Makes You Want To Get Up And Dance
author: Nicole Carbonetti
Roland Ruby
"First Kisses and Final Requests"
This album mixes pop with spanish rock together as well as many other sounds, genres, and languages giving it a completely different sound than many other bands out there. Each song has a sultry type of feel and great melodies that make you want to get up and dance. Track 1: "Samba Fatal" opens with some bells, animal noises, backround noises of people talking and then leads into a little piano piece and breaks down into a shredding guitar solo with a Santana- like sound. The male and female vocals harmonize great during the chorus and the main beat of the song make it pop out as the first song off the album. Track 3: "Paris, '91" is an interesting song that has many different sounds mixed together. There is a strong upright bass, piano, and drum beat then a random sound of water being poured. An accordian is also used, violins, as well as Ruby speaking french instead of spanish. Track 12: "Requiem in Red (Our Candle)" is the only song in all english and has a faster pace feel than some of the other songs. The lyrics are about losing a love and trying to find someway to recover from it. It is a powerful song to end with leaving with bell noises again and what sounds like a car driving away.
Reviewed by Nicole Carbonetti of Bryan Farrish Radio Promotion
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Great Album!
author: Kelsie Rotkel
Roland Ruby - "First Kisses and Final Requests"
Roland Ruby is an eccentric artist exploring his latin roots with a diverse collection of songs. Originally from Equador, Ruby moved to New York and spends most of his time between there and New Jersey. He is well known for his prolific work as a composer, lyricist, playwright, and not to mention singer and performer. The album features a unique array of songs, mostly with a latin influence, and Ruby's knowledge of instruments is great, playing (mostly) upright bass, guitar, and piano.
Track 1 - "Samba Feel" opens up the album with beautiful classical piano and dives hard into deep and warm guitar playing that can only best be described as the "Santana guitar tone." An upbeat latin influenced song, there still exists a hint of romance within it. Ruby sings in English primarily, inserting Spanish loan words which highlight his subtle humor within the lyrics.
Track 4 - "Mi Querido Engangador," which translates to "My Dear Deceiver," is sung beautifully from a female vocalist backed up by a female gospel singer, connecting the web from Spanish to American culture which Ruby is deeply connected to. The song displays a jazzy quality, with smooth bass tones and piano. Don't be fooled by the sultry demeanor, the lyrics may be hinting at something quite different.
Track 11 - "Mass For Mankind (Gloria Culpa)" is a fun upbeat track with a twist. In case you thought ancient Latin was dead, Ruby proves you wrong by singing entirely in ancient Latin. Also highlighted in this track is the Harlem Gospel Choir, singing powerful and beautiful rounds of "hallelujahs" in the background. I give honos (respect in latin) to Ruby for giving such an amazing display of knowledge. If you're looking to get meaning from his lyrics in this one, however, you might want to brush up on your Latin first.
Reviewed by Kelsie Rotkel of Bryan Farrish Radio Promotion.
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Emotionally Evocative
author: AH
Roland Ruby
First Kisses & Final Requests
The murmur of quiet conversation and clinking highball glasses all but fills the background in the listener’s head as the proverbial lady in red croons seductively to the silky smooth sounds of a live orchestra in the background of a twilight-lit darkness of a Parisian cellar-dwelling lounge lightly glazed by cigarette smoke. While not a lady in red by any means, the multi-lingual Roland Ruby is equally skilled in delivering harmonious ballads, oftentimes commingling in perfect accord with his background singers. His expressive voice has a certain undeniable Siren-like quality that is capable of transporting a listener far and away from any of his or her current worries to distant lands, be it smoky lounges or in the case of “Samba Fatal”, a romantic beachside bar lit by flickering Tiki torches.
Launched by dramatic guitars, backed with steel drums, and accompanied by a soaring background chorus, “Samba Fatal” provides that upbeat Latin beat while starkly contrasting with it’s almost-mournful lyrics, evoking, perhaps, the memories of lost loves in better days in the past. This stark contrast is further emphasized in “Paris, ‘91” where a deceptively up-tempo beat is beautifully balanced with a majestically understated violin that imbues the listener with a deep sense of mystery that lasts much longer than the song does. However, perhaps the length of the song itself is to smoothly transition to the next song, “Mi Querido Enganador” which shares many of the same captivating qualities as “Paris, ‘91”as a female singer takes the lead and melodically expresses a classic lounge tune backed with subtle background instrumentals.
Overall, this is a well-produced album that skillfully mixes its tempos to match the moods and voices of the singers. Its backing instrumentals meld with the singers without overpowering, leaving the focus on the dueling harmonies between the male and female leads in many songs that give this album that romantic feel.
Reviewed by AH of Bryan Farrish Radio Promotion
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