I’ve had a relaxed long weekend with a lot of
walking. So much, I was able to get a couple of listens in on my next album. I
wanted a couple more, but if the Bruins lose tomorrow night I may not be in the
mood for a blog entry, so better to write it now.
Disc 1258 is… Ruby Red
Artist:
Suzanne Santo
Year of Release: 2017
What’s up with the
Cover?
Suzanne reclines on what looks like a very comfortable couch. This looks like a
good spot for watching a bit of TV, but Suzanne has apparently decided to
instead strike a world-weary, woe-is-me pose. We’ve all had hard days, Suzanne
but seriously, just put on some HBO and decompress. Tomorrow is another day.
How I Came to Know
It: I
read a review of this record and it sounded interesting. After that it was
devilishly hard to find, and I eventually succumbed to the lure of Amazon and
ordered it online. Sorry about that, local record stores.
How It Stacks Up: This is my only Suzanne Santo album so it
can’t stack up.
Ratings: 4 stars
On her first solo album, Suzanne Santo is determined to not adhere to any
genre expectations. This record is a little bit country, a little bit folk and
a little bit rock and roll, and the amount of each of those elements varies
considerably from song to song. You might think this would make the record lack
cohesiveness, but it never happens, thanks to the overall quality of the songs
and the thread of seductive darkness that wrap themselves around every song.
Many of the songs have a smooth, slightly ominous swell to them, like an
ocean current that threatens to pull you out to sea if you swim too close or
dive too deep. Of course, the characters in Santo’s songs do just that.
It helps to have songs with such great melodic structures. This is
particularly noticeable on “Regrets,”
which is recorded for the album twice. The first version is a blues-country
song mid-tempo filled with reverberating guitar, where Santo’s vocals echo big
and powerful over top of all the twang. The second version is a simple acoustic
folk version, with just a single guitar and Santo’s vocals. Here she converts
to a delicate warble that makes you think of drafty barns and rustic back
roads. Which is better? Thankfully, Santo has made it so you don’t have to pick.
“Ruby Red” is an exploration of need, desire and the feverish embrace of
temptation in its many forms. The album starts with “Handshake” where Santo
explores the depths of sexual yearning with lyrics that are unabashed and direct:
“I wanna smoke and I wanna drink
and screw every time I think about you
Which is all the time and I’m
gonna lose my mind sitting on the side lines
Oh Cause I ain’t your friend
babe, I don’t wanna a handshake
I need a piece, I need a taste
Set it up and pout it straight,
don’t water down my whiskey babe.”
And immediately follows this invitation to sin are the less than romantic
results on “Ghost In My Bed”:
“There’s a ghost in my bed, screwing
with my head
Stomping round my room, drinking
all my booze.”
Santo’s characters aren’t afraid to express what they want and then
accept their complicity in the complications that result when they get it. There
is plenty of regret, but you won’t find denial. As she sings on “Best Out of Me”:
“Baby I know I was jealous and
mean
I got lost in the anger that
roars over me like a tidal wave rotten
Bewitched and begotten from
broken things inside of me.”
Santo also plays the violin, which has the same yearning warble present
in her vocals. On “Best Out of Me” it
provides the emotional undercurrent that lets you know that no matter how hurt
and sad it all sounds, there is yet more sadness underneath.
“Blood on Your Knees” starts
out folksy but by the end is converted to seventies anthem rock, with the
electric guitar of Butch Walker channeling his inner Clapton.
Two songs later, the acoustic and introspective “Better Than That” is every bit as powerful, as Santo acknowledges
an addiction to love, vowing to sober up before she sucks it dry from desire.
Santo has a sneaky-powerful voice that works in multiple styles. She’s
got a bit of the blues in there as well and she reminded me favourably of fellow
genre-busting chanteuses Lindi Ortega, Brandi Carlile and Nikki Lane. It’s a
voice that I’d like to hear more of and one that has me looking forward to what
she does next.
“Ruby Red” is a powerful journey. Santo dives deep and explores the darker
corners of the human condition with a bravery and clarity that sits with you
well after the last notes fade into silence.
Best tracks: Handshake, Ghost in My Bed, Best Out of Me, Regrets
(x2), Blood on Your Knees, Better Than That
No comments:
Post a Comment