Ruth Wyand review…November 22, 2018….

RUTH WYAND

TRIBE OF ONE

BACK BAY BILL RECORDS

BAD MOJO (WORKING OVERTIME)–BREAK THE CURSE–THE LAST NAIL–BETTER OFF ALONE–HELP MY SOUL SURVIVE–TILL IT’S SAFE TO GO OUTSIDE–BLIND WILLIE MCTELL–LOVE ON THE LINE BLUES–I DON’T HAVE PROOF–100 PROOF–LITTLE WING–BROKEN WOMAN–MINT JULEP–ON THE PORCH WITH ETTA

Ruth Wyand was a Semi-Finalist in the 2018 IBC’s, and a Finalist in 2017, and truly fits the description of those who compete in the Solo category.  As you listen to her debut, “Tribe Of One,” you’ll see why.  Literally a “one-woman band,” she parlays an arsenal of guitars and playing styles, as well as foot drums and thumb bass and crystal-clear vocals into the eleven originals and three covers that proves she can rock with anybody.  She hails from Kill Devil Hill, NC, and this set was laid down at Dock Diving Dog Studio in that town.

She opens the set with a right cross to the jaw of the “man in the power tie, who’s the biggest thief,” “Bad Mojo (Working Overtime).”  She puts out her “gris-gris bag hangin’ on my post just to keep me safe from you,” on the Fifties-ish boogie of “Break The Curse,” while her Carolina heritage is displayed via a humorous folk tale where our heroine waits on a lover to “make up your mind,” those “Love On The Line Blues.”

The covers are sho’ nuff well-played, too.  Check out her pickin’ prowess on an instrumental take of Etta Baker’s “Mint Julep,” and a breathtaking acoustic jaunt thru Jimi’s classic “Little Wing.”  Our favorite, tho, of the covers, was Ruth’s rollicking romp over Dylan’s ode to dyin’ crapshooters, Statesboro, GA, and those “”charcoal gypsy maidens,” “nobody sings the blues like Blind Willie McTell!”

Honestly, when we think of a one-person band, the first performer to come to mind was ol’ Joe Hill Louis from the glory days of Sam Phillips and Sun Records.  Ruth Wyand, tho, is totally different.   She’s poised, polished, and speaks the blues with power and conviction, and, with Ruth, a “Tribe Of One” is all you need for a set of great blues!  Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow.