The Bryson Group: "Dry" showcases guitarists Jesse & Wally Bryson
Written: Mar 26 '05 (Updated Dec 18 '07)
Product Rating:
Pros: Teen idols 30 years apart, Jesse Bryson (Rosavelt) and Wally Bryson (Raspberries),make a great album..
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: Father and son, Jesse and Wally Bryson, offer "Dry," a CD of rich musical textures and great songwriting. Beatles and power pop influences are everywhere.
When Jimmy Ienner, the bass vocalist John Lennon always referred to as "Duke" because of his vocal work on Gene Chandler's "Duke Of Earl," heard The Bryson Group's "Dry" CD, he was blown away.
Ienner, a one-time member of The Four Seasons, is best-known as producer of albums by Kiss, Eric Carmen, Raspberries, Lighthouse, Blood Sweat & Tears, Grand Funk Railroad and Three Dog Night.
Of the "Dry" album, Ienner commented, "The harmonies are so good, they're absurd. The world needs to hear this music."
I couldn't agree more. The songwriting, musicianship and vocal talents presented on "Dry" are the result of an admiring father and son collaboration that truly works.
The Bryson Group:
I can't imagine a more difficult task, for most people, than a father and son working together on a project. Egos and parent-son status usually get in the way of such efforts.
Such is not the case with Jesse and Wally Bryson, whose father-son relationship has evolved into friendship and virtual brothers-in-arms, which is pretty cool, I think.
The son, Jesse Bryson, is an adult now, but he has established himself as one of Cleveland's favorite guitarists.
In 1997, Jesse's former band, Qwasi Qwa, won the Mountain Dew High School Rock-Off which pitted Cleveland's best young bands against one another. One review I read of a Qwasi Qwa live performance at the time in Cleveland Scene magazine noted hundreds of screaming young girls going bonkers over Qwasi Qwa's performance.
Qwasi Qwa's music was hip, alternative, rock and pop all rolled into one. Their CD "Shaking Hands With The Governor" is worth seeking out. The band went on to win a Cleveland Freetimes poll as well and appeared in a showcase at the SXSW Festival in Texas in 2000.
Jesse Bryson went on to perform with some Cleveland legends, sharing the stage with former Raspberries' band members and with Michael Stanley, among others over the years. Most recently, he was a member of Rosavelt, recording their CD "The Story Of Gasoline" before leaving that group in December of 2004.
Jesse's guitar-playing dad is Wally Bryson, lead guitarist for Raspberries ("Go All The Way"), Fotomaker (which also featured ex-Rascals Gene Cornish and Dino Danelli), The Choir (whose members later joined Raspberries and The James Gang), Tattoo (featuring Dan Klawon of The Choir, Raspberries sideman Jeff Hutton and former Nazz drummer Thom Mooney), The Sittin' Ducks and a dozen other bands. Wally's also a former touring member of The New Rascals.
In the late 1960s, Wally and Eric Carmen were members of Cyrus Erie, who cut some singles for Epic Records and were Cleveland's top band. Jeff Beck of The Yardbirds heard Wally sing lead on Cyrus Erie's cover of "Nights In White Satin" and gave Wally an early ego boost by telling him that his version was better than The Moody Blues' original recording of the tune!
Wally has been profiled in such magazines as "20th Century Guitar" (October 1997) and "Guitar Digest" (February-March 2005), and his lovely part-Cherokee Indian face has graced the covers of such periodicals as "Hit Parader" and "Goldmine" as well over the years.
In 1985, Wally was musical director for the Ienner-produced teen pop band Candy, a group that included future Guns 'n' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke and bassist Jonathan Daniel (who later was in Electric Angels and The Loveless, and who later managed American Hi-Fi). Wally was also musical director for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame & Museum's Topping-Off Ceremony's All-Star Band.
Since the Fall of 2004, Wally has been touring with the reunited Raspberries (Bryson, Eric Carmen, Jim Bonfanti and Dave Smalley). The tour continues in the summer of 2005.
You want chart experience? Wally has 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits under his belt, first charting at the age of 17 in 1967 (those hits include seven with Raspberries, two with Fotomaker and one with The Choir).
