LATEST VIDEO:
Yesterday When I Was Young (Hier Encore)
by Charles Aznavour
Belgian Lace – by Ray Sealey
Last Letter Home – by James Hooker, Butch McDade
Clay Pigeons – by Blaze Foley
VIDEO: Wrong No More – by Ray Sealey
VIDEO: Macclenny Farewell – by Will McLean This is a studio recording with produced visuals and live studio video of the vocal track. This is my own arrangement (perhaps a little unusual) on one of Will McLean’s most beautiful lyrics. The Will McLean Music Festival is a great Florida musical happening. I owe this festival much including great new friends I have met and their warm welcome to a northern stranger. I’ve been going there for several years now and I thought, as a thanks to all the wonderful people who put on this festival, the least I could do is sing a Will McLean song.
VIDEO: Trouble in Mind
Live recording of a personal take on a great blues standard. Recorded outdoors on a nice day and it felt good – even with the wind. I end this blues, which is really kind of dark, on an upbeat note. There are all sorts of verses out there. I chose the ones for me.
VIDEO: Love Me Tender
I made this for a Facebook posting on Valentine’s Day. Everybody seemed to like it so here is my version of this great Elvis standard (based on the Civil War era song Aura Lee).
TWO TRACKS FROM THE CD – ENJOY !
The Trucker’s Song – by Ray Sealey (with Isabelle Vadeboncoeur – piano & vocals,
Vincent Compagna – bass)
Kissimmee Prairie Dream – by Ray Sealey (Isabelle Vadeboncoeur -vocals, Claire Marchand – flute, Vincent Campagna – bass)
CD: STONE IN MY SHOE
Purchase the album for delivery or download electronic version: Here’s How
Album details and liner notes are below.
Musicians:
Ray Sealey – voice, guitar
Isabelle Vadeboncoeur – vocals, piano
Vincent Compagna – upright bass
Claire Marchand – flute
Vincent Beaulne – dobro
Mark Simons – clarinet
Margaret Little – viola da gamba
Katie Waller – violin
Rémy Sealey – percussion
(cover photo: Luc Cardinal)
Songs include the award winning Kissimmee Prairie Dream which won a prize in the Best New Florida Song Contest at the Will McLean Music Festival. Album notes follow.
A few testemonials
- Great CD Ray! A.S.
- Bravo! A.B.
- Tout un accomplissement ! Bravo. What an accomplishment! Bravo J-G P
- We liked it from beginning to end. The themes and the music have variety, life and brightness.
- Texte, voix, musique,orchestration … une très belle réussite. Words, voice, music, arrangements… a beautiful success. J-M P
- Good stuff Ray. D.S.
Album notes
STONE IN MY SHOE
In his life outside musical work, Ray Sealey has always written poetry. After spending much time in the classical world he now joins that love of words to his early love for folk music. These songs are often stories – some true, some imaginary. Stone in my Shoe comes from the title track but it’s also a symbol for sources of inspiration. A stone in a shoe can be a pleasant annoyance while walking in nature (Kissimmee Prairie Dream), or a symbol of the emotions in human relationships (The Dance), or a metaphor for contemporary annoyances like preoccupation with image (No Metroman), and listening to complainers (Take This Day) or thinking of dark days in history (Savannah Stroll). The metaphoric stone in the shoe provokes musical consequences. Ray Sealey sits down, gets the stone out, picks up his guitar and gets it all into song.
RAY SEALEY
Ray Sealey has spent his whole life in the world of music but only the past 5 years in the world of singer-song-writing. He has returned to the folk roots that early in his career led to the discovery of the solo guitar. He took the classical guitar road, playing mostly chamber music and accompanying classical singers. Most importantly, he led a rewarding life as a teacher of classical guitar at the university level and occasionally, as a composer. Then came a further divergence into the world of arts management. Among other posts, he was Executive Director of CAMMAC a major Canadian organization for amateur music making. This organization, which marked his life, is devoted to that one important thing – making music with others for the pure joy of it. Almost all the collaborators on this CD are teachers at CAMMAC’s wonderful summer music centre in Québec (www.cammac.ca).
THE SONGS – notes by Ray Sealey
Kissimmee Prairie Dream is a meditation on the enchanting space of a Florida prairie. This particular place is Kissimmee Prairie Preserve. It is a part of Florida’s great cattle history as well as an area of rare natural beauty. As well as hawks, the rare and striking Caracara bird lives here.
The Dance is a story in waltz time about lost love and those short magical affairs that are inevitably doomed to failure by blindness.
No Metroman is a song addressed to certain urban ladies about the kind of man in a city who is not comfortable in the club scene where you find those guys often described as metrosexuals. He is not hip and he’s not cool. He’s just a decent man having a tough time finding a long-term girl.
Ghost in the Light is a story about going back home but not back to the past. This man has pulled himself out of some dark times and no matter how tempting, he does not want to rekindle an old and dangerous flame.
Waltz for Maria is about being a friend when a friend is needed. The story is set in the sweet pinewoods in coastal area of the glorious Florida Panhandle. Thank heavens for State Parks. Sea and pines are such an exotic combination.
Goodbye Matinée is a true story. As a kid in England I went to Saturday morning matinées to see films and serials. TV hadn’t yet arrived in most British houses. One morning we all got there and this is what happened. The cinema and its (mostly American) heroes meant a lot to us kids back then.
Ophelia is the result of a dream. It became a song about the fear that stays unnamed – at least for many of us. Ophelia’s tragic end in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the reference for a reflection on death. But, in the end, we all live on in the memories of those left behind and the song’s tone is meant to be uplifting. The Renaissance is suggested by lute effects from the guitar and melodic lines from the viola da gamba.
The Trucker’s Song is an imagining of being a long haul trucker like you see on the interminable Interstate highways hauling food up to the cold north. He just wants to get home and see his sweetheart again.
Savannah Stroll is a blues that explores the ambiguity of a beautiful place that has a dark history. Savannah was a centre for the slave trade and if you read about the city’s history, you can imagine it as you stroll through the old parts of town.
Stone in my Shoe – it’s never too late and you’re never too old to risk a new shot at life. I should know. The story is true and took place in my hometown.
One Good Man – yes, another true story. The wife of a good friend asked me to write a song about how they met. She gave me some lines for lyrics and I cobbled this song together as a surprise Christmas gift. My only commission to date! It eventually evolved a little and became a story for everyone.
Take This Day was inspired by complainers – especially those North Americans who don’t know how lucky they are when they are not victims of poverty, storms, fire or war. Drives me crazy. The last verse is a call to action rather than complaint.
THANK YOU FRIENDS
Ray Sealey writes: This whole recording project was a leap for me. Thanks to all my musician friends who leaped with me. Most of them had no idea what I was doing beyond my past classical life but none said no and they raised my songs to another level. Thank you Isabelle Vadeboncoeur who played with me in several live performances that eventually led to this project. Particular thanks go to my son, Rémy, who was not only the co-producer and sound engineer on this project, but also a wonderful musician in his own right (https://soundcloud.com/klatu).
Thanks to Paul Mills for his sage advice on the songs and the recording process. Thanks to my Florida friends who heard me start from scratch as a singer and were always welcoming at various festivals, song circles and folk clubs – in particular Mike and Maggie of Lucky Mud and Carolyn Dunn, a musical mover in the Florida scene. There are many other unnamed friends, north and south, who always had encouraging words, especially my local book club members who served as guinea pigs for my musical explorations. Thanks Ursula for providing a home base in Montreal. And finally, dear Denise, thanks for just being there and helping me travel this new road.