Hurricane Ruth - Born On The River - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Born On The River, from Hurricane Ruth. A powerful vocalist, Ruth is backed but David Lumsden on guitar, Gary Davis on bass and Jim Engel on drums. Opening with title track, Born On The River, Lumsden creates a wah wah effect with guitar and Ruth sings with a lot of sting. Make Love To Me opens with a modified Elmore James by Lumsden and with Davis create a heavy bottom for Ruth's vocals. Lumsden throws out some fine guitar riffs and Engel holds tight on the bottom. A simple 12 bar this track hits it hard. Blues Rocker Slow Burn has a trace of Voodoo Chile making it instantly cool with a nice bass riff but with an almost metal grind. Lumsden does take a nice guitar ride on this track bringing it to the blues via rock styling. One of my favorite tracks on the release. Blues ballad The Walls is an interesting track with light traces of Robin Trower with sonic guitar work. Ruth's vocals have a different sensitivity making this the overall best track on the release. Cool guitar soloing by Lumsden is pure icing on this track. Boogie track, Dance, Dance, Norma Jean has so much Rattle and Roll in it you'd swear it was cut in a shack in a small Texas town. Do you know what I'm talkin' bout? Money Train has a stiff strut with stiff reinforcement from Engel. I really like Lumsden's aggressive guitar attack on this track in particular. Slim Harpo influenced track Cold Day In Hell crafts a cool track on a James Brown beat. A smooth laid back guitar solo by Lumsden shows his versatility and Ruth shines as bright on this track as any. Big Helen has a real funky beat but believe it or not it reminds me of a Frank Zappa track. With it's visual imagery it's a pretty cool track. Again Lumsden steps up with a nice guitar solo making for a completely entertaining track. Work It opens with a straight up guitar riff but I really like the tone (just saying). A straight forward rocker, Ruth is riding the wave like Jim Dandy. With a lot of kick this track has a lot of southern spunk. Whiskey Chute, another rocker has a distinctive Boxcar Willie feel with a solid Rock and roll feel. Wrapping the release is Real Good Woman, a solid blues rocker. With swagger and saturated guitar leads, this track sews it all together.

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