassikers, sondern ein melodischer, akustisch
geprägter Song über die Fehler, die man in Beziehungen nun
mal macht und der Verlust, der daraus entstand. Yesterday gehört
zu den Highlights des Albums ebenso wie das sphärische Beach, der
nächste Track, der eventuell sogar der Song dieses Albums ist. Der
Mord an zwei Kindern an einem Strand ist das Thema. Heraus kommt ein
ruhiger Song mit Klasse, ein bisschen möchte man sich vorstellen,
Beach wäre ein (Teil eines) Genesis Song(s).
Der folgende Track war im Set seiner Akustik-Tour. Noch in
Gelsenkirchen war sich Ray nicht sicher, ob Cry If You Want To auf dem
Album sein würde. Der Song wuchs während der Tour und nun
landete er tatsächlich auf dem neuen Album. Es ist das erste
Stück, das etwas kraftvoller rüberkommt, etwa zur Hälfte
des Songs setzt erstmals ein etwas fetterer Soundteppich,
hauptsächlich bestehend aus Gitarren ein. Im Song geht es um eine
gescheiterte Beziehung, die noch immer eine Last ist, weil sich die
Kontrahentin weiterhin in das Leben des einst gedemütigten
einmischt. Dementsprechend ist der Grundton eher rau und aggressiv. Das
gilt auch für das anschließende Beautiful Child, das
allerdings etwas merkwürdig in der Luft hängt. Der relativ
kurze Song hat ohne Zweifel ein gewisses etwas, aber irgendwie passt
das "lala-lalala" am Ende nicht so recht hinein bzw. verdreht die
Stimmung etwas. Ein weiterer Bekannter der letzten Tour ist das von
Steve Wilson geschriebene She Fades Away, einmal mehr von einer
gescheiterten Beziehung handelnd. Der Song ist vergleichsweise
unauffällig, aber grundsolide. Das nur 55 Sekunden lange I Look
For You There ist fast schon zu kurz, um gut oder schlecht zu sein oder
etwas besonderes auszustrahlen - mal abgesehen von der Länge.
Ray betonte in vielen Interviews, dass er ein Fan von Bob Dylan sei. So
kommt es nicht von ungefähr, dass Believe mit seinem
ständigen Mundharmonikaeinsätzen sehr an Dylan erinnert.
Believe ist durchaus mit Yesterday zu vergleichen, wenngleich die
Melodie nicht ganz so eingängig ist. Und schließlich
erwartet uns eine Neuaufnahme von Another Day, das anders
instrumentiert ist und etwas getragener wird - nahtlos geht es dann
über zum Finale The Last Horizon mit einigen Another Day-Zitaten.
Sphärisch geht das Album zu Ende.
Während Intro und The Last Horizon gezielt Anfang und Ende
darstellen sollen, macht das Song-Sandwich Change dazwischen eine gute
Figur. Zwar ist das Album vergleichsweise kurz, jedoch sind die Songs
durchweg angenehm und einige hochkarätige Songs sind dabei. Ray
hat sich entfernt vom bombastischen Sound, der bei Calling All Stations
und zuweilen auch auf Millionairhead zu hören war. Das Album
erinnert eher an den Banjo Man, der der Welt ein paar Songs vorspielen
möchte. Ein bisschen klingt es auch wie ein deutlich gereiftes
Album von Guaranteed Pure. Der Song steht im Vordergrund, die Stimme
ist der Kapitän. Und Ray steuert keine Luxusjacht, sondern ein
klassisches Segelboot. Und die Fahrt in Form seines Debütalbum,
das eigentlich keins ist, ist zwar kurz, aber sehr gut.
She arrived so unexpectedly,
With a thousand untold truths
Hidden in behind a smile,
You couldn’t see through
And all those frown lines on her forehead
Disappeared before my eyes
She told me I’d arrived, just in time
And you could see it in her face
There was more than meets the eye
Something hidden all those years
And hidden deep inside...
