'Mississippi' Single: Review

Ray Bonneville is a very underrated artist. As of the writing of this article, he does not have his own Wikipedia page even though he’s been releasing music since 1999. That technically makes him less well-known than no-talents like Kreayshawn and Diggy, which is mind-boggling. At least Ray Bonneville is more musically-talented, writes his own songs, and can actually play an instrument.

If Bonneville is not famous, it’s probably because he plays old-style guitar-blues. Everything about his playing style is a throw-back to a time before electronics and even hard or classic rock. It’s even obvious on the single cover of “Mississippi.” The cover is in black and white, with a photo of Bonneville standing next to pre-dryer clothing lines.

Musically, “Mississippi” reminds me in a good way of a stripped-down version of the Beatles “Come Together” with more emphasis on guitar. It is very calming and very catchy.

The lyrics themselves also seem from a different era. Older country/blues singers would sing about tragedies and absurdities in a nonchalant or beautiful tone of voice, as if acting calm in a disaster automatically gave them more strength and poise to combat it. It is no different on “Mississippi,” where Bonneville sings about a flood preventing him from getting to the places he wants to be.

Those who complain that “today’s music isn’t good anymore” aren’t exactly right. Their favorite kinds of songs might not be on the charts anymore, but there will be underground artists like Ray Bonneville and his single “Mississippi” who actually continue to make the music they like. It just takes effort to find them.