Other Reviews from Road Of The Braver Man and Ride
RORY ELLIS
Road Of The Braver Man
Written by Jackey Coyle
Rhythms, June 2003 Edition
Such is the quality of Rory Ellis's voice alone the richness of the timbre,
the skill of his technique – that he conveys an irresistable charisma. And
that's not even counting his songwriting skills. The first few verses I heard, I
was done for – instant fan.Ellis's particular style, that he calls "urban folk",
was melded living in a boxing gym, honed playing in Melbourne pubs,
polished gigging on the festival circuit He recorded this, his second solo
album, over three days live in the studio with no less than Dave Steel
(guitars, accordian,percussion, mandolin and it's celtic cousin the cittern)
and Stuart Speed (bass). Fine engineering, courtesy Harry Willems, picks
up every nuance of Ellis's acoustic guitar and the voice that he uses,
seemingly effortlessly, to convey a sense of intimacy and barely
suppressed emotion. He is a master of light and shade, of knowing when
not to sing in order to give full effect.
Ellis wanted to capture an earthy, acoustic feel in the songs he has Written
in the two years since his Steel produced debut, Ride.He's managed to
do that with a minimum of instrumentation, yet a variety of sounds to
capture different feels.The powerful "Union Hotel" paints a classic picture of
a pub Saturday night: "There's a deal goin' on the back table of the room
/Somebody just bought some zoom zoom zoom.... All half spoken,
laconic: Now a fight broke out on the old dancefloor / So I wiped up the
bloodstains and showed them the door / Please take it outside now fellas
and finish it there..And a visual marker: All the while that old mirror ball
keeps on turnin'..."Miguelito" is the tune that intrudes the most into my
days, with its Latin lilting melody and unforgettable pictures: So feed me up
with a lemon to keep me mean and thin.
Just over an hour and fifteen tracks, the disc has bonus footage of the four–
and–a–half minute "Lambs" recorded live – an intimate portrait with some
well chosen close up footage of Steel on dobro and Ellis's close to mike
vocals, but unfortunately never gets behind the mic that always covers
Ellis's face. Plus photos and bio material.
Strongly recommended.
RORY ELLIS
Road Of The Braver Man – "Album Of The Week"
Written by Natalie Vulic
Beat Magazine, April 9th 2003
To put it simply, I have been blown away. As I sit here in front of my
computer, having just finished listening to Road of the Braver Man, I have
to admit my life has been enriched. Ellis is a man that has a story to tell
and he knows how to tell it, a man that is an important person in the
Australian music industry right now.
Rory Ellis has seen some shit and has lived to tell his story, combining the
sounds of the acoustic guitar, accordian, mandolin and dobro to create an
urban folk masterpiece worth owning a copy of.
Big Picture opens the album with Ellis' booming voice and mild humour as
he asks whether his life would have been better off if he had chosen a
different path.Maybe a pop star, a legend on screen/ if only I had a head of
hair like James Dean.Luckily, Ellis didn't take that path!
Union Hotel is an honest insight into working at a local hotel known for its
seediness and crime, where getting out alive after each Saturday night was
Ellis' victory. Although it's hard to pick highlight tracks because they are all
gems in their own special way, two that stick in my mind are Railway
Parade and album closer The Million Dollar Question. The former focuses
on harsh realities, with Ellis singing matter–of–factly down on Railway
Parade/ when you're gone you're history. The latter is a compelling look at
life through the eyes of an innocent child, who asks dad the tough
questions about life. What do you tell a child who asks why the news on
television is always so sad?
Ellis' lyrics bring to the surface questions that most of us think about but
rarely seek answers to. Combined with music stripped back to its roots,
with bluesy guitar solos that touch the heart and soul, Road of the Braver
Man has the depth and spirit lacking in today's music.
Throughout the album Ellis sings about another world, one that many of us
are not exposed to on a regular basis. We learn about a side of
Melbourne that most of us choose to forget about, the side where dark and
troubled characters try to survive the hell that is living on the streets. We
hear about people with harsh exteriors that are really lost souls struggling
to live each day the best they can.
After listening to Road of the Braver Man, you learn more about life than
you would listening to sugar–coated pop songs sung by kids that are still
living a sheltered life with mum and dad. Rory Ellis, you are a poet that
deserves to be heard, a man that deserves to be praised.
RORY ELLIS
Road Of The Braver Man
Written by Graham Blackley
Beat Magazine, May 14th 2003
The warmth of Rory Ellis's excellent second solo outing, Road Of The
Braver Man, is derived partly from the fact that the album was recorded live
in the studio in a mere three days. This raw and honest approach to music
making ensures that there is not even a whiff of that clinical sterility that
taints so many modern recordings. Instead, Rory, accompanied by Dave
Steel and Stuart Speed, is free to express himself in a gutsy and heartfelt
manner, and conveys successfully the emotion and downright rootsiness
of his earthy style. Rory effectively blends country, blues and folk to
fashion his deep, rumbling, memorable sound and always impresses with
his thoughtful and refreshingly down–to–earth lyrics.
Rory, a witty and genial conversationalist and astute storyteller, chatted with
me about this latest chapter in his interesting career.
"It offers a nice energy and is true to what we do," said Rory when asked
to describe the album's overall feel. "There are things about doing it live
that puts on an edge that you can't achieve by using multi–tracking in the
studio... having all acoustic instruments... gave it a nice warm sound... and
we did it all in the same room together... it was like we were sitting on
stage." While Rory's critically acclaimed debut solo album Ride was, as he
says, "produced up a touch... this album... is stripped back" and, with
fewer musicians in the studio, an "earthy, gutsier tone" was achieved.
