Deb
Ryder
Live and Havin’ Fun
2024 – Vizztone Label
Group
By Phillip Smith; April 27, 2024
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com
Live and Havin’ Fun, Deb Ryder’s first live album and sixth
overall, embraces the Blues and captivates me with her unbridled vocal performances.
Written and produced by Deb Ryder and her husband and bass guitarist Ric
W. Ryder, this fourteen-track album was recorded at The Mint in Los
Angeles. It features all original material with two brand new songs which
have not been previously recorded. Backing Ryder is Johnny Lee Schell,
Tony Braunagel, Jim Pugh, Ric W. Ryder, Tex Nakamura,
Alan Maggini, Lon Price and Paul Litteral. Special guests
include Albert Lee, Joe Sublett, Joey Delgado, Artur
Menezes and Big Liou Johnson.
Once the horns hit that driving R&B rhythm full-blast on “Fun Never Hurt No One”, I am totally onboard for the listen. The track certainly harkens back to that Sixties soul sound. Following up with “Enjoy the Ride”, Ryder keeps the timeline moving on to the later Sixties, when psychedelia and music melded together. It’s fabulous the way the harp dances with the keys and guitar licks on that pulsing beat and bassline. Her vocals are smooth as silk on the sultry and timeless “You Might Just Get Lucky”. I dig the funky “Get Ready” with its revolutionary message of love. I very much enjoy when Ryder slows it down for “Guilty as Sin”. The song is topped with a smokin’ platter of harp and is definitely baptized in the blues. The sound of horns adds a nice degree of brightness to “Coming Home”. They surely add to the sense of happiness and positive energy which freely flows off it. Blues and drinking songs have gone hand in hand for many years. Ryder has is all summed up in “Any Bottle on the Shelf”. As a bonus, Albert Lee steps in on guitar along with Johnny Lee,
Listening to Deb Ryder’s Live and Havin’ Fun is like having a mini blues party wherever you are. It’s recorded live and it sure is fun.
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For more information about Deb Ryder, visit her website at https://www.debryder.com/
