WILL RAGLAND Buddy Holly Tribute (OMG Records) By Vince Harris Published: August 1, 2007 in The Beat Let's get this out right away: Buddy Holly is a hard character to play. Holly is critically adored, revered as a live performer, commercially popular and pretty much invulnerable as a songwriter. He also died tragically young, in his absolute prime, freezing him in time eternally as a genius before he could suffer any sort of artistic decline. So as a presumably sympathetic listener, you're already inclined to give a performer credit just for attempting to step into Holly's shoes, throw on the geek-chic glasses and strap on that Stratocaster. Much like the myriad Beatles tribute shows traveling around the world, you're willing to play along as long as they can get close to the sound of their idols; they don't have to nail it. But it's nice when they do. This tribute album - essentially the soundtrack to Centre Stage South Carolina's upcoming reprise of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story - is that rarest of surprises: It inspires admiration, not sympathy. The first thing you notice when the CD starts up is the production: Not too thick, not too modern sounding, but clean and clear. Producers Noel Golden and Manny Suarez have resisted the temptation to modernize and digitize, and it pays off in spades. The purpose of this CD is to create the illusion that you're listening to actual Buddy Holly classics like "That'll Be The Day, and "Peggy Sue," not remade, remixed and remodeled versions, and all those involved have done their job well. The guitars crackle but don't overstate (even on the frenzied rhythm break of "Peggy Sue'), the bass is thin but still audible, and the drums are solid but not overpowering; it's a great recreation all the way around. OMG Studios has done a great job with this album. It makes the listener look forward to the show, which is exactly what it should do. Which brings us to Will Ragland, the man saddled with the task of both looking and sounding like Buddy Holly. For the most part, he does just fine delivering the verses, but it's in the margins and the sidelines of the songs that he makes it work most of all. Ragland unleashes rockabilly-style hiccups on the up tempo songs, emotes with a quavering vulnerability on slower songs like "True Love Ways," and uncannily emulates Holly's pronunciation of the word "blue," which is very specific and unique. After a while, it becomes almost impossible to tell a difference between the real Holly and Ragland, and that's the highest compliment I can pay him. Allow me to sum this album up thusly: Get this CD and take it to a Reverend Horton Heat show. Throw it on the sound system while everyone mills around before the show, and then let me know if the ducktail-and-wallet-chain crowd can tell the difference. I bet not.