So Goodbye Baby Blue
Goodbye Baby Blue
I spent so long thinking of you
She would lie awake,
Every night I’d hear her cry
Her mind in slow decay,
I guess she couldn’t take goodbye
So Goodbye Baby Blue
Goodbye Baby Blue
It’s been so long, I’m thinking of you
So Goodbye Baby Blue
Goodbye Baby Blue
It’s been so long, I’m thinking of you
I’m thinking of you...
CHANGE
Making the most of it
Turning a light up and
Breaking the back of a
Killing the negative
Finding the faith isn’t
As much as I’d like it to be
Follow the path set by
Somebody else’s hand
Craving addiction and
Living in fear of me
But I don’t think that I can change
I’ve been feeling this way for so long now
And this feeling inside still remains
I ain't gonna change
Ain't gonna change
Bent on destruction I
Have no intention
Black into day into
Dark into Night I go
Blaming myself like I
I’m in control of it
I Turn it around for a
Just for the fun of it
Back to the start I go
I Wish I had learned from you
But I don’t think that I can change
I’ve been feeling this way for so long now
And this feeling inside still remains
I ain't gonna change
Ain't gonna change
ALONG THE WAY
Yes I found heaven and I can take you there
And I found a reason but you don’t care
So turn your back don’t look round close your eyes make no sound are you leaving?
Close the door like before turn around are you sure that you mean it?
And you can take another step along the way
Just keep your eyes on the road
That lies before you
Take advice from a fool
Who chose to ignore you
And choose the side of the fence that you sit and just keep crossing that bridge
Take it or leave it
The decision is yours now
Is it time to get even or time to just go now?
But as you’re breaking free you mean nothing to me just a memory
And the memories will fade just like tides drift away to the sea
Keep your eyes on the road that lies before you
Take advice from a fool
Who chose to ignore you
And choose the side of the fence that you sit
Just believe in it now
And walk away from the world you don’t fit
And just keep crossing that bridge.
Keep your eyes on the road that lies before you
Take advice from a fool
Who chose to ignore you
And choose the side of the fence that you sit
Just believe in it now
And walk away from the world you don’t fit
But just keep crossing that bridge
Yes I found Heaven
YESTERDAY
Don’t talk to me
It’s time to walk away and make it easy
Cause I can’t see clear
And the further away you go,
The more I want you near
I Wish It Was Yesterday
How I wish it was yesterday
I can’t erase,
I’ve been thinking about you every day
Place faith in me
I just find this all so hard to believe
I wish it was yesterday
Cause you’d be in my life again
I just wish it was yesterday,
Putting wrongs to right again
I wish it was yesterday
Today is only just another day without
We watched the sun go down
Stayed out in the rain
We’d talk all night
And dream all day
And why I wish it was yesterday?
Cause you’d be in my life again
I just wish it was yesterday,
Putting wrongs to right again
I wish it was yesterday
Today is only just another day without
That’s why I wish it was yesterday,
Cause you’d be in my life again
I wish it was yesterday,
So the sun would shine again
I just wish it was yesterday
Today is only just another day without
Another Day Without...
