rubber soul

RUTHIE FOSTER- JOY COMES BACK

This isn’t going to be as detailed as I’m rather late after my nearly two week hospital stay (I keep pulling that card don’t I?). This definitely starts off as a nice piece of R&B. I’m really grooving into Working Woman. Like most female R&B singers, Ruthie has a good voice and I love the organ work on this track.

The title track comes off as a bit of countrified gospel, not bad. Nice guitar work. It mellows a bit with Open Sky and I can see the Tracy Chapman comparisons. Is this a sign Ruthie is heading for a more commercial MOR appeal? Let’s hope not.

Ah, War Pigs. Yes, interesting cover to say the least, but then again, maybe Ruthie is one for protest and you have to admit, War Pigs was pretty odd as an anti-war song for a metal band like Black Sabbath to begin with. It probably does belong more in the folk/blues genre then in heavy metal. I mean can you imagine Motley Crue destroying this classic?

Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever is a more conventional cover and I guess it’s a fair track. The rest of the album is basic mellow folk/R&B but finishes nicely with Forgiven.

So, overall, I’d have to say this was a good pick, Trollheart. And maybe give Foster a chance. Yes, she does have the potential to disappoint as some do go into that Toni Braxton direction for want of a better comparison. But, then again, she could also be Patti Smith, you never know.



8/10 (The Word has spoken )

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Mindy

My Head Is an Animal
by Of Monsters and Men

Album I would like to nominate when my turn comes back around


Jamming to this Bloom album now though

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Norg

maybe one of the best albums of alllll times

Lisnaholic

Ruthie Foster - Joy Comes Back

I'm turning in my homework late on this album because after initially dipping into it for a couple of tracks, I just kept putting off giving it a proper listen.

Loving You: This is a very good cover version of a song I heard about 50 years ago, so it presents me with a dilemma: excellent musicianship, good vocals, but a song that sounds pretty stale to my ears. Is it me or Ruthie Foster? Another familiar cover was Richland Woman, which I think of as being a Maria Muldaur song, although she didn't compose it. Abraham, meanwhile, is right on the edge of turning into a song I can't place, but know really well - perhaps by Gillian Welch ?

And that's how I felt about the whole album: I found it simultaneously flawless but deeply uninteresting. Ruthie's vocals are expressive and I liked the touches of swirling organ and plunking piano that adorn some tracks. The lyrics are crystal clear throughout, and usually pretty good, especially on Working Woman, I thought.

As for the slower tracks, Open Sky and Forgiven, again, they are so well executed, but (no offense to Ruthie Foster), I'm just never in the mood for that kind of maudlin sentiment these days.

Album lowpoint: War Pigs, with its too obvious target, and the clumsy outrage of its lyrics. It reminded me of a song I don't like called Mr. Big, by Free, Govt. Mule and others.

If I had come across this album years ago, I would've really liked it, but today, having listened to similar material for decades, I find myself pretty unmoved by this one, I'm afraid. An ambivalent 5/10 because I don't know who to blame: myself or Ruthie Foster.

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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

Trollheart

I can confidently state it's you, not her.

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SGR

I'm glad I'm not the only one that didn't really like the War Pigs cover. But I definitely enjoyed the album overall.

Lisnaholic

Yes! That's something I liked too, but I didn't have the words to explain it.

Two weeks in hospital?! I hope you are fixed up and feeling better now, rubber soul. Look after yourself.

Thanks for that clarification, Trollheart. At least I now know the problem, and can in fact, put myself into the same category as dj:-

The opener about What are you listening to and the gospelly title track were both good efforts too. Like I hope I made clear, I used to love that Ruthie Foster kind of music, but in the same way I used to love The Beatles' music, I don't have any urge to listen to it these days.

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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

djchameleon

Beach House - Bloom

I recognized this band's name before I even listened to the album but I know for a fact that I have never taken the time to sit down a listen to a full album from them. Roxy was the one from MB that helped me get into Indie music a bit more but tbh I don't think I'll ever just out of the blue say. Oh I feel like listening to some Indie tunes let me throw on such and such. The only one that will come close to that is probably Twin Shadow. I listened to this album at the gym like I feel I'll end up doing with all albums from the music club. I was just not in the mood to hear whatever this whispery surfer California beach type music. that's the vibes it evokes from me. I can appreciate other genres that the main two that I constantly listen to but I definitely have to be in the mood for it. This band sounds like it was made for Pitchfork to masturbate all over. I bet someone reviewed it over there and gave it high marks. I can give the album credit for being something to listen to that feels like your being wrapped up in a blanket. It's a bit cozy and comfortable but other than that. Hard Pass.
6/10

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Fame, fortune, power, titties. People say these are the most crucial things in life, but you can have a pocket full o' gold and it doesn't mean sh*t if you don't have someone to share that gold with. Seems simple. Yet it's an important lesson to learn. Even lone wolves run in packs sometimes.

SGR

This is definitely not gym music, haha, if I heard this at the gym, I'd probably hate it too to be fair

djchameleon

yeah I don't need like typical high bps type music to work out to. Any music will do so I don't think the fact that I listened to it at the gym changed my opinion all that much.

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Fame, fortune, power, titties. People say these are the most crucial things in life, but you can have a pocket full o' gold and it doesn't mean sh*t if you don't have someone to share that gold with. Seems simple. Yet it's an important lesson to learn. Even lone wolves run in packs sometimes.