(Ranch Records) Russell Ray grew up in Galena Park, Texas. In the 10th grade he became a member of a pop band called The Group. This inspired Russell and fellow Group member Greg Gilley to pick up guitars to further their musical interest. By the 12th grade, Russell was singing in "The Group" and was also playing bass. He and Greg went on to form a rock band called RokBergade. Being in the same band as Greg Gilley gave Russell a good excuse to spend his spare time at Gilley's Club in Pasadena, which gave him exposure to many country music greats that included Mickey Gilley. His time with The RokBergade resulted in an album with several songs co-written by Russell. The band played locally around the Houston area with the likes of Molly Hatchet. However, by the late 80's RokBergade had disbanded. Discouraged by the RokBergade breakup, he put away his guitar and decided to attend the police academy. He graduated, eventually landing in Sugar Land as a detective. After a while, the call from deep inside got louder and louder and he returned to his music. He started singing locally on the Southwest side of Houston and after winning a talent contest he decided to put together a band. In 2000, Russell went into the studio with producer Duane Propes (formerly of Little Texas) and recorded five songs. The project ended up as a self promoted EP with very good show sales.

Cocktails In Cozumel  is Russell Ray's first full length album, co-written and co-produced by Doug Deforrest and Ken Reynolds. His band, The Last Call, currently consists of members Chris English, Dwayne Boehnemann, Chris Davison, and Ken Reynolds. 

Stylistically, Russell tosses in something for everyone. He dives in head first on the more rockin' side of Texas roadhouse music with the smokin' "Texas Women" and the outstanding fiddle driven swamp-rocker "Angelique." The drinking song "Beerholder," is an amusing mid-tempo country-rocker the theme of which is along the lines of the Mickey Gilley classic, "Girls All Get Prettier At Closing Time." Speaking of the latter song, Russell and the band follow "Beerholder" with a raucous, rocked up, well done cover. "Texas Will" provides some straight ahead country-rock.

On the traditional side, they offer up the standout honky tonk two-stepper, "The Stars Don't Shine At Gilley's Anymore" and the irreverant "W.T.F.E." They burn things down with the red hot rockabilly swing "Jump In Hang On" and deliver some terrific traditional western swing on "Goin' Down Swingin'." Russell's ballads are in a more contemporary vein where he infuses bits of his background in pop/rock music. The pretty "Corpus Christi Calling" and "Lonestar" tell of wistful longing, the title track "Cocktails In Cozumel," has a lovely Latin tinged melody, the haunting "Lost Without You" has country-rock undertones and "Bigger Than Dallas" is a mid-tempo country-rocker.

Russell Ray shows a lot of talent and his personality shines throughout the album. The only complaint might be that Cocktails In Cozumel might be a little too diverse. His strengths are on the more traditionally oriented and Texas roadhouse style material. He's got a strong and versatile voice that's more than capable of handling ballads, but because the ones on the album are more contemporary and pop leaning than the rest of the songs on the album, they seem out of place and make things a little on the uneven side. There's still more than enough on Cocktails In Cozumel to enjoy and makes it worth owning. Russell Ray is an artist that shows a lot of promise, he just needs to find and focus on which road he wants to travel.      

Standout Tracks: "Beerholder," "Jump In Hang On," "The Stars Don't Shine At Gilley's Anymore," "Lost Without You," "Angelique," "Goin' Down Swingin' " 

On The Net: www.russellray.com www.cdbaby.com

AnnMarie Harrington TakeCountryBack July 2004