DEB RYDER
GRIT, GREASE, AND TEARS
BEJEB MUSIC BEJ 110
IT AIN’T GONNA BE EASY–GET A LITTLE STEAM UP–BLINK OF AN EYE–GRIT, GREASE, AND TEARS–SWEET MARY ANNE–LORD KNOWS I DO–PANIC MODE–JUST HER NATURE–NEW MECHANIC (PATRICK’S BLUES)–RIVER’S FORGIVENESS–PRISONERS OF WAR–RIGHT SIDE OF THE GRASS
Good blues has got to have a lot of things. You need some hard times and misery, balanced out by the redemption of knowing that everything’s gonna be all right in a little while! Deb Ryder adds three more things to that list with her latest album, “Grit, Grease, And Tears.”
The first thing that grabs you with Deb is that incredible voice, honed since her teen years down at her stepfather’s club, opening for the likes of Etta James, Big Joe Turner, and many others. As you listen, you’ll hear the influences of Etta, Koko, and Bonnie Raitt, and these eleven originals are done up in varying styles, so there is something for every taste herein.
Up first is her autobiography, if you will. “I’m no devil, I’m no saint–just a little in between,” in the boisterous “It Ain’t Gonna Be Easy,” which features Mike Finnigan on keys, and Johnny Lee Schell on some booty-kickin’ guitar! Deb gets downright funky in a duet with Sugaray Rayford, as they portray two lovers from “the wrong side of the tracks” who give it a shot anyways, lookin’ to “Get A Little Steam Up!” Deb ups the ante on another dance floor burner, this one dealing with today’s tough economic times and “financial dilemmas,” which sends her straight into “Panic Mode” This one is punched up by a tight horn section, and a backing vocal chorus straight from George Clinton’s Mothership! The set closes on a jump-blues note, with Deb’s original about being alive, breathing, and “on the Right Side Of The Grass!” Bob Corritore’s harp solo and guitar from Johnny and also Kirk “Eli” Fletcher add to the old-school vibe of this one!
We had two favorites, too. Peter Van Der Pluijm adds the harp, and Deb is “cleaning house,” on the just-a-little-bit-naughty “New Mechanic (Patrick’s Blues).” And, Bob Corritore’s harp rises up outta the Delta mist like that ol’ hellhound as Deb recounts the haunting title cut- tale of two lovers down at that crossroads–“you won’t try any more, and I can’t cry any more.”
Deb Ryder has sho’ nuff got it goin’ on with “Grit, Grease, And Tears.” She’s a killer vocalist with gritty original material, and an incredible backing band that puts this one over the fence for a home run! Until nxt time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues Society.
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