This is a family in love with music (Jesse's mom, and Wally's wife, is the lovely Kay Bryson, a very busy lady whose many projects include publicity for the men in her life, being Wally's partner in Kay-Wal Music, and running the official Raspberries' band website).
"Dry":
The Bryson Group showcases two John Lennon-inspired guitarists, brothers-in-rock whose love and respect for each other is evident in interviews and in their music --- they seem in both awe and admiration of each other.
Jesse handles all the lead vocals here. He also wrote 14 of the 16 songs on The Bryson Group's "Dry" (the other two songs were written by Jesse and Wally). Son and father share producer credit on "Dry," as well as singing all the background vocals.
Jesse (electric 12-string and acoustic guitars) and Wally (electric and acoustic guitars, percussion and drums) are the core of the band, of course, but they have surrounded themselves with some of Cleveland's best musicians, folks in their 20s like Jesse and folks in their 50s like Wally --- a really interesting mix of youthful energy and older musical maturity.
Kenny Margolis, whose songwriting was a high point on The Sittin' Ducks (which featured Bryson and Choir veteran Dan Klawon) self-titled CD a few years back (also worth picking up), plays piano and keyboards on "Dry." Excellent choice.
Others backing the project include bassist Gary Miller, guitarist Dave Miller, drummer Dave Alexy, drummer John Morocco, percussionist Greg Campolieti and violinist Bob Yocum.
These musical talents provide richly textured music here, and Jesse Bryson shows enormous growth as a songwriter on this project. The guitar and vocal talents of Jesse and Wally Bryson have never been in question.
The CD:
"Dry" by The Bryson Group is an independent release on the Kay-Wal Music label, so it won't be collecting dust in the CD bins at your local retailer. It is available through the band's website and ordering information is at http://www.thebrysongroup.com (or you can email the Brysons at Rasp Comment@aol.com for info).
A video of the band performing live is viewable on the website's main page.
"Dry" has a generous running time of 68:47 minutes. Fans of power pop, alternative rock and late '60s John Lennon will enjoy this. The guitar-playing is tasteful and gutsy, but never falls into a boring jam or an unnecessary long guitar solo. The Brysons understand pop radio listenability better than most artists.
The album was produced by Jesse and Wally Bryson at Suma Recording Studio in Cleveland, Ohio. Paul Hamann (Destructor, Pere Ubu, Grand Funk Railroad, Bloodrock) engineered and mastered the album.
The CD booklet is 4-pages, pretty much the norm for independent releases, with personnel information and photos of the Brysons. No lyrics are provided, but the music does all the necessary talking here.
The 16 tracks:
"Lady K," "Dry," "Train," "Just Dream With Me," "You Gotta Rock," "Shallow," "Violets In The Grey," "Looks," "Another Day," "Disappointed," "World Turned Blue," "Come Inside," "Stay In," "Thank You For The Love," "Brothers With Blues" and "Time Alone."
My favorite tracks:
"Lady K":
Jesse Bryson's lead vocal is a monument to youthful excitement, with gutsy power pop guitar swagger accenting the melody.
The harmonies are glorious here, riding a wave of '60's power-chorded melody:
"...so sorry Lady K..."
"Dry":
Like much of Wally Bryson's material over the years, I hear the spirit of John Lennon in the music. Here Wally cowrites with Jesse and the result is the same --- Lennon was a Raspberries' fan, and the Brysons' feeling is obviously one of mutual love for the late, great Beatle.
The music is unique and doesn't steal from Lennon, but in capturing the spirit of Lennon's magic the Brysons are amazing. If Lennon were still alive, he would adore this track about a "Dry" world:
"I wanna see the stars come out / I wanna see what the world's about / I wanna see the seven seas / yellow water and purple trees / and I just wanna see the rain / what happened to the ships that sank / all the worlds that vanish in a wink / and where is all this history / 'cause I don't see it anywhere by me / and I just wanna see the rain fall down / 'cause everything's so dry / everything's so dry..."
