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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
She Sure Could Express The Blues,
By Stephanie DePue (Carolina Beach, NC USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Black Is Brown & Brown Is Beautiful (Audio CD)
Ruth Brown released "Black is Brown and Brown Is Beautiful," an album stuffed full of soul, in 1969. On it, she performs "My Prayer," "Since I Fell for You," Clyde Otis's "This Bitter Earth," and Percy Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone to Love," among other numbers. Furthermore, she turns the Beatles' "Yesterday," into an expressive gospel-style rhythm and blues ballad. And in her own "Miss Brown's Blues," she presents us with seven minutes that's almost semi-autobiographical - she lived through some harsh times and places, after all. She is backed by Herbie Lovelle on drums, Eric Gayle on guitar, Chuck Rainey on Fender, Billy Butler on guitar, Richard Tee on organ, and the Howard Roberts Chorale. Arrangements were by Gary McFarland. The singer was born in Portsmouth, Virginia; she was the daughter of a dock hand who led the church choir. Evidently, she got her earliest training in church, but she soon showed a marked preference for more worldly repertoire and venues. In the late 1940's, early 1950's, she brought her pop singing style to then-fledgling Atlantic Records, which introduced her to the blues. She had a series of 1950's hits for them, including "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean,"" So Long," and "Teardrops from My Eyes." (She was once called `the girl with the teardrops in her voice.') She was so successful, in fact, that Atlantic was known for a time as "The House That Ruth Built." From 1949-1955, she was on the R & B charts for 149 weeks, with sixteen hits in the top ten, and five #1s. However, she largely sat out the sixties. When she started her comeback in the mid 70's, she focused much of her energy on pressing for musicians' rights in royalties and contracts, and helped organize the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, as the 'Queen Mother of the Blues,' and influenced many younger blues singers, among them Bonnie Raitt, with whom she toured. Brown was quite the show biz-style entertainer, at home, in her later years, on many stages, and on the "Great White Way," as well. She starred in "Black and Blue," on Broadway, and she won a Tony for her trouble. The original soundtrack album of the play won a Grammy. Sadly, the singer passed from us in 2006, but she leaves us a memento: her exuberant performance as Motormouth Maybelle, in John Waters' first version of "Hairspray." Sometime during the 1980's, a blues-loving girlfriend and I were lucky enough to catch her live, at Michael's Pub, in New York. And she had the joint jumping, all right. When Miss Brown had the blues, she sure could express them.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BLUESY & SOULFUL~BRAVO RUTH BROWN!!!,
By
This review is from: Black Is Brown and Brown Is Beautiful (Audio CD)
Ruth Brown's career was like a wild roller-coaster ride and this funky and soulful late sixties set is after her commercial peak and finds Miss Brown in great form with lean and inspired backing that includes the great Richard Tee with Gary McFarland producing this fine collection of mostly great standards. "Miss Brown's Blues" is a masterful self-penned blues classic that is a must listen for those who love the blues...standards such as the Lennon/McCartney "Yesterday" and the Percy Mayfield classic "Please Send Me Someone To Love" are given fresh and original readings and Miss Brown is in strong and rich voice. Get this deep in the night treat for those quite evenings when it is time to wind down and relax...thank you Miss Brown and you are missed!
4.0 out of 5 stars
excellent,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Black Is Brown and Brown Is Beautiful (Audio CD)
R&B was great in the 1950s. Mostly in mono, that unmixed, tube sound is like a warm blanket on a cold day. But when the late 60s rolled in, a lot of R&B giants-Areatha Franklin, Les McCann, B.B. King-upgraded their bands for a different world: stereo, 100-watt solid state receivers, rock venues and FM radio. The music may not have had that home-baked sound, but the playing was just better. It was more tight and more nuanced at the same time.
Look no further than this album by Ruth Brown. The music is the same, but Herb Lovels drumming snaps with its laser beam syncopation, and Chuck Rainey--his name always somehow comes up in my high praise reviews- pops and grinds with his iron locked, deep as a well metronome bass. (I can't decide whether Rainey or McCartney is the best rock bassist of all time, but when I have either one on, he is it. Might be a good blog discussion.) This is tight, meaty R&B played by the best musicains around. Brown is of course a top flight singer, and flys high here. She may be covering pop songs, but make no mistake, this is soul of the highest quality.
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