What a voice!!...
11/12/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Ruby will be best remembered for her vocals on the Black Oak Arkansas hit "Jim Dandy To the Rescue".As much as I enjoyed her on that song, her vocals on this earlier recording deserve even more attention. Some may recall Ruby from her days with "Grey
Ghost" during the mid 70s. They released several great albums on capitol records which hopefully will make it to CD someday. This earlier album was an attempt to cash in on the success of Janis Joplin and thankfully leans more to her earlier psychodelic blues based work with "Big Brother".Fans of the late great Steve Marriott of "Humble Pie" will also appreciate this work as it reminds me of some of his gritty soulful work from the same time period. Add a great back up band, some well placed horn arrangements and funky songwriting via Curtis Mayfield's record label and you have a great buy for classic rock fans of the early 70s. Tracks #2 and #7 are worth the price for fans of early soul based rock and Ruby deserved more fame than she got before passing away in the mid 90s."
Ruby--a gem overlooked
Mark E. Sanders | 01/27/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ruby Jones/Starr was a fabulous vocalist; it's too bad that she's most remembered for her backup to "Jim Dandy"; truthfully, she should have had far more attention than that. The Capitol albums were absolutely superb, and the first Grey Ghost album is incomparable to anything else in the Southern genre. Capitol really needs to re-release those pieces."
A Good Start for Ruby Starr
gassy goon | 02/05/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The band RUBY JONES is actually the first album that RUBY STARR ever had. It's a good beginning for her with this band, which is supplemented with a horn section. Ruby sings with wild abandon, and being that she was still honing her vocal craft, it's sometimes a bit too shrill. Best tracks are the hit single-sound of 46TH STREET and the amazing harmonies that Ruby & the boys conjure up on FREELY AWAY. HAVE NO WITNESS is a good one too, as is the bonus track that was recorded after this album, YOU BETTER RUN [ the Rascals hit that Pat Benatar also covered later ]. Most telling as far as comparing RUBY JONES sound to another band is their version of a song by TEN WHEEL DRIVE FEATURING GENYA RAVAN. They do TWD's song TIGHTROPE almost as good as the original. But whereas Genya already had so much experience, Ruby was just starting out. Vocally, Ruby really came into her own on her 3 Capitol Records albums a few years after this, where she could sing the hell out of a ballad as well. Definitely worth checking out. The best tunes on here are great to hear. Strangely, it's the only Ruby Starr recording on CD, apart from a BLACK OAK ARKANSAS Live CD, & of course, the immortal BOA hit that featured Ruby - JIM DANDY."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1