For the last several months, Ruthie Foster, Jorma Kaukonen and Robben Ford have been on the road together, packaged as the Guitar Blues Tour. I was lucky enough to hear them play at the Aladdin Theater on Sunday night, a nice, enjoyable couple hours of music.

The showstopper was, uniquely enough, the showstarter: Ruthie Foster. There’s no one on the planet with a stronger, more soulful voice than the woman from East Texas that I’ve been raving about for the past year. With only 6 songs in her set, she made the most of every minute and simply electrified the audience.

When you follow someone as dynamic as Ruthie, it’s hard to look anything but sedate. Add to that age and what appeared to be frail health and you can see why Jorma’s set that followed seemed a little bit of a downer. Even so, there’s a deep wisdom to his whisper of a vocal and no question he’s still as accomplished a blues guitarist as anyone on any stage anywhere.

After the intermission, Robben Ford came out to do his set. Whereas the first act were solo sets, Robben had brought along his drummer (and nephew, Gabriel Ford) and bassist, DeWayne Pate. Truth be told, it got a little louder than it needed to be and, sorry to say, Robben’s music has never been high on my hit list. But his playing was exceptional and the song they did that was written by his nephew, Too Much, was a gem, a poly-rhythmic little ditty that was the set’s standout.

After a few duets (two from Robben and Ruthie, two from Robben and Jorma), they came out for the finale, a funky version of Dylan’s Gotta Serve Somebody. The best part of the show in its entirety, as it should be, was the encore, an amazing acoustic version of Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.

All in all, the show was a little inconsistent (as you’d expect from three artists with vastly different styles) but, in the end, it was a hugely enjoyable night of music.

Here’s a sample of Ruthie’s latest record along with some recent stuff from Jorma and Robben.

Ruthie Foster – (You Keep Me) Hangin’ On

Ruthie Foster – Nickel and A Nail

Jorma Kaukonen – Fool’s Blues

Jorma Kaukonen – Too Many Years

Robben Ford – Up The Line

Namaste
_/\_
Music Junkie

Too tired to think…so I’ll just listen.

Grateful Dead – Scarlet Begonias

Ersel Hickey – Goin’ Down That Road

Little Walter – Blues With Feeling

The Buckinghams – Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Ruthie Foster – Joy On The Other Side

Blind Faith – In The Presence of The Lord

Albert Hammond – A Job Is A Home To A Homeless Man

The Younghearts – A Little Togetherness

A.C. Newman – Secretarial

When I started posting my 42 Favorite Finds of 2008 over at WNEW, I declined to say what I thought were the best records of the year. Instead I decided to write about my favorite listens of the year. That means anything from any year could be included thereby freeing myself myself from writing the gratuitous, overplayed, phone-it-in “Best Of” list.

Then Rolling Stone released their list of Records Of The Year.

Clearly, a bunch of caffeine-swilling, underpaid, cubicle-inhabiting, self-aggrandizing weenies sat around the Starbucks one day and set about making the most preposterous, starving-for-attention list of records they could possibly consider, largely for the purpose of getting someone (anyone) to read their behind-the-times, Britney-Spears-loving rag. Got knows, no one’s paying attention to their writing or the music they “cover” the other 11.9 months of the year.

I figure if all it takes to make a list of the Best of the Year is to be attention-craving dork, I can be as attention-craving and dorky as the next guy.

Hence, here are the Top 10 records in my iTunes library that say 2008 under “Year” and why they are the best the last 12 months have to offer:

10: Adele’s debut record, 19, because she’s the only neo-soul singer out of the UK in the past year who actually has soul (instead of a rap sheet)

Adele – Right As Rain

9: Danielia Cotton’s May 2008 release Rare Child, because she’s got the balls of Melissa Etheridge (without the lesbian baggage) and the across-all-genres style of Dionne Farris. Never heard of her? Now you have.

Danielia Cotton – Bang My Drum

8: Dr. Dog’s record, Fate, because I’ve always wanted to know what Paul McCartney would sound like if he didn’t sound so much like, well, Paul McCartney.

Dr. Dog – The Old Days

7: David Byrne and Brian Eno’s Everything That Will Happen Will Happen Today record, because Byrne is brilliant and Eno is weird and the world needs more of both of those qualities.

David Byrne And Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

6: Nils Lofgren’s ode to Neil Young, The Loner, because old guys alone with their guitar (or pinao) can teach something to the youngsters about wisdom, loneliness and rock and roll.

Nils Lofgren – I Am A Child

5: I See Hawks In L.A.’s Hallowed Ground, because they can talk about how we’re turning the beautiful earth into a sludge pot…and make you want to sing along.

I See Hawks In L.A. – Good And Foolish Times

4: Chatham County Line’s album, IV, because bluegrass isn’t dead but it needs to evolve…and Bill Monroe’s just a start.

Chatham County Line – Chip Of A Star

3: Glen Campbell’s revival, Meet Glen Campbell, because a 72-year old legend covering the Velvet Underground is far cooler than Axl Rose will ever be.

Glen Campbell – Sing

2: Ruthie Foster’s The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster because she is just that: phenomenal.

Ruthie Foster – Heal Yourself

1: Michael Franti’s All Rebel Rockers, because no one can make you dance and think about your life like he can.

Michael Franti – All I Want Is You