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Odd Birds

by The Raventones

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1.
Two-Tone Touring Car 05:29
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Two-tone Touring car Way high under the western sky Way high where mercury rockets fly She said, let’s go west, Edward I want to live with the movie stars Hob-nob in Hollywood Big houses and shiny cars Corn belt to California To supersonic western skies Motels and marinas Summer 1959 But he didn’t want to go He just could not tell her no That he did not really want to go So far away But she always got her way Just like a movie star Grown children like planets Orbiting their matriarch In their two-tone touring car Frances dreams she’s a movie star In their two-tone touring car Frances thinks she’s a movie star In that old green car, she’s far away Afternoon ocean air rustles the palm trees Sun slanting through the venetian blinds Mullen Avenue in Inglewood Cool white arches of stucco It’s my grandma’s house summer 1965 Way high under the western sky Way high under blue supersonic skies Neon parabolas and flickering golden marquees Beacons to dreamers, the architecture of fantasy Frances never found Hollywood Except on the silver screen She’s afraid of color now, stays home with her old TV Grandma never found her Hollywood That tarnished pot of gold Grandpa died to just get away Grandma stayed and slowly just got old With mom and Bubby in my daddy’s car Packed it up and we’re going far Navigating by different stars Northbound to where the tall trees are With mom and Bubby in my daddy’s car We’re going far away
2.
Walk With Me 03:23 video
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walk with me i love to watch the way you lay 'em down walk with me i love to watch the way you lay 'em down let's set something on fire see what be going down how do you feel tell me how do you feel when i let you in my car behind the wheel you went from hitching to driving this funky fat automobile you're the foundation for my fundamental freakiness a willing ride who takes in stride this crazy shit i do the best i like the way you lay it down i love the way you make that sound lot more fun when you around here with me so let's fire one up come on take a walk with me give me a solid stone to stand on when i'm reaching for the sky i like the way you lay it down i love the way you make that sound heavy mojo going down with you & me cuz i can pick it up and make it talk and you lay it down and make it rock rock with me i love it when you make it rock with me.
3.
I Surrender 03:24
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i surrender no more fire to fight my soul is grows weary trying to make it right i surrender nothing more to give endless explanation for the way that i live i surrender let me off this crazy ride i'm cracked and and tight with tension my deepest need denied i surrender to the song of moon on tide to the only thing that's constant to the empty place inside what a lovely place to hide
4.
Yellow Moon 03:56
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yellow moon quiet streets where yearning hearts sometimes meet dance warm and slow and bittersweet in summer midnight afterglow with secrets only shadows know held by darkness touched by grace drink at the well of sorrow in love's midnight embrace then turn and walk away down quiet streets under a yellow moon
5.
Unfolding 05:00
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watching you unfolding remembering the light opening up to all the giving your divine birthright makes me oh so high oh so high to look into your eyes and watch you finally fly feeling me unfolding taking you inside opening up to all the living knowing it's all right makes me oh so high oh so high to let you see my eyes and feel what it's like to fly watching us unfolding this rainbow family of living light opening up new ways of living and loving and giving our divine birthright makes me oh so high oh so high look into your neighbors eyes and watch the dreams take flight
6.
Do You Want Me To Go 04:07
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It's been a while since I thought of you Been a long time since I touched your face Now here you are in the rain coming towards me How can I handle this with grace Do you want me Do you want me Do you want me to go And I can’t tell now You’re not so clear now Should I stay or should I go Remember when we ran ourselves together Vivid vibrant colors in the rain But then came the storms And in running from the thunder We got separated, silent once again Once again Awkward silence I don’t want to meet your eyes Small talk grinds like broken glass But underneath is longing I can feel it in our breathing All the things that could not get a chance Do you want me Do you want me Do you want me to go And I can’t tell now You’re not so clear now Should I stay or should I go Should I stay or should I go Why is it so damn hard to know When it's time to let go Let go
7.
I See You See Me 02:31
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i see you you see me i see you see me looking at you i see you see me and i wonder if you know that i'm looking back at you that's right, I'm checking' you out watch you walk across the floor babe you're looking fine love to have you make you mine i really think you're beautiful i wanna know your name come on over here babe turn this spark to a flame i hear you hear me i hear you hear me i know your checking me out can you hear me singing and i wonder if you know what all this noise is really about can you hear this message i'm sending made from my heart right out to you i feel it in my soul gotta share i'm sharing it with you it makes me feel beautiful make me remember my name when i am here with you we are one and the same
8.
Hush 04:08
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hush not a word there are none anyway your breath in my ear is all you have to say words are hard to find they just get lost in my mind anyway light-year skies, starry eyes no surprise but i never knew light-year skies, your star-struck eyes it's no surprise but still i never knew about you hush not a word, there are none anyway my breath in this song is all i have left to say and these words are so hard to find they just get lost between the lines anyway
9.
Dynamix 03:28
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10.
White Crosses 06:50
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these mountains ain't high but they're straight up and down it's many dark miles to the nearest small town where the neon is glowing red white and blue good friends are waiting to buy a cold one for you this river ain't wide but she's rocky straight down and this road wraps around her like a rough wedding gown the bridegroom is coming, too hard and too fast her kiss is a cold one, it will be his last white crosses on the hiway red roses in the ditch if promises were nickels this whole valley 'd be rich but the girls are still waiting for the boys to come home even when they're together they're always alone these mountains ain't high but they're straight up and down its about sixteen dark miles to the nearest small town where the neon is glowing red white and blue good friends are waiting to that last round for you white crosses on the highway brown bottles in the ditch if good intentions were nickels this whole valley 'd be rich but the girls are still waiting for the boys to come home but after that last call she'll always be alone
11.
Blue Interlude 01:31
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12.
Southbound #5 Blues 02:49
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about

