Ruby James – Call It Rock & Roll
Most rock n’ roll today, whether original or not, sounds basically vintage because it’s been done to death. But there are a few artists who manage to take old ingredients & hope for a lunar eclipse where the spell rises again from that corpse & is vibrant. Los Angeles’ Ruby James isn’t doing anything new, but she takes equal parts of Billy Idol, Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde & Suzi Quattro, then unleashes the potent Call It Rock & Roll (Drops Aug 7/Mule Kick Records/24:02). Yeah, baby.
7 tantalizing morsels of attitude, mixed with Valvoline, dipped in honey, starting with “Voodoo Queen” & sliding into the slippery echo of “Gasoline.” Produced by Kyle Crusham & recorded in Austin, TX. What makes these songs a tad more interesting is the creative arrangements, the rousing lyrical poetics & Ruby’s suggestive vocalizing. Even more evident on the wonderful “Novocaine.” The musical arrangements are not old school while the music is – makes for interesting bedfellows. Ruby adds skillful intonation in this track, maintains a good range & phrasing. She isn’t just singing the song; she is creating a drama from it that few artists understand. The effects are not overused & applied appropriately.
Falling back into a more rock-cum-rap “Honeydripper” uncoils like a snake after a big meal. What saves this from mediocrity is Ruby James’ vocal. Her tonality is juvenile, but we all know she isn’t – but she’s convincing the way Little Eva’s classic “Loco-Motion” was; it’s biting & has all the danger that peppermint lipstick would suggest. It’s street music, alleyway rhythm & cats on the garbage cans at midnight just before it begins to rain.
Cleverly, Ruby stretches out into a sad cover of The Supersuckers’ “Punk Rock Love Song (Pretty Fucked Up).” Yeah, strong song title & won’t get airplay on commercial rock stations (if there still are any). But listen to the tale. It’s intense, starting with a line about “I used to be pretty…but now I’m (expletive).” Not a novelty song & not campy. Somewhat like the Beehive Queen, Christine Ohlman (“The Deep End”). And Ruby adds to her tune an almost Tom Waits/Bruce Springsteen raw vocal courtesy of producer/songwriter Eddie Spaghetti of Supersuckers, who adds the necessary contrast.
Rosie Flores’ guitar graces the cast on a cover of LaVern Baker’s “Bumble Bee,” & it’s another bang-up full-throttle rocker. Lots of sweeping old school rock n’ roll trickery here from the plodding beat & gnarly guitars with gleaming female rock voices shin-digging throughout. The final track is the heavy-duty funk “Boogiedown Town” that’s leaden like Kelsy’s burgers & a beer – but what a delightful jukebox tune this is. They are all.
Highlights – All.
Musicians: Ruby James – Vocals, Piano; Kyle Crusham – Guitars, Bass, Electric and Acoustic Guitars; Mellotron; Keys; Darin Murphy – Drums and Percussion; Jimmy Paxson – Drums and Percussion; David Jimenez – Lead Guitars; Rosie Flores – Additional guitar and electric toothbrush; Harmoni Kelley – Bass; Jan Flemming – Keys; Courtney Santana – Background Vocals; Eddie Spaghetti – Vocals, Bass, Acoustic Guitar; Chris Von Streicher – Drums; Rosie Flores – Lead Guitar, lead solo;
The album was produced and engineered by Kyle Crusham Mixed and mastered by Grant Eppley Recorded at Dogstar Studios, Austin, TX, with *Punk Rock Love Song (Pretty Fucked Up) produced by Eddie Spaghetti, engineered by Andre Moran at Cedar Creek Studios, Austin, TX.
Color image courtesy of Ruby’s website. CD @ https://rubyjamesmusic.com/