Between the Golden Age & The Promised Land, by Ray Cooper

Between the Golden Age & The Promised Land

by Ray Cooper

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1.	Drunk On Summer 04:33	info	buy track
2.	The Unknown Soldier Has A Name 05:04	info	buy track
3.	Little Flame 04:40	info	buy track
4.	Love & Vengeance 05:30	info	buy track
5.	Valentine’s Day 04:25	info	buy track
6.	Ocean Of Storms 04:33	info	buy track
7.	Adieu Sweet Spanish Ladies 04:10	info	buy track
8.	The Promised Land 04:41	info	buy track
9.	The Golden Age 05:50	info	buy track
10.	Wayfaring Stranger 03:33	info	buy track

about

When you are part of a legendary folk band, as Ray Cooper was until 2011 with the Oysterband, the easy option is to stay and reap the benefits of successful tours, albums, reviews and airplay, However, Ray had a desire to branch out musically, and to release his own albums encompassing a wider range of styles, and now, with the imminent release of his third album, his decision to seek pastures new, and solo, have been vindicated by the acclaim he has received, the fans he has won over, and the quality of the songs that he has released.

His new album 'Between The Golden Age & The Promised Land' will surprise many of his listeners. It is a big sounding record with serious themes, but is nevertheless simple, raw, joyous, and unashamedly romantic.

While Cooper continues to develop as a singer, here he plays all the instruments too, in a stripped down production inspired by producer Rick Rubin's treatment of Johnny Cash's late recordings. The familiar mandolin, cello, guitar and harmonica are all there but Cooper also makes his recording debut as a piano player, and features it prominently throughout the album.

There is folk here but it's never quite folk. Nevertheless the album is more English sounding too, with the inclusion of several trad tunes, and songs woven into the album as the listener is taken on a journey from the English countryside, to Flanders, Venice, Beirut, and even to the moon in his song 'Ocean Of Storms'. The song is king, and stories abound on his new and diverse album.

The opening track 'Drunk On Youth' describes a happy memory as a teenager, swimming in a river drunk, the album moves on to describe the true story of a maverick soldier in WWI, the beautiful Arab singer Asmahan, a holiday romance, being a father, the present day migrants in the Mediterranean, before ending with the classic hymn 'Wayfairing Stranger', all of which fall nicely under the umbrella of the title. 'Between The Golden Age & The Promised land'.

credits

released April 13, 2018

Ray Cooper VOICE, PIANO, GUITARS, CELLO, MANDOLIN,
HARMONICA, HARMONIUM, BASS GUITAR, PERCUSSION.

RECORDED BY Ray Cooper
AT The Love Shack MALMKÖPING SWEDEN 2017
MIXED AND MASTERED BY Al Scott
PRODUCED BY Ray Cooper
PHOTOS BY Kerstin Maier
ARTWORK BY Neomania Design

license

about

Westpark Music Germany

Label, Production- and Publishing Company, founded 1987, based in Cologne, Germany. Releases are CDs, Vinyls, DVDs, sheet music and biographies. Mainly concentrating on music from North of latitude 40. - means: roughly the area above the latitude that goes through Paris. ... more