Ruthie Foster – Mileage
10 songs – 35 minutes
It’s been ages since Ruthie Foster was a self-described “little black girl with a guitar” and playing to enthusiastic audiences in rural churches in her beloved Texas. She’s traveled the world for decades and experienced all of the joys and sorrows anyone can imagine along the way. But as she clearly states on her latest CD, she’s proud to say that they’ve served to synthesize her into what she’s become today.
With fellow Texan Tyler Bryant producing and his wife, Rebecca Lovell of Larkin Poe fame, joining forces to pen the tunes, they share Ruthie’s journey in the most pleasant way possible, delivering messages that speak from the heart while taking listeners along on a trek packed with powerful emotion – and some sage advice, too.
The soundwaves here literally have traversed the planet, too. Engineered by Tyler at the Lily Pad in Nashville, mixed in Paris, France – not the Lone Star State — by David Benyamin, they were mastered by Dan Shike at his Tennessee-based Tone and Volume Mastering studios. Foster’s powerful, but sweet pipes dominate throughout, and she adds keys on one number. But leaving six-string duties are handled by Bryant, who also contributes bass, keys, backing vocals and alto sax.
The lineup includes Michael Webb on Hammond B3 organ, a horn section composed of Chase Carpenter on trombone, Jack Warren on tenor sax and Sam Merrell on trumpet and Caleb Crosby on percussion. Rebecca provides backing vocals on several tunes and shares lead on another. And her sister, fellow Larkin Poe star Megan Lowell, makes an appearance on lap steel, too.
The title song, “Mileage,” eases out of the gate to open. It’s a living, breathing testament in which Ruthie states: “There ain’t a road I ain’t been up and down/I’ve been lost, found and I’m proud.” She puts the pedal to the medal, she says, no matter what obstacles appear in her way. Soul kicks in for the medium-quick shuffle. When questioned about a definition of love, Foster advises: “I just point to you” in “Rainbow” as she insists we simply enjoy it instead of searching for answers.
The gospel-tinged “Good for My Soul” continues the theme forward, noting that the Almighty always comes through when facing the most difficult of times. It’s a message that rings true no matter what your religion. “Heartshine,” a song of celebration, opens as a ballad and increases intensity throughout. Ruthie reflects on her past and understands now that she’d often faced challenges alone when she simply could have requested – and received – aid from the one she loves. She describes her love as moving “like moonlight across my endless nights/Whispering secrets and promises/Of a better life.”
The rapid-fire “Slow Down” finds Foster living in an incredibly fast paced world and realizing the need for a change of pace before she takes listeners back to childhood her home in “Six Mile Water” for a remembrance of her gospel-singing, swearing-like-a-sailor mother and the joy of her youth. Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s “That’s All Right,” the only cover in the set – and a salute to her label, Sun, for whom Crudup recorded — follows before Larkin Poe join the action for the countrified “Done,” featuring Larkin Poe. It fuses gospel and blues in cohesive package as it states: “I’ll know when I get there/And I know I’ll be done.” Another message about slowing down follows with “Take It Easy” before the stripped-down “See You When I See You” finds Ruthie solo on the 88s to close with the advise not to forget to count your blessings, your friends and to tip the bartender and band.
A winner from start to end, Mileage is bound for glory!
