PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com #549 > Hurricane Ruth - Live at 3rd and Lindsley

 

2022 – Hurricane Ruth Records

By Phillip Smith; April 2, 2022

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Live at 3^rd and Lindsley, the sixth and most recent album from Ruth LaMaster aka Hurricane Ruth lands a ferocious punch with a fistful of raw, hearty blues.  This fourteen-track gem was recorded at 3^rd and Lindsley in Nashville, Tennessee and produced by two-time Grammy winner Tom Hambridge.  It features Scott Holt and Nick Nguyen on guitar, Calvin Johnson on bass, Lewis Stephens on keys, with Hambridge also behind the drums.  Jimmy Hall makes a guest appearance on a couple of songs as well.

With a wall of rhythm, and searing guitar behind her, Hurricane Ruth leads the album off in a fierce way with “Roll Little Sister” which originally appeared on her 2012 release Power of the Blues ... Feels Like a Hurricane.  “Dirty Blues”, which was one of my favorites off her 2020 album Good Life, is hot and slathered with lots of swampy slide.  I love the cover of Peppermint Harris’ “As the Years Go Passing By” with Jimmy Hall’s fantabulous harp performance and accompanying vocals.   I can almost feel the magic which was happening onstage when this was recorded.  Hall shares his talent for one more song, “Make Love to Me”, originally on Hurricane Ruth’s Born on the River album.  This, paired with the prior song, makes for a nice scorching two-fer of red, hot blues.  LaMaster ends the show with a song she wrote for her mama, “Dance Dance Norma Jean”.  Holt injects a ZZ-Top-sized lightning bolt of electricity into this John Lee Hooker-inspired boogie for a jaw-dropping experience.  It absolutely cooks.           

Hurricane Ruth’s Live at 3^rd and Lindsley is as solid as they come for live blues albums.  It’s the real deal, that’s for sure.       

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For more information about Hurricane Ruth or to purchase music, visit the website :  https://www.hurricaneruth.com

#454 : Hurricane Ruth - Good Life

2020 – American Showplace Music

By Phillip Smith; July 18, 2020 

There’s no escaping the powerful voice and fierce style of Hurricane Ruth LaMaster in Good Life, her fifth and latest album.  Her fearless approach to singing the blues takes a backseat to none.  Produced by Ben Elliot (Savoy Brown, Leslie West, Hubert Sumlin) who sadly passed away April 5, 2020, this ten-track album comprised mostly of original songs features Scott Holt on guitar, Calvin Johnson on bass guitar, Bruce Katz on B3/keys, and Tony Braunagel on drums.

 A t-shirt I purchased from guitarist Scott Holt seven years ago at a favorite blues-hangout called Checkers Tavern in Cedar Rapids, Iowa says, “Loud is Good!”.  Loud is indeed good, and that’s the apparent mantra from the git-go with the high-energy opener “Wildfire”.  With Katz pounding the keys, and Holt ripping it up on guitar, Hurricane Ruth gives a riveting performance on the mic.  The music gets even hotter and out of control on “Dirty Blues”.  I love it.  Written by two-time Grammy winning producer Gary Nicholson, “Torn in Two” is an excellent vehicle for Ruth’s hardscrabble style.  While the band is absolutely cooking, she takes this song by the horns and wrestles it to the ground.  There’s a hard-rocking Suzi Quatro-esque vibe on “Black Sheep” which I simply adore.  This reflective ode to Ruth’s younger badass self is a definite favorite.  “Who I Am” is a killer track with lots of tasty jam.  A deep heavy pulse from Braunagel and a funky taste of keys from Katz opens the song as Ruth sings about leaving her partying days behind.

Hurricane Ruth packs a fistful of gusto into Good Life, delivering yet another rock-solid record of blues.  It’s definitely an album which I will keep in rotation for a while.     

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For more information about the artist, visit this website : hurricaneruth.com

 

 

Bluesmore Music Festival - Cedar Rapids, IA Aug.3, 2013

By Phillip Smith

Aug 3, 2013

* all photos by Phillip Smith

Craig Erickson, Ron DeWitte, and BillyLee Janey

This year was yet another great year for music at annual Bluesmore Blues festival in Cedar Rapids.  Opening up the main stage was the LCBS All-Stars, featuring Craig Erickson, Ron DeWitte, BillyLee Janey, Bryce Janey, Dan Johnson, Dennis 'Daddy-O' McMurrin, Skeeter Lewis, Tom 'T-Bone' Giblin, and Danny Ketelson and Eric Douglas.  Seeing this much local talent on the stage at one time was a definite treat.  Following the LCBS All-Stars was the Scott Holt Band, which was followed by the headlining act of Lucky Peterson featuring Tamara Peterson.   These are just a handful of photos I was able to snap while taking a break or two from selling shirts at the merchandise tent.