Dec 14

Racehorse

Under Appreciated

RACEHORSE
 
 

The first solo album by Holly Ramos, Racehorse came out in 2006; her label has the remarkable name of Ford to City: Drop Dead Records.  The name is taken from a famous headline that was published in the New York Daily News; the reference is to the refusal of the Federal Government – in the person of President Gerald Ford – to aid the New York City government when it came close to bankruptcy in 1975.  

 

In her 4-out-of-5–star review for antiMusic.com, Gisèle Grignon says:  “[Holly] Ramos’s voice, in all its glorious originality, cunningly textured lyrics, and irresistible magnetism is, (and if anyone out there is actually keeping track, I apologize for my by-now strangulation-worthy overuse of the following word) refreshing.  It’s so unlike anything else out there today, that you will be forgiven for initially considering switching the channel or flipping through your musical options for something familiar, safe and Ovaltine comfy cozy.” 

 

(June 2013/2)

 

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I am embarrassed to say how long it took me to order Holly Ramos’s debut solo CD Racehorse (2006).  But I will never forget to my dying day the quote that I gave from the review of the album by Gisèle Grignon in my original UARBpost (“strangulation-worthy overuse” – now that is a great turn of phrase!):  “[Holly] Ramos’s voice, in all its glorious originality, cunningly textured lyrics, and irresistible magnetism is, (and if anyone out there is actually keeping track, I apologize for my by-now strangulation-worthy overuse of the following word) refreshing.  It’s so unlike anything else out there today, that you will be forgiven for initially considering switching the channel or flipping through your musical options for something familiar, safe and Ovaltine comfy cozy.’” 
 
But I have it now, and much as was true of the Fur CD, I fell in love with the album on its first spin.  The above quote is a perfect description of Racehorse.  The same conversational tone that is present on the Fur album is here as well, along with charming vocal flourishes that will be familiar to Fur fans.  I have little doubt that I will rack up dozens of spins on this album as well – I’ve probably logged my first dozen plays already. 
 
The love song that opens the CD, “Thinking About You” is from a woman unable to go through her daily routine, so enchanted is she with her beau:  “I’m watching TV with dirty hair now / And thinking about you / Not doing my wash or washing dishes / Just thinking about you / It’s hard to get up / I keep calling that same old takeout menu / I’m eating with my eyes closed, lying in my bed / And thinking about you”. 
 
A few verses in, a rock band joins in, and the punk edge that is in the background throughout the album becomes evident.  The lyrics are sometimes stretched and other times slightly rushed, but Holly Ramos handles this easily without missing a beat. 
 
As with Fur, there is one cover on the Racehorse album, a Ray Davies song that I was not previously familiar with called “Art Lover”, taken from the 1981 album by the Kinks, Give the People What They Want.  The lines in this song if sung by a man would be more than a little unsettling, but the way Holly Ramos performs them (with no gender changes), they are merely quizzical:  “Jogging in the park is my excuse / To look at all the little girls / I’m not a flasher in a rain coat / I’m not a dirty old man / I’m not gonna snatch you from your mother / I’m an art lover / Come to daddy.” 
 
The other songs are written or at least co-written by Holly Ramos (there are no credits given in my copy of the CD), but some are echoes of other well-known songs:  “Coal Miner’s Lullaby” has almost the same name as the Loretta Lynn classic “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, and “This Bird Has Flown” lifts the parenthetical phrase from the Beatles song “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”.  In this case, the song is about a real bird (as used in the Beatles song, “bird” is British slang for an attractive girl or woman):  “One day I found a bird on my way / so one time I thought I’d make him mine / No longer wild but tame / I gave that bird a name / A dark night that bird would sing instead of fly / A sad song / I left the cage open now he’s gone / It came as no surprise / When I opened up my eyes / That this bird has flown.” 
 
How exactly Holly Ramos performs her songs in such a compelling and heartfelt manner is difficult to understand, when the same kind of performance could just as easily be a snoozefest of the sort that is endured in an airport hotel lounge.  Racehorse is not exactly an acoustical album, but the arrangements are unadorned in a manner that is scarcely ever encountered in the 21st Century when even understated arrangements are glaringly insistent.  I’m sure hoping more albums from Holly Ramos will come my way. 
 
(Year 9 Review)
 
Last edited: March 22, 2021