Ruthie Foster – Let It Burn 1.20.12

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Ruthie Foster

Let It Burn

Blue Corn

BluesWax Rating: 10

Ruthie Foster For President!

Ruthie Foster, who seems to be collecting Blues Music Awards faster than a vinyl LP collects dust, has the inside track on another, with her latest release, Let It Burn. The traditional blues purist may not find what he’s looking for here, but fans of gospel and sweet rhythm and blues should be overjoyed.

Reciting tales of spiritual and temporal love, Foster takes us to the end of the world and back. Her phrasing is masterful, especially when spotlighted by organist Ike Stubblefield. His rich tonalities give many of the tracks a churchy feeling, but that of a church where the doors are open to everyone.

Recorded at New Orleans’ Piety Street Studios, kudos go to the understated guitar of Dave Easley and the excellent Funky Meters’ rhythm section of bassist George Porter, Jr. and drummer Russell Batiste.

Foster takes us to the edge of the abyss with her composition “Lord Remember Me,” (“…When these chains get broken, set my spirit free.”), with the Blind Boys of Alabama joining her on uplifting harmonies, and with “Don’t Want to Know,” where, against a backdrop of planes tumbling and cities crumbling, Foster sings, “I don’t want to know about evil, I only want to know ‘bout love.”

On the pure gospel number, “Welcome Home,” a la Mavis Staples, Foster wants to “trust in my heart” and “keep tryin’ to find my way home.” Hope is again offered on a cover of the Black Keys’ “Everlasting Light,” with the lyric “…your loneliness is over, your dark days are through.”

David Crosby’s anthemic “Long Time Gone,” again with the Blind Boys, addresses our apocalyptic political climate, urging us to “speak out against the madness,” but saving us by saying “the darkest hour is just before the dawn.” Here, as elsewhere, interesting arrangements provide classics with fresh outlooks.

“Ring of Fire,” another example, has an arrangement so different that even Johnny Cash might not recognize it. Foster relaxes here, making this the most peaceful number on the album. “If I Had a Hammer,” a song that many of us, after the 1960s, never thought we’d want to hear again, aided by the strong saxophone work of James Rivers, takes on a jazzy guise and reaches a new level, inspirationally.

Grounded in temporal love lost are an outstanding version of Robbie Robertson’s “It Makes No Difference,” and a duet with William Bell, a reprise of his 1961 release “You Don’t Miss the Water,” which, though well done, doesn’t equal the original.

Fire imagery is prevalent throughout this album. Is it a coincidence that the song “Titanic,” with a chorus that reprises “Wade in the Water,” brings this journey to a close, with an allegory in which all flames are extinguished in the cold, cold waters?

As the waters rise and the flames grow hotter, Let It Burn cannot be overlooked.

Robert Feuer is a contributing writer at BluesWax and Blues Revue.