Customer Reviews

I'll Run Your Hurt Away

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Ruby Johnson isn't as known as Etta, Aretha or Tina, but her raw ,soulful voice measures up to those Divas, and then some. There is a rasp in this voice that upon first hearing, makes you sit up and say "who is that and what else has she done". For great gritty, wrenching female blues, you will not be disappointed.

STAX must really have been in disarray for Ruby Johnson not to have hit it big, because she is every bit as great as Aretha Franklin, Etta James & Irma Thomas -- and this CD proves it! There have got to be about ten GREAT songs on it starting with I'll Run Your Hurt Away all the way to the amazing Weak Spot. Ruby can really belt it out as she does on What More Can A Woman Do, but the slow burners best showcase her gritty vocal style. Songs like Left Over Love, When My Love Comes Down and I'd Better Check On Myself are positively dripping with soul! And that killer organ in the background is enough to put anyone in a stone cold Memphis groove.

First of all, let's examine the statement Stax's best kept secret. In many ways, the Memphis label was and is America's best kept secret. The roster at Stax during it's "golden age" when every single artist was backed by the greatest and tightest band of all time, Booker T. & the MGs, was simply to die for. There's The King of Soul, Otis Redding whose legacy to many, unfortunately seems to be tied to one song. The great "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" honestly pales in comparison to at least two or three dozen other masterpieces he recorded. The label also had, hands down, the greatest Blues guitarist to ever live in the still criminally unheralded (not in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame!) Albert King. Terrific singer/songwriters William Bell and Eddie Floyd, who should both be household names like any old Motown artist gets to be, released countless songs that rivaled the Detroit's company chart friendly pop smashes. They had Memphis's other king, Rufus and his daughter Carla Thomas, known as "Aretha before there was Aretha". On loan from their distributor, Atlantic Records, Double Dynamite - Sam (Moore) & Dave (The great and underrated Prater). And with Johnnie Taylor, they created some of the best Blues and Soul records ever made, and they are all but forgotten about today.

And I say to you, after all that, Ruby Johnson was their best kept secret. An enigma, a mystery. What happened! Stax released ONLY THREE singles on this potential goldmine. In 1993 (Thankfully six years before her passing), this consistently superb set was issued among other CDs with lost and never released treasures by Stax artists including Rufus Thomas, William Bell, and Booker T. & the MGs. This long overdue Johnson set gives us the three singles - "I'll Run Your Hurt Away" (the title track), the great sexy Blues number "When My Love Comes Down", the soulful "If I Ever Needed Love (I Sure Do Need It Now)" with really nice work by the famed bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, their flip sides, and fourteen equally excellent tracks that God knows why were not released. All stack up with anything the label released during this time (1966-67). That is no small feat because this company literally did not put out a bad record in this prime period.

Vocally reminiscent of Etta James, Johnson belts out tunes penned by Stax's finest including the team behind Sam & Dave's brilliant output, Isaac Hayes & David Porter, and guitarist Steve Cropper, who is typically perfect on every track. Also featured here is an inspired cover of Ben E. King's "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" and the absolutely fantastic "Need Your Love So Bad" credited as written by Stax label mate Mable John, but actually written by her brother Little Willie John of "Fever" fame.

No guitar player in the history of popular music has been better playing behind vocalists than Cropper. This ranks with his best work supporting the likes of Otis Redding and Johnnie Taylor. In fact, the MGs' style and Mar-Keys horn arrangements for Johnson are similar to the direction they were going with Taylor pre "Who's Makin' Love?". This is a perfect mix of deeply soulful female R&B and steamy "smoke-filled room" cool Blues that sounds so fresh and infinitely better than what the reigning "divas" of R&B produce today. What happened! It wasn't just that Ruby Johnson could've been a contender, she should've been a superstar!

Ruby Johnson is an answer to the musical question, "What if Wilson Pickett was a woman?"

Great stuff.

The Cd brings back old meories of years gone by. The sound quality is cyrstal clear.

Amazon sent me an e mail on this product. & I will definately purchase this cd. I dont know much by this artist so I consulted my Stax Box track listing & found the title track on cd 5 (#26 or 27?) & was BLOWN AWAY. Yep, that's the sheer beauty of the Stax/Volt Singles Vol 1 is the hidden gems that you missed the 1st few times around. There's too much great stuff. This woman sang with elephant balls! But, much like Etta she also displays great range & emotion too. And like the great Mable John, Ms Ruby has Booker & MGs on board from what the other reviews say. I cant wait to get this item. I stand by 5 stars based on "I'll Run your Hurt Away".

Ruby Johnson is relatively unknown, but she definately put out some of Stax finest music. With Booker T. & the M.G.'s and The Memphis Horns as her backing band, how could you go wrong?? Not to mention her SWEET/GRITTY/SOULFUL voice. If you like soul music DON'T pass this by.

A must have for anyone with an appreciation for top quality, soul-felt vocals. For similarly excellent listening try Ella Washington's Starving for Love.