I have one complaint about the Ray Toro's solo
debut, Remember the Laughter; "Isn't That Something" is too
short.
It's not ridiculously short, clocking in at 3:04,
but it feels like going a little bit longer would move me from thinking about
getting up and dancing around to actually doing that. While there are ways in
which that would be totally inconvenient, it's still very appealing.
As it is, the track probably works better with the
overall feel of the album, which is more reflective. In interviews Toro has
referred to looking at old photographs. That is exactly how listening feels: there
is nostalgia, and bittersweet loss, and there is hope because there is so much
love.
There is a series of five short, non-musical tracks
scattered throughout that increases the overall effect of going back through
memories. Emotional recollections dominate, but some memories come almost as
flashbacks - with an image or sound or smell that moment has crystallized
around. Together they create a very moving work.
It may also be the most surprising of the post-My
Chemical Romance solo projects. We all know that Ray can do blistering guitar. There
is very little of that here, but why should there be? We already knew about that,
and he can do so much more.
That is why I am not complaining about the omission
of "For The Lost and Brave", released shortly after the death of
Leelah Alcorn. There is a unity of sound and feeling to the album and this song
would not fit in with it, so the choices made were reasonable. But it should
still be heard, and can be:
That link goes directly to that song, but the full
Soundcloud page, in addition to the album tracks, has some other demos,
including a demo for "Isn't That Something", which is promising, but
not as good as the final version. That is interesting to check out as well.
Ray Toro is one of the greatest guitarists out
there, but he is more than that, too, and it is good to hear.
Remember the Laughter is available through iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/album/id1159818828?ls=1&app=itunes
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