Rag'n'Bone Man Human: An Album A Day

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    Much like Elle King, the artist we are looking at today, Rag’n’Bone Man, brings a different take to the blues and soul genres. Rory Graham (stage name Rag’n’Bone Man) has such a powerful gospel delivery to his singing that it makes his music jump out and grab you, especially when played on a pop station amid soulless auto tuned pop singers. Over the course of his debut album Human, Graham showcases a blending of soul, blues and gospel singing with modern hip hop and indie beats.

    Interestingly Graham actually started out as an Emcee with a drum and bass crew, going by his original handle of Rag’N’Bonez. Some of Graham’s rap influence can be heard throughout Human, with the pounding 808 drum beats underneath just about every track as well as a rap verse on Ego. The minimalistic beats also sit underneath the music in the way that calls all of the attention to the vocals, highlighting the vocal performance and lyrics in a similar way to rap music.

    Along with the largely synth based backing music, certain tracks feature elements that call back to soul, funk, blues and gospel music. Choirs and pianos are common elements throughout the album along with tracks like Innocent Man that make heavy use of funk inspired bass guitar and saxophone. The album has a consistent sound throughout, with the differences in tracks coming from the way the various genres are presented. For example, Love You Any Less is a powerful piano ballad, while Be The Man is a straightforward soul track driven by acoustic drums and strings.

    Literally every song on this album is strong, and even though they all have a similar style the songs are different enough that it doesn’t get old or tired. Deciding which tracks are the best from this album will have to come down to current mood and personal opinion; as of writing this I’d say the best tracks on this album are Innocent Man, Skin, Ego and Die Easy.

    Innocent Man is a good track that mixes in more of the funk and soul inspired elements into the music instead of relegating them to only Graham’s vocals. Skin is a dark minimalist track about the inability to let go of a past relationship that features some supremely powerful vocals on the chorus while having a restrained and emotional performance on the verses. Skin truly stands out in the version of the song used in the music video where there is a 40 second long acapella segment at the beginning that showcases Graham’s vocals.

    Ego stands out as one of the angriest tracks on the album, featuring lyrics that seem aimed at prideful liars and hypocrites. This track also stands out because of the third verse where Graham drops back into his Rag’N’Bonez rap persona, calling out egotistical rich people who claim to have all the answers while being detached from the common man; essentially modern Marie Antoinettes.

    The strongest moment on the album is the closing track Die Easy, an entirely acapella spiritual. It is a testament to the power and emotion in Graham’s delivery that he can hold down the best track on the album entirely unaccompanied. The lyrics and themes sound heavily inspired by old folk and gospel tracks, with the imagery and thematic elements being similar to O’ Death by Ralph Stanley. It closes the album out with a funeral dirge as the album ends with nothing but Graham singing about his death.

    Overall this is one of the best albums I have heard in awhile and certainly one of the best to come out this year. I cannot wait to see what else Rag’n’Bone Man puts out, as everything I have heard from him has been brilliant. Along with this album, Graham has put out various EPs including Bluestown, a contemporary blues album that includes a rendition of my favorite blues standard, St James Infirmary Blues. As long as Graham continues singing without auto tune any direction he chooses to go in will be amazing.

Album on Google Play
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