Sam & Ruby

SAM & RUBY
"THE HERE AND THE NOW"
(Rykodisc, 2009)


I wasn't going to bother posting an entry this evening, but that was before I totally on a whim put this CD on. I had never heard of this act before I saw the CD on a listening station at the store a few weeks ago. The cover image was nice and pastoral and cozy and all, so I put the headphones on and hit the play button. With every second that went by, I was pulled, little by little, into this album's subtle charms. Singer/guitarist Sam Brooker looks kind-of like James Morrison, and co-vocalist Ruby Amanfu bears a bit of a resemblance to Corinne Bailey Rae ... and if you took all the rasp out of Morrison's voice, and slightly raised the timbre of Bailey Rae's, that's more-or-less what they sound like. Possibly an unlikely pairing, but these two voices go blissfully beautifully together.

As the cover image might suggest, a fair share of this album falls firmly in the acoustic-folk category, but there's also a liberal dollop of classic Al Green-style soul ("Too Much"), a serving of gospel ("Heaven's My Home"), and even a radio-ready summertime pop number ("Chillin'") tossed in. Sam and Ruby essentially split the vocal duties 50/50 -- sometimes it's a he-sings/she-sings duet, sometimes she takes the spotlight with him singing backup, and sometimes vice-versa -- and that's one of the things I love most about this album, not the least of which is because both voices are totally appealing.

Not only does it seem like a twist of fate that I'd by sheer chance happen upon an album I'd end up loving so much (all the more interesting because folk music -- in which this disc could easily be classified, but shouldn't necessarily be pigeonholed -- is a genre that usually bores me to no end), but it's also kind-of serendipitous that I'd be listening to it on a Sunday evening ... it's just the kind of stuff that gives you that extra little breath of fresh air right before you have to go back to work for another week ... and makes the thought of doing so bearable. Thanks, Sam & Ruby ... I needed that.

This I Know (Album Version) - Sam & Ruby