Rayne CD

In an era when it seems every last obscure late-'60s/early-'70s private press rock record has been reissued, Rayne's self-titled debut stands out a bit by virtue of the era: namely, the late '70s instead. One of the rare brother acts where all the members were, in fact, brothers -- Frank, Johnny, George, and Mike Saucier -- Rayne released their initial vinyl bow in 1979 in a small pressing of 300 with a stark black-and-white sleeve that, if anything, looked like a proto-goth cover from the front. Whatever tangential connections the band had to early punk-inspired D.I.Y. culture, though, Rayne's sound had earlier roots: a nicely rough-edged downer take on early-'70s rock not too far removed from acts like the Band or even, on songs like "No Reason to Cry," Lynyrd Skynyrd at their most blackly dour yet energetic. Indeed, for a homemade recording that's audibly a product of the limited technology available, Rayne's eight songs sound thick and full; it's no surprise that the liner notes, originally written for a 1994 reissue, mention that it's pretty much a straight live recording onto two-track, captured as it was performed. Frank Saucier, guitarist and singer for the quartet, betrays a definite love for Bob Dylan in rock band mode with his singing and sometimes cryptic imagery, but does no worse than any number of similarly minded acts of the past few decades, and the band's shifting between rollicking songs such as "Good Dog" and more reflective ones, such as the lengthier "Neighborhood," keeps things interesting on this short release, which doesn't break 30 minutes all told. ~ Ned Raggett