Rory's work evokes striking images and creates a strong and affecting
emotional resonance. His lyrics are steeped in reality, populated by
believable characters, and brimful of empathy for others. Lambs, for
instance, with its biting and topical images of oppression and inequality left
unchecked, burns like a slow, searing fuse, and stands as one of the many
highlights on this magnificent, must–have album. According to Rory, the
song explores the refugee crisis, "the heroin problems in Sydney and
Melbourne... the mistreatment of blackfellas in jails... police picking on
people of a weaker nature... whether they are black or white" and "cops
getting dragged over the coals but never getting in trouble... You don't
see them behind bars but if it had been me or you we would be in like a
rat up a drainpipe". It was while watching articles about such issues on the
evening news that Rory became inspired to write Lambs. "There was all
these different things from watching the news," Rory explained. "All of
these people tended to be poorer... they tend to pay for the sins of those
who have a little bit more money... these poor people are like lambs to the
slaughter... people are blind to [inequality] even though it's so blatantly
obvious and it's even on television!"
Rory, who will be touring Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney over the next
couple of months, pointed out that he would "kill to go overseas at the
moment." With the BBC having previously played songs from Ride and
both the Cambridge and Warwick festivals expressing interest in his work,
a trip to Britain would certainly be worthwhile.
RORY ELLIS
Road Of The Braver Man
Written by: Phil Daniels
FOLKING on the 7-Oct-2003
This has become a bit of a favourite in the Folking.com office and for a
person who, when it arrived we had only heard one song from it was a
very nice surprise to see he has a full album of great tracks.
Now, listening to so many cd’s as I do of singer/songwriters, it can
become quite samey and the topics covered can seem fairly repetitive at
times with nothing to offer that hasn’t been done before. This man, Rory
Ellis from Melbourne, Australia does have something which is fairly unique
in this time and that is he has lived his songs. With this guy you’re not
going to get the halfhearted songs that a lot of artists bring out. Songs
about troubled personal suffering and living the streets when really they’ve
always lived in 30 room mansions with butlers on hand 24 hours a day! This
man writes and performs songs from the heart about his own life that really
feels as if you’ve been taken on an emotional roller coaster.
One of the main reasons you feel as if you’re living every word he sings is
because of his voice. A really weathered, gravely vocal seems to carry
the songs to the next level from written word into the mind of the listener.
He is one of those performers who, even if you haven’t really enjoyed
listening to the cd first time you’ll always give it another listen and things
will start to happen, songs become more familiar and before you know it
this is one of your favourite records.
I’m not going to pick a standout track for this album, as you really have to
listen to it as a whole to appreciate the raw power and emotion. It is a way
of life on record and should be treated that way.
RORY ELLIS
musicworkz.co.uk review May 2004
Road Of The Braver Man
Belmore Records
Now, before any regulars to the site get cheeky and point out that Rory
Ellis bears an uncanny resemblance to moi - indeed, it has already been
pointed out - and that we even sound very much alike, I feel that I should
point out that I would never dare to insinuate that I might have half the talent
of Ellis.
Ellis has the look of a heavily tattooed metal band member moonlighting
between gigs, which, even considering his preferred tipple is Urban Folk,
fits in quite well with the overall impression of a giant of man rumbling his
way along streets strewn with recitative observations and insights and
personal reflections of the social complexities of the working class man.
Although his songs are filled with anthropological accuracies and insights,
the mark of a someone who lived life to the full; good and bad, he refrains
from angry laments on the harshness of life.
This is a masterful collection of hugely impressive original and personal
material. with a sonorous vibrancy to the acoustic minimalism. 'Road Of
The Braver Man' falls just shy of being too laid-back and narcotic, with
addition of some fine mandolin and dobro (Dave Steel) livening the
proceedings. Stu Speed (Mick Thomas & The Sure Thing, The Men of
Constant Sorrow, and more recently with Barb Waters on her 'Rosa Duet'
album) is in fine form on the upright bass - 'Lambs' being a track on which
all 3 members shine. This really is an album to cherish.
Hugely popular on the festival circuit in native Australia, Ellises tour
schedule in the UK, for the coming months, reflect his appeal to those who
frequent such events. With a list of arts, music and beer festivals as long
as my inside leg measurement, the fella has his work cut out for him..... his
May dates are:
RORY ELLIS
Ride **** (4 star review)
Written by Lyall Johnson
The Age EG Section, March 9th 2001
If you're not deeply moved by this superb debut by Melbourne singer–
songwriter Rory Ellis, it's doubtful you're human. Ellis, with his wonderfully
deep, resonant voice, plumbs thedepths of the human experience to
come up with a sophisticated, inspiring album of predominantly earthy
ballads about life on the streets, a daughter who never quite made it into
the world, and, of course, love and loss. A pleasing blend of folk and
urban rock, Ellis's music is underpinned by acoustic guitar, but nicely
peppered with interesting slide guitar riffs, Hammond organ and the odd
violin. Ride has probably the best production on a local CD I've heard in
some time, and is a credit to producers Ellis, local industry icon Dave
Steel and engineer Michael Letho. Ellis's fine voice is backed by some of
Melbourne's best musicians, including Steel on electric guitar, Stuart
Speed on bass and Ashley Davies on drums.