MISTER ALIVE E.P. by Gary Day – review by Liam Oragh.

MISTER ALIVE E.P.

Review by Liam Oragh.

I know we should never judge a book or CD by its cover – but first impressions really can make a difference and heighten expectation; so when Gary Day’s debut E.P ‘Mister Alive’ landed on my lap for review, with its cool title and front cover
of a bungee jumper silhouetted against a glaring sun I was expecting the music
to be sparkling.

Fortunately Gary doesn’t disappoint, serving up the kind of crisp, but not
over-powering rock music that’s great to wake up to in the morning.

Opening with the catchy ‘Only in You’, Gary’s vocals, with his charming Northern Irish accent are reminiscent of Snow Patrol (Gary too); and with its strong sing-a-long chorus this would be a great single to push on radio. Worth noting that Gary is technically excellent on the guitar but doesn’t over-do it – it’s just right.

A drum-lick brings us straight into the bright and breezy ‘Green Eyed Gremlin’
(great title) which is very melodic with strong lyrics: “Thank you for your letter – and my golden ticket closed inside, time to re-think my situation, I’ll no longer sympathise.”

‘New Thursday’ has a lovely dreamy quality with Lizzy-like lead guitar.

The title track ‘Mister Alive’ is the surprise song; very Queen-like I could imagine Freddy Mercury taking on the soaring vocals; and the final track ‘You!’ has a beautifully textured Intro and the delight of an occasionally appearance of a distant trombone.

Overall, the music has excellent arrangements and really good production values with subtle hands behind the mixing controls getting the songs just right. Apart
from the strong tunes, the most interesting and satisfying aspect was the extra
instrumentation that really added depth and colour; finishing off a fine meal where one is left looking forward to the full-length album.

Liam Oragh.

Link to Gary’s MT channell for videos and buy/site links etc.

http://musicianstogether.com/user/Gary%20Day

Link to Liam Oragh’s MT channell.

http://musicianstogether.com/user/oragh

Tags: CD review, Gary Day, Liam Oragh, Mister Alive, New music, Oragh

Category: CD Reviews