A Review of The Phantom Tollbooth

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Rychyrd
Artist: Rychyrd (Richard Morse)
Label: Hear2Eternity Records
Length: 13 Tracks/48.57 Minutes

Dear God, won’t you shine your light
Shine down on me…
And especially
Those who buy the CD
When they could get if for free
On mp3
And don’t forget Ozzy
And AC/DC
‘Cause those guys are scary
From “Invocation”

Rychyrd is a tasty buffet of sonic delights that is reminiscent of classic pop/AOR (Album Oriented Rock) artists of decades past. Think Ambrosia, Steely Dan, Al Stewart, etc. Throw in a healthy dash of The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Jimmy Buffet, and The Eagles, add a heaping helping of Gospel choir (on “This I Know”), toss some funky soul into the mix (on “What You Gonna’ Do”) and you will catch the musical direction of Rychyrd.

Rychyrd (the artist) has spent years honing his craft, playing all over the world-a learning nearly 3,000 songs by heart in the process! That deep knowledge of musical history shines through this collection of 13 light-hearted and memorable songs. Highlights include the catchy opener “Invocation,” the dreamy island-pop sound of “Forever in My Heart,” the funky Philadelphia sound of “What You Gonna’ Do” and the hilarious “Skull Beneath My Skin.”

Rychyrd sounds great sonically, and is ably co-produced by Rychyd and his brother Neal Morse (prog-rock great formerly of Spock’s Beard who released my favorite CD of 2005, ? - read the review here: http://www.tollbooth.org/2005/reviews/nealm.html).

Rychyrd also features stellar guest turns by the aforementioned Neal Morse, Phil Keaggy (contributing an incredible nylon guitar solo), and bass legend Bob Babbitt (Diana Ross, Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and Jimi Hendrix). Rychryd is full of tasty guitar tone, classy pop-hooks, and a bevy of vocal harmonies. Obviously a labor of love, Rychyrd is definitely worth checking out.

Visit Rychyrd on the web (and stream entire songs!): http://www.rychyrd.com/

Barry Nothstine

Barry Nothstine hosts Soul Frequency (http://www.soulfrequency.com ) a weekly FM radio show showcasing progressive rock, instrumental rock, power-pop, psychedelic rock, rock classics and more—great rock for the ages!