On his sophomore effort, "Tele-pathic," guitarist Matt Rae continues exploring the instrumental road he first traveled on "Twang." Ably backed by the same musicians, Mark Bridgman and Paul Opalach on bass, Stuart Stahr on drums), Mr. Rae illuminates the many nuances of country rhythms with a glittering palette of Telecaster, Stratocaster, and G&L sounds. Once again, Paul Opalach produced and engineered this mostly live CD at Long Hill Recording in Shelton, CT. Only this time, the band sounds one year tighter, thanks to all the additional live shows.
Right out of the gate, the gang launches into a fiery Spanish progression, "Caravan." The impact jars me back to the first time I heard "Flamenco Sketches" at the end of Miles Davis' classic "Kind of Blue" album. A fascinating new direction for Matt, he makes light reference to it again in the middle of "The Camel". Other highlights include the throbbing, dance beat of "Deisel," the mysterious and soaring beauty of "The Camel," the driving, jazz/Western swing of "Bee-hive," the larger-than-life tremolo sound of "Binger," the shimmering ode to Hawaiian guitar, "Mr. Honalay," and the blues rock of "Kentucky Waterfall." Strong audience reaction to these quirky, upbeat, sometimes tongue-in-cheek instrumentals keeps The Matt Rae band working regularly in the CT/NY area. Check out the Matt Rae website for upcoming shows -- a truly interesting and unique entertainment treat in this age of bland, homogenized "product." ©2005 Roger Zee