“Ray Barnard’s new album sounds like Donald Fagen fronting the Black Pumas, riffing on Blue Dream and Red Stripe. There’s also a punchy Roots-Rock strain running thru it. Ray sings with a sardonic grin – the world keeps thrusting humility upon him, so he keeps ducking & swinging.”– SJW Record Review Twin Cities-native RAY BARNARD wrote, arranged and produced his fifth solo album, And The Horse You Rode In On. On his new release we hear Barnard’s continued fascination with fusing Soul, R&B, Reggae, and Roots-Rock while incorporating live rhythm tracks. It’s a fascination Barnard has been pursuing for over three decades.
The grooves on And The Horse You Rod In On travel to different places—reggae, world-beat, tex-mex—like a low-profile Paul Simon. And the splendid rhythm section – Jeremy Johnson, Blair Krivanek, Nick Salisbury, and Greg Schutte – play the changes like a well-oiled machine. An overall theme on And The Horse You Road In On is feeling like a stranger in one’s own hometown. The track “Scufflin’” is about discovering that self-preservation is not a solo pursuit. “Closer To God” is a gospel tune about natural temples and experiencing spirituality on one’s own. “Greenlight” is a straight up love letter that, according to Barnard, is about “the girl who gave me the key to the highway.”
Before Ray Barnard began his solo career, he led the roots-rock group The Copperheads for twelve years. The group released three albums and was known for mixing Country and R&B. The Copperheads also played high profile shows with Junior Brown, Chris Scruggs, Rosie Flores, the Iguanas, Randy Weeks, Charlie Robison, Shooter Jennings, Ty Herndon, Jack Ingram, the Oak Ridge Boys. Barnard also played sideman for Frederick Thomas & Natural Selection, along with Minneapolis-Saint Paul acts such as In2ition, Bill Geezy, Molly Maher, Paul Bergen, the Dan Lowinger 4, Becky Kapell & the Fat Six, and Erik Koskinen.
“Minnesota’s best kept secret for 15 years running.” – Frogtown Blogosphere
