SAMANTHA FISH
WILD HEART
RUF RECORDS RUF 1213
ROAD RUNNER–PLACE TO FALL–BLAME IT ON THE MOON–HIGHWAY’S HOLDING ME NOW–GO HOME–JIM LEE BLUES, PT. 1–TURN IT UP–SHOW ME–LOST MYSELF–WILD HEART–BITCH ON THE RUN–I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU
Only in her mid-twenties, Samantha Fish has just released her third album for Ruf Records, entitled “Wild Heart.” Produced by Luther Dickinson, this one has the feel of the Mississippi Hill country, meshed perfectly with Samantha’s over-the-top, powerful guitar work and spitfire vocals. Luther adds bass and slide guitar, and guest Lightnin’ Malcolm is also on guitar, with Brady Blade on drums.
She starts the proceedings with a snarl and a kiss-off to a no-good lover who turned out to be just a “Road Runner.” Luther adds lap steel over Samantha’s guitar on the modified Diddley beat of “Blame It On The Moon if I’m not by your side.” Her stompin’ ode to life on the road, where “every line on this road is another line on my face” is “The Highway’s Holding Me Now.” More great examples of her “girl power” anthems are “Show Me” and “Turn It Up,” with her lyric, “we gotta get outta here, make our presence known.”
Samantha shows her softer side in several places, too. A broken love affair finds her realizing “I Lost Myself when I gave you the best of me.” And, one of the most powerful cuts on the set is the poignant “Go Home.” It deals with the pain of inner struggles with one’s own demons, and has backing vocals from Shontelle Norman-Beatty and Risse Norman.
We had two favorites, too. Samantha lets her rock star loose with the snarl of “Bitch On The Run,” rockin’ with a Jagger-Richards edge. At the other end of the spectrum is a cool acoustic read of Charley Patton’s “Jim Lee Blues, Pt.1,” with Luther duetting with her on mandolin.
Samantha Fish attended the King Biscuit Festival at the age of seventeen, forging friendships with many of the players on “Wild Heart.” As such, this set is a career-defining moment for this extremely talented young lady! Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues Society.
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