BEACH
Lets all go down to the beach
Breathe in the air, take in the sun
Lie there trying not to notice
What goes on around you
Buried and unseen
I know it wasn’t done on purpose
It rests beneath the surface
Hidden from your view
Lets all stroll into the sea
Washing away the memories
Try to stop yourself from drowning all the fears surrounding
Everyone you meet
They know
They don’t know I think so
Heaven waits an answer
Prayers are seldom heard
I know it wasn’t done on purpose
It rests beneath the surface
Hidden from your view
They know
They don’t know I think so
Heaven waits an answer
Prayers are seldom heard
CRY IF YOU WANT TO
Just when I was getting over you
You appeared from out of nowhere
A little older and wiser
But I’m at pains to believe in you
I can’t imagine you’d remember me
You never did spend much time thinking about me
And time will not erase
Oh that memory
It won’t erase the memory
Cry if you want to and don’t cry if you don’t want to
You can cry if you want to and don’t cry if you don’t want to cry
You seem a little heavy round the eyes
Another line or two on that ageing forehead of yours
But you know just what to do
To reel me in
You always throw me back again
Cry if you want to don’t cry if you don’t want to
You can cry if you want to and don’t cry if you don’t want to
You can cry if you want to and don’t cry if you don’t want to
I blame me
I should have known much better than this
Cause inside I believe
Only for you
Cry if you want to don’t cry if you don’t want to
Cry if you want to and don’t cry if you don’t want to
You can cry if you want to and don’t cry if you don’t want to
Cry if you want to and don’t cry if you don’t want to
Cry if you want to don’t cry if you don’t want to
You can cry if you want to and don’t cry if you don’t want to
Cry if you want to don’t cry if you don’t want to cry
BEAUTIFUL CHILD
It was faith that brought me here
Conversation of the year
You talked so much but nothing said
Empty words just fill my head
I can’t lie
But I could try
You’re beautiful
Beautiful
A beautiful child
Little by little you fade away
I’m just living for the next day
With that in mind, I say goodbye
To beautiful
Beautiful
Beautiful
Beautiful child
So as I’m trying to understand
Just move on to the next man
I can’t lie
But I could try
You’re Beautiful
Beautiful
Beautiful
A beautiful child
Nan Na Na na na na na
You’re Beautiful
Beautiful
Beautiful
A beautiful child
Nan Na Na na na na na
SHE FADES AWAY
She says the feelings won’t slip away, Yeah
And he says, she never felt them anyway
She stares out of the window the world just walks on by
The faces she won’t meet, she won’t even try
And she fades away
She fades away, just fades away
Like a smile upon her face, disappears without a trace
She fades away
She lies there in the darkness
The moon lights up her face, yeah
Her breath steams up the window, her smile seems out of place
Strange how she feels just fine, can’t feel the pain this time
She lets the moment pass
And it seems so far away but the memory’s here to stay
In the bottom of her glass and she fades away
She fades away, just fades away
Like a smile upon her face disappears without a trace
She fades away
She says she’s hoping that her time will never come
Turn and face it or to turn around and run
She lies there thinking has the moment passed her by
But never thinks to ask the reason why
And she fades away
She fades away
Just fades away
Like a smile upon her face
Disappears without a trace
She fades away
She fades away
Just fades away
I LOOK FOR YOU THERE
I Look For You There
Music and Lyrics by Steve Wilson
I look for you there
I look for you there
This dream won’t let me in
This dream won’t let me in
BELIVE
She said I like the way you smile at me
Always makes me feel so young
And that’s the difference between you and all the other ones
She kept a note of all the things he said
In a diary hidden under her bed
And every now and then she’d sleep with it held in her hand
Pretend he was there
And that’s all that she believes in
Lives her life pretending one day
He’ll come home again
Don’t think she’ll ever lose that feeling
Until the day
Until there’s nothing left in front of you
Until there’s nothing left that you can do
Until regret remains the parting view
Forget it
She said I like the way you smile at me
I just know that I should hold on
And that’s the difference between
Me and all the other ones
And that’s all that she believes in
Lives her life pretending one day
He’ll come home again
Don’t think she’ll ever lose that feeling
Until the day
Until there’s nothing left in front of you
Until there’s nothing left that you can do
Until regret remains the parting view
Forget it
Until there’s nothing left in front of you
Until there’s nothing left that you can do
Until regret remains the parting view
Forget it
ANOTHER DAY
Some things disappear inside,
Should I try to run away?
If I could I would escape you
I won’t argue anymore,
I have lost the will to be
Hope you don’t think I’m ungrateful?
Why, why are you laughing?
Is it something that I said?
I don’t like this place at all,
Makes me wonder what I’m here for
Someone take this pain away
Dying to see another day
Close the curtains lock the door,
Left my note upon the stair
In the hope you wouldn’t read it
Fake emotions in my head,
Everything I’ve seen and read
Can’t begin to find a reason
I don’t like this place at all,
Makes me wonder what I’m here for
Someone take this pain away
Dying to see another day
And I don’t want to be your friend, or pretend I can fit into
I’m incensed, I’m blown away
Dying to see another day