The Light

"Venus de Milo, Please Raise Your Hand" is the first solo album by Ken Thornton, a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter that is perhaps best known as the lead guitarist with The Rutles (and Neil Innes) since they started touring in 2001 or as the former lead guitarist for the adventurous progressive rock band vonFrickle that disbanded back in 2011.

This collection of rock and pop compositions was written and produced by Ken.

Ken grew up teaching himself to play guitar listening to records of classic rock legends like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Rush, and many others. Over the years, this rock/pop foundation blended with his interests in folk, fusion, Hindustani Indian classical, world music, and other styles of music. While his songs and playing do not particularly sound like any of his rock and pop heroes, the fusion of those influences is evident in his riffs, solos, and arrangements on this record.

Ken also taught himself to play drums, bass, and piano, and apart from a few of the drum tracks, he plays and sings everything on the record himself.

The production and arrangements serve the songs well. His lyrics have been described as engaging, thoughtful, clever, and even fun. Though the liner notes jokingly state that “the word ‘baby’ was not used in the making of this album,” he clearly puts effort into making the lyrics interesting and open to interpretation.

A little about each of the songs:

“Good Old Days” – this heavy rocker for absent friends kicks off the record.

“The Day We Touched The Sky” – a somewhat surreal attempt at capturing a beautiful and joyful moment of awakening. With a rhythm section inspired by Jeff Buckley’s “Grace”, this song features some lovely harmonies, guitar solos, chord changes, and bass lines.

“The Light” – a rocker about once-strong love that is fading, featuring some great riffs, effective dynamics, and a great guitar solo.

“Living…? – this is perhaps the heaviest rocker on the record, with lots of blues-inspired guitar riffs, killer guitar solo, intense drumming, and lyrics to match it. Anyone that works so hard that they are left with little time to actually enjoy life will relate to this song.

"Shining On" – a tribute to John Lennon, whose words and music live on in the hearts of the sea of fans years after the cold ending of the dream in 1980. Features some Beatlesque guitar parts, expressive solos, and some great bass parts.

“Edge Of The Sky” – a dynamic, psychedelic rock song with lots of interesting imagery. Does anyone know what this one’s about?

"Pink and Orange, Blue and Green" – while it doesn't sound like the Beatles, this is another tribute. It’s a slice of upbeat psychedelic pop with some musical clues and not-so-obvious lyrics. Can you figure out what it's about? Features jangling 12-string guitars, McCartney-esque bass playing, and lots of interesting things going on. Get out your headphones for this one!

"The Sun Is Always Rising" – this acoustic number closes the record with a gentle message of hope in the face of any difficult loss. It features a moving arrangement that builds from a lone mandolin to a full band with a Brian Wilson-like counterpoint vocal ending.

All songs written and produced by Ken Thornton (Kiss The Sun Music, ASCAP).

All vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, and percussion performed by Ken Thornton except:
John Ganser plays drums on "The Light", drums on "Living...?", and drums and tambourines on "The Sun Is Always Rising".
Deb Thornton plays backward cymbals on "Edge Of The Sky".

Mixed by Erik Nelson and Ken at Eclipse Studios, Normal, IL
Mastered by Erik Nelson
Illustration and design by Jeff Little. The CD packaging includes a glossy digipak with a 12-page booklet of lyrics and custom artwork by Jeff Little!