CD Review: Crazy Mary “Dreaming in Brilliant Color”

New York-based band Crazy Mary has been around for over a decade and has created ten albums that feature their band of rock and roll. The band currently consists of Em Z on vocals, guitarist Charles Kibel, The Wizard on the bass, Parker Reilly on keys, drummer Nick Raisz and Walter Steding on fiddle. The sound Crazy Mary takes a lot of different elements and blends them together to create different styles and feelings from song to song. With this ever-changing sound, the band considers itself as a psychedelic rock band. The band is currently promoting their tenth and latest album entitled Dreaming in Brilliant Color.

The newest release from Crazy Mary begins with the track “Come on Let’s Go”. With a slightly experimental sound of the music, the rock feel of the song may remind a lot of people of bands like Blondie. And with the inclusion of Walter Steding’s violin, the beginning track of the band’s latest release is both full of energy while also having a slightly unique feel.

“Cup of Tea” is the second track off of Crazy Mary’s latest CD. The song is a strong rock track that features the playing of keyboard player Parker Reilly that helps the band to create a unique rock sound. Of all of the songs on the release, this is probably the track that sounds the most like a straight-out rock and roll song. It is also one of the strongest songs on the entire album.

“Lonesome as a Train” is a track that takes a good amount of rock and adds just a touch of blues to the fun. The band creates a song that truly has the feel of a train rolling down the tracks. And the addition of Walter Steding’s violin really adds to that train feel as the instrument makes the listener imagine a train whistle.

Crazy Mary takes a slightly different approach with the song “Ferris Wheel”. The Americana song created by the band takes the band’s sound in a new direction as they add some country elements into the mix. The track created by Crazy Mary sounds as much like rock and roll as it does country.

The song “I’m Ready To Go” begins with the keyboards from Parker Reilly and then becomes a track that features a slight Irish feel to the music. With all of the instruments working well together, the disco feel, the Irish approach, the gang vocals from the rest of the band and Em Z’s vocals come together to create another of the strongest tracks on the release.

“Pass the Bread” finds the band slowing the pace down a little as the song begins. Before long, the band adds a little energy to the music as they take the song into the refrain. The alternating between lighter and harder keeps the music fresh throughout the length of the track.

It is on the track “Nick’s New Groove” that you really get to experience the creativity of the band. The song has the most unusual feel of any of the songs on the release. It is this creativity that really sets this song apart from the rest of the album.

With the amount of years that Crazy Mary has been a band, the time spent to get here was obviously time well spent, as the music from the band on Dreaming in Brilliant Color is well written, well played and very entertaining. Each of the songs on the release is unique and has its own style. The ever-changing feel of the release shows off the talent of each of the players in the band. And since there isn’t one song that brings the release down, it ends up being a very strong release from beginning to end.