The Rise & Fall of Ruby Woo

The Puppini Sisters | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 12, 2008)
• Original Release Date: February 12, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Verve
• ASIN: B000WC45SE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,791 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #78 in Music > World Music > Europe > British Isles > Britain
  • #100 in Music > Pop > Vocal Pop > Classic

Editorial Reviews

2007 release of the International edition of the second album by the trio of Italian Marcella Puppini, Stephanie O'Brien and Kate Mullins who take up the mantle of the female singing trio first started by The Andrews Sisters.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What better time to listen to something rooted in the past with a modern twist?, February 5, 2008

By 

pp777 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rise & Fall of Ruby Woo (Audio CD)

"The Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo" is the second album from cult trio the Puppini Sisters.
Comprised of Mercella Puppini, Kate Mullins and Stephanie O'Brien, the trio led the retro wave in 2006 with their 1940s influenced blend of "pop with swing" Betcha Bottom Dollar.
The new CD offers more of the same and demonstrates that the girls are growing in confidence. Four of the songs are their own compositions, while unconventional covers include ambitious takes on The Bangles' "Walk Like An Egyptian" and Dusty Springfield's "Spooky".
Not everything works but when they get things right, The Puppini Sisters really succeed in forcing you to sit up, take notice and hail the quality of their music.
Every track sounds classic, yet contemporary.
Pop favourites are re-worked in the band's trademark rockabilly style, with all three members taking it in turns to produce original arrangements
The Bangles' "Walk Like An Egyptian" is given the Puppini treatment and sounds tailor made for their jazz & cocktails sound.
"Soho Nights" has a Latin feel and could be part of a Pedro Almodovar soundtrack; it's that good.
Barry Manilow's "Could It Be Magic" is darker and more seductive than you could possibly imagine in these ladies' capable hands.
So much more than lounge music, this album really does creep on you- surprising you at every turn, like a good movie.
Featuring all the trademark nostalgia of the first album, this CD is complete with close harmonies, jazz strings, salutes to the toy piano and some serious sass.

Hey Eugene!
50th Anniversary Collection

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better? You can betcha bottom dollar on it., February 2, 2008

By 

DSD "your pal Dave" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rise & Fall of Ruby Woo (Audio CD)

The difference between the Puppini Sisters' albums is a contrast like night and day. You feel that the Sisters have really come into their own with this new work. They're still doing the clever covers of pop songs, like the driving Spooky (originally by the Classics IV) and the ethereal Could It Be Magic (wistful and heart rending in this version, quite a departure from Donna Summers' soft core porn '80s original), but have expanded their repertoir nicely with five original numbers. All five are real audience faves on the live circuit, and the one that stands out for me is And She Sang - pathos in a pretty dress. More thought provoking than their last album, it's dificult to imagine Ruby Woo as just background music. It's a slow burner that will stand the test of time - I highly recommend it.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vocal Harmony, Fun & Games: The Sisters Do It Again!, May 13, 2008

By 

Mark D. Prouse "Dustyart" (Riverdale (Bronx), NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rise & Fall of Ruby Woo (Audio CD)

Responding to the reviewer who labeled this disc "dreck:" I'll say that he has a right to his opinion, of course, but I think he must not be listening to the radio. This new Puppini Sisters CD is much better than most of the REAL dreck being dribbled upon the airwaves. At least these women have personality and a recognizable sound. Most of the female vocalists these days sound just like each other, with all the rough edges smoothed out and any personal quirks removed. Their music is often just an exercise in vocal pyrotechnics with no real soul behind it. At least the Puppini Sisters have come up with their own sound.

Another reviewer described the Puppini's as "lifeless." Say, what? Was this CD actually listened to all the way through? This record fairly crackles with energy.

Still another listener complained that so many of theses songs were not recognizable. If the liner info had been read, it would have been noticed that several tracks are originals by each of the Puppini sisters. This fact alone makes this release more ambitious than the previous one was. And a couple of these originals do not disgrace themselves in the presence of the peerless Duke Ellington or John Barry and Hal David, also represented by songs on THE RISE & FALL OF RUBY WOO. Stephanie O'Brien's "Soho Nights" sounds like it was written sixty years ago, although the lyrics betray its modernity. It's a delightful little faux-Bohemian romp. Marcella Puppini's "Jilted" is a bit long for its limited, unoriginal idea, but it has a memorable melody. Another one of her songs, "And She Sang," is lots of fun, with its combination of Italian street café music and classical flourishes, punctuated with haunted house-evoking double bass and slide guitar. Kate Mullins' fine "It's Not Over (Death Or The Toy Piano)" reminds me a little of The Squirrel Nut Zippers, combining familiar-sounding music with an offbeat lyric and a darker mood.

As with BETCHA BOTTOM DOLLAR there's a willingness to play with more modern fare, and I don't mean just in retrofitting newer songs. The arrangements have been made appropriate to the songs, and one remembers the originals without automatically thinking of these new versions as just inferior covers; at least, that's my own experience. As the Sisters did with Blondie's "Heart of Glass" and Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" on the previous release, they breathe a new and different light into songs from the '70's on up to our present time. The Bangles' "Walk Like An Egyptian," Beyonce's "Crazy In Love," and yes, you heard it right, Barry Manilow's "Could It Be Magic" are all unexpected choices. Although "Walk" is fun, it's not strong enough to give the original a run for its money. The other two are another story: I like them both much better than the authors' own recordings of them! Good covers should be different than than their previous, hit versions, and all of these arrangements fit that particular bill.

The instrumental backing throughout this record is even more accomplished and varied than on its predecessor. Once more, it's old-timey, but with a bit more emphasis on the drums and bass than one might hear in the late `30's and `40's. And there are some nice flavors of gypsy swing and touches of acoustic psychedelia provided by the odd toy piano, triangle and melodica. The sisters themselves, further enhancing their legitimacy as musicians, sometimes play these instruments and others, including accordion and violin.

Not everything works here, I should add, without dumping on this effort as a whole. "Spooky" disappointed me in its failure to BE spooky, although it's growing on me some. "We Have All The Time In the World" just can't hold a candle to the Louis Armstrong version, although it does capture a kind of dreaminess. Somehow, it lacks some of the energy the Puppini's usually deliver. Not surprisingly, the Duke Ellington track, "It Don't Mean A Thing..." is the least original performance, here. It's so like a dozen other recorded versions I've heard, and even still, the Sisters don't toss it off as though they're not all that interested. Once they've gotten the perfunctory part out of the way, they break the rhythm and launch into a slower improvisation, before returning to the swing portion, and inserting, just for kicks, a brief vocal lick from "Mambo Italiano."

Whatever its flaws, I give this CD four stars, and would add another half star if Amazon allowed it. The Puppini's should also be commended for being among the few acts reviving early jazz and swing styles that don't just present museum-quality copies. Rather, they update the music without disrespecting it. For me, this puts them in fine company with the Squirrel Nut's, Leon Redbone and Bob Brozman. Whenever The Sisters do try to sound just like voices from a bygone era, as they do on "Old Cape Cod," they produce a sonic glow of beauty and purity that I find hard to resist. Patti Page would have been proud!