There’s a place where it is always warm, where the sun beams down upon your face as birds sing gleefully. There’s a place where gorgeous Gypsy dancers clap their hands in rhythm to a choppy guitar as a fine falsetto voice serenades you. The only person who can take you there is Ramona Cordova. The Boy Who Floated Freely is an eleven track escape into a story enchanted by chirping crickets, Gypsies, romance, and mystery.
Released by ECA records in 2005, Ramona Cordova’s The Boy Who Floated Freely is a captivating concept album devoted to the story of a boy named Giver. The tale goes something like this: Giver inexplicably washes ashore on an unnamed island. As he recovers his awareness, he hears music streaming from a neighboring village. He eventually makes his way into a bar in this village and a band of Gypsies sing him a welcoming song. The album opens with Cordova’s trademark falsetto accompanied by a singing chorus of birds. He craftily begins to weave Givers tale into the musical composition.
“I was just a boy
Fell into an ocean
Washed up on a shore
And now I’m here to see
What I will see”
After the short yet sweet introduction, Cordova escorts us into the Gypsy filled village bar. A door creaks open and men are shouting in Spanish. A flamenco guitar kicks in and Cordova ardently croons to us in Spanish. This song is so powerfully exotic that you can actually taste the tequila and see the Palmero’s accenting Cordova’s guitar.
At this point in the story, the Gypsies offer Giver a place to stay where he can recuperate from his arduous journey. The next track on the album is “Giver’s Reply.” The song begins with slow and childish organ, giving the impression that the piece is going to be somber. However, “Giver’s Reply” is the most uplifting track from the album, showcasing Cordova’s talent for pairing philosophical rumination with jovial instrumentation. Soon after the organ intro and Ramona’s bare vocals align, the two are complemented by a muddy drum set and splendid vibra slapping. “Giver’s Reply” is the sort of song you might listen to while walking down the street on the first day of spring. It just makes you feel so good.
As the story unfolds, Giver ends up lodging with the Gypsies and a beautiful young girl named Marco gives him a bit of potion to aid his sleep. The story takes a turn when she slips Giver some love potion as well. Fittingly, “Mixing the Potion” is the next track on the album. Demonstrating Cordova’s guitar skills, “Mixing the Potion” begins with a Spanish influenced guitar and spins wildly out of control into the bliss that makes his work so distinctive. Even more impressive is Ramona’s ability to play more than one character, as he sings the sky-scraping part of Marco
The core of the album illustrates the dreams of Giver during his long slumber. “Brother,” the sixth song on The Boy Who Floated Freely will bring tears to your eyes. Ramona’s soul really emerges on this track in his wistful guitar progressions, which waft in and out of his intriguing melodies. His lyrics are filled with regret and a melancholy yearning as he sings of his lost brother.
“Underneath the lies I breathe I know I mean the most lovely things.
And brother I’ll forget the blows we used to make
So filled with hate when we were younger
And brother I regret the words we’d never said
The times we never shared together.
And don’t forget to tell our mother sister brother aunt and uncle you’ve decided to fight like our father
And don’t forget to tell our mother sister brother aunt and uncle you’ve decided to leave like our brother.”
Towards the end of The Boy Who Floated Freely is a short song called “Hot and Heavy Harmony.” Ramona’s guitar moves like a delicate pendulum, swinging to and fro through his tender lyrics. Following his aching words, a cello sounds in the void, driving the song to a new level of expression. “Hot and Heavy Harmony” conveys Giver’s lust, yet manages to be simple and seductive.
“Don’t use a line
I can find you fine
My hands paint your picture
In my mind
Cause I wanna know your body like my own”
Comparable to most of Cordova’s songs on this album, “The Chesser” opens up like a flower: slowly and deliberately, in time revealing its rich innards. Ramona Cordova speaks on many topics. He tells of love, lack of experiences, and disillusionment. “And we’ll walk and talk of everything, the truth of things I’ve never seen, and you will tell me I’m alone. But the pictures on your face will tell that I’m not wrong, I’m not wrong.” The chorus’s are fully realized; launching into a wild, dissonant waltz, marked by choppy aggression. Every feature of Ramona’s voice is presented in “The Chesser,” from his grainy and fragile lows, to his unbridled, sometimes even jazzy vibrato.
The melodious story ends with Giver solitary once again, finding that Marc’s love has become dead. “Take Flight,” the last track on The Boy Who Floated Freely, is an uncomplicated ode testifying to the freedom that this album truly embodies. One of the most brilliant aspects of The Boy Who Floated Freely is that it’s cohesive without being constricting. Ramona Cordova’s wonderfully untamed vocals, lyrics, and guitar work mirror the fantastical imagery presented in his album while allowing for listeners to visualize his well crafted story on their own.
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April 5th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
Nicely written! You nailed the drum sound description on “Giver’s Reply.” Strange, but interesting story. I look foward to your future posts.
July 8th, 2006 at 12:28 pm