THE RAVENTONES - ODD BIRDS
(2003 - Darkwater Music DWM005)

Out in the Oregon woods, The Raventones have home-built a solid first album in "Odd Birds". It's a thick but spacious mix of low-tuned guitars, forefront bass, vintage-style drums & intense vocals. Driven by twangy baritone electric guitar on some tracks, alter-tuned acoustic on others, the songs range from the brawny old-school soul attack of "Walk with Me", to the intimacy of "i surrender" and "hush" to the raging slide blues of "Southbound #5".

Bandleader TR Kelley's roots are in surf, country and R&B overlaid with the altered tunings and creative textures of West-Coast folk psychedelia. Anchored by the sparkle and snappy groove of Randy Hamme's vintage drums, the songs are fully realized yet never overproduced.

Before his public emergence as a drummer, Randy Hamme worked as a sound engineer. His creative use of both analog tape and digital formats in the recording for this CD is evident in the lush saturation of the instrumental tracks and the intimacy and power of the vocals.

"Odd Birds" is a vibrant quilt of ideas. Bossa-nova, spaghetti-western twang, a Mersey-beat twist, a live mono soundscape, even an 80's-style power ballad all make an appearance. Yet these seemingly disparate styles blend under the cohesiveness of TR Kelley's instrumentation and production concepts.
Stylistically, there are echoes of Ray Charles, Patsy Cline and the Ventures swirled in with Joni Mitchell, Jaco Pastorius and Michael Hedges, but The Raventones' way of mixing it all up, pitching it down low and giving it room to breathe & groove without cluttered production make it a truly unique listen.

------------- QUOTES --------------------------

"Laid back guitars for surfing in the rain. ..... Kelley's vocals are hypnotic, a surge of power that makes the bulbs glow......." - Sara Warfield, WOW Hall Notes, Eugene Oregon

"( The Raventones' album) "Odd Birds" is a winner...... for its variety, evident talent and songs to get lost in." - Natasha Chilingerian, (University of) Oregon Daily Emerald

"TR Kelley is known to fans of Babes with Axes as the one with the growly voice who wouldn't take any lip from society. She brings an entirely different approach to the Raventones, one with a lot more depth, like the guitars and basses she plays with such feeling." - Mike Kelsey, WFHB-FM Bloomington, Indiana

"TR's voice is amazing in its tone and variety.... she moves from a powerful ballad to a dreamy, atmospheric piece, to a Delta blues." - Arthur Elliott, Radio 99.7FM, Brisbane, Australia

"Passion, nostalgia and joy...one of the Northwest's musical treasures" - Eugene Weekly 12/26/02

"On the surface, Kelley sounds somewhat like a disciple of Joni Mitchell in her Hejira and Don Juan's Reckless Daughter era. However, Kelley's guitar tunings are a little more reminiscent of Michael Hedges than Joni Mitchell, and that's Kelley herself playing bass." - Daniel Nestlerode, FAMA Internet Music Review

credits

released August 1, 2003

Recorded mixed & mastered by Randy Hamme @ at Hole in the Roof studio, Spring 2003

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The Raventones Springfield, Oregon

TR Kelley & Randy Hamme - Western psychedelia & melodic low rock from the backwoods of outer space. Lyrics of love, death and healing. The Raventones don't tour, but they do migrate seasonally between Western Oregon and Baja Arizona, living off-grid in an RV, recording studio and all. ... more

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