Ruthie Foster
The Phenomenal
Blue Corn Music - 0602
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The power that this woman’s voice generates will be recognized one day, and here it is placed front and center and it carries the music, rather than vice versa. It is a voice that was raised in the church singing, and has the power of that true soul singing that comes right out of the tradition bred by such voices as Mavis Staples, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, and James Brown. Before you think that is setting a standard and expectations that can’t be reached give this disc a listen, and then go see this woman electrify a crowd with just her voice, and have them on their feet testifying and screaming and begging for more. She is aided here by Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne who produced the disc and contributes guitars and background vocals. Glenn Fukunaga holds down the bottom end on bass and provides an extremely solid foundation that supports the music throughout the whole disc. This disc is further enhanced here with her liberal use of the piano and particularly the Wurlitzer electric piano that helps her set her voice in the stratosphere all over the disc. She and Anthony Farrell are the ones responsible for the keyboards. In addition she wrote 5 of the 11 songs; and then takes songs by such a diverse group as Lucinda Williams, Son House, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Eric Bibb and a
poem by Dr. Maya Angelou (“Phenomenal Woman”) with music written by Amy Sky and David Pickell, captures them and takes them to places that that few voices can imagine, let alone find and comfortably reach.
There is a new focus and concentration on this disc where her voice is held front and center, and it is a voice that deserves that focus. It has that power that can generate tears and heart wrenching sorrow one moment, and with the next note wrench you up and carry you to heights of exquisite joy. She is one of the exceedingly rare few singers that is capable of generating that powerful emotion with just her voice; gifted with the power that enables her to absorb, digest and reinvent a song, giving it new meaning with just the emotion generated by her voice. Very few are blessed with a voice like this and rarer still is the ability to use it in a way that brings such benefit to those that hear it.