There’s no doubt writing songs can be cathartic for most musicians. Sometimes they take the form of a comment on current events, while other times they encapsulate a lifetime of emotional attachment. You can hear some of both in the latest album, Bones, from Oregonian Melissa Ruth. It features her husband (and partner in the band Midnight Darlins), Johnny Leal, on guitar throughout. Much of the record relates to Ruth’s upbringing in rural British Columbia, there’s some that’s more current in timeframe, and a couple of songs span both.
The CD opens with a folk noir Edith Piaf, and its shout-out to the French chanteuse, in a song for lovers separated by distance, and undoubtedly state of mind as well. A little more rock than folk, Passage of Stars updates the famous Kristofferson line about freedom when the narrator pronounces, “I used to be a free-wheelin’ son-of-a-bitch, now I’m just free.” Ruth takes things back to her childhood in Nashi Lyudi. It tells the tale of a child of the Russian Freedomites who immigrated to western Canada, with a personal link to her father’s life.
There’s a block of 3 songs mid-album that reflect Melissa’s lifetime in the rural West. Wild Roses has a jazzy note of trumpet in a comment on how civilization is scarring the land, while Logger’s Lament is a slower number showing the other side of the debate. Yoncalla Moon uses organ to lend a classic rock note to a lesson on southwestern Oregon. Wrapping up the CD is the title track with lyrics at times whispered, and with a judicious use of reverb you feel the weight of unwanted burden.
You’d be hard-pressed to describe Melissa Ruth’s latest record as uplifting. But just like the blues are about sharing life’s pain, not causing it, Bones leaves you aware that life’s travails are not unique. So when you’re ready for a little musical therapy, embrace yourself with Ruth’s warm-as-a-blanket vocals, Johnny Leal’s tasty guitar licks, and you’ll find yourself in a better place.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.