"Just Dream With Me":
Wally Bryson cowrote a beautiful ballad with Eric Carmen, "Don't Want To Say Goodbye," that became Raspberries' first Billboard chart hit in 1972 (since covered by The Lettermen and Sha Na Na, among others). His ability to write a great ballad has passed on to Jesse Bryson --- the evidence is in the string-laden, Jesse Bryson-written ballad, "Just Dream With Me."
"Just Dream With Me" is flat out gorgeous. It's a slow, moving ballad, that again reminds one of the music of Lennon and McCartney circa The Beatles:
"...just dream with me / and I know you could / and we will never fall apart / I just want you to hold my hand / let me know you understand / you have to see through a grain of sand / that it would kill me if you changed the plan..."
Listen to the gently strummed guitars here, soothing and tender to the ears like a gentle lullabye. The lush strings, just right and never overpowering, add to the song's impact. Great stuff.
"World Turned Blue":
Uptempo, guitar-driven pop-rock with beautiful multi-part harmonies, all highlighting Jesse Bryson's talent as a lead singer. This is glorious power pop worthy of the Raspberries' lineage, while still standing on its own merits:
"...everytime I think of you / my world turns blue / just another tragedy / and my world turns blue..."
"Time Alone":
The Brysons are so comfortable in their own musical talents as guitarists that they think nothing of bringing in guitarist Dave Miller's wonderful blues slide guitar on the upbeat "Time Alone." The song is short and sweet, but that slide guitar-work is to die for.
"...need some time alone / to help me understand..."
"Stay In":
Gentle acoustic guitar underscores Jesse's sweet lead vocal on "Stay In." It's an introspective, intelligent tune that betrays a maturity beyond a man of Jesse's youth. He obviously has studied himself and the world around him.
The tune could be written to a friend or a lover, written by someone afraid of being alone, at least for tonight:
"Let's just stay in tonight / and have a talk / and have a laugh / and have a cry / and wonder why 'til morning / been alone for too long / just going out and acting wrong / and now I just need someone to love me / I wish you could stay home..."
Just released:
Live On Sunset Strip (Deluxe Edition of 2 CDs and a DVD recorded during the 2005 reunion tour) By Raspberries, a 2007 Rykodisc release with liner notes byBruce Springsteen and a photo of John Lennon in a Raspberries sweatshirt in the CD booklet, produced by Mark Linett and Eric Carmen: http://www.epinions.com/content_393207123588
Related websites:
Official Bryson Group site on MySpace.Com: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=16251586
Official Bryson Group website: http://www.thebrysongroup.com
Interview with Wally Bryson by "Peanuts" in Ohio Online magazine: http://www.ohioonline.com/v9/i02/peanuts_review.phtml
Related reviews:
The reunited Raspberries (Wally Bryson, Eric Carmen, Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti) released their deluxe edition, 2-CD (with a 5-song DVD also included) of songs from their 2005 reunion concert in Los Angeles, "Live On Sunset Strip," in 2007 on Rykodisc, featuring liner notes by Bruce Springsteen: http://www.epinions.com/content_393207123588
Capitol/EMI's 24-bit digitally remastered CD released in May of 2005 in the U. S. and Europe, "Greatest," features all 7 of Raspberries Hot 100 singles, has 20 tracks and runs 78:53 minutes: http://www.epinions.com/content_186044681860
Wally Bryson and Kenny Margolis, both veterans of The Choir and The Bryson Group, were also members of The Sittin' Ducks, who appear on the compilation CD "Talkin' Baseball": http://www.epinions.com/content_21746650756
"Choir Practice" by The Choir CD (featuring Bryson with future Raspberries' bandmates Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti): http://www.epinions.com/musc-review-49D-59376F6-385D8FD9-prod3 (available in either CD or vinyl from Sundazed Records, the manufacturer, at http://www.sundazed.com).
"Refreshed" by "The Raspberries" (reunion album from 2000 with Raspberries' veterans Bryson, Smalley and Scott McCarl and using "The" in front of Raspberries' name for the first time): http://www.epinions.com/content_20892847748
In a 2005 issue of Guitar Digest, Wally Bryson cites guitarist/songwriter Ron Elliott of The Beau Brummels as an influence. You may enjoy The Beau Brummels' "Greatest Hits" CD: http://www.epinions.com/content_181981384324
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