#677 : Deb Ryder - Live and Havin' Fun (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

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/ 

Karen Lovely - Ten Miles of Bad Road

2015 – Kokako

By Phillip Smith; Jan 16, 2016

Ten Miles of Bad Road , the fourth album from Portlander Karen Lovely, boasts thirteen magnificently performed original songs.  Her extraordinary vocals are beautiful and lush as she delivers the blues in her own unique style.  For this recording, Lovely is backed by a five-star list of LA studio musicians, of which include guitarists Johnny Lee Schell and Alan Mirikitani, pianist/organist Jim Pugh, bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson, and drummer Tony Braunagel.

I absolutely love “Company Graveyard” with its ominous bassline and anti-establishment lyrics.  Lovely’s commanding vocals ring out with power and clarity, which make me immediately think of the Pretender’s Chrissie Hynde.  “Better Place” is another big favorite.  Schell plays this one nice and swampy.  “I Want to Love You” is such a beautiful love song.  Lovely’s angelic vocals softly flow as Pugh eloquently backs her up on piano.  I really like the rootsy vibe to Lovely’s performance on “Low Road”.  Mirikitani, guitar in hand, serves up a bit of Texas-style blues on this song while Pugh stirs a little funk into the mix with his B3.     

One listen to Ten Miles of Bad Road, is all it takes to conclude that Karen Lovely is way ahead of the curve when it comes to vocal artistry and songwriting.  This album is definitely one that should be heard.