Ring
Craft, 2023
9/10
Originally released in 1993, this 30th Anniversary Edition of Ring, the breakthrough album from The Connells, comes with plenty of bonus material from the legendary North Carolina alt-rockers.
“SlackJawed” opens the listen with Peele Wimberley’s crisp drums and the swirling guitars making for a warm and melodic version of college rock, and “Carry My Picture” continues the guitar driven rock and benefits from David Connell’s strategic bass amid Doug McMillian’s soft and expressive voice.
Further on, the acoustic guitar fueled “Find Out” is a poetic and emotive delivery of cautious songwriting, while the rockin’ “Hey You” sounds way ahead of its time in the alt-rock scene of the ‘90s thanks to George Huntley and Mike Connells harmonic guitar interaction.
Approaching the end of the original disc, “Burden” carries plenty of infectious jangle alongside the meticulous rhythm section, and “Running Mary” exits with a dreamy spirit of elegant and memorable songwriting.
The remainder of the release includes 21 bonus tracks, i.e. rare B-sides and 12 previously unreleased demos. The packaging includes new liner notes by the Raleigh-based journalist and author David Menconi, and it does a great job of documenting an important time for one of the more overlooked bands of the early alt-rock scene.
Travels well with: Matthew Sweet- Catspaw; Bob Mould- Blue Hearts