Barry
P. Foley – Ruby’s Café
P. Foley – Ruby’s Café
1. Ruby’s Cafe 2.
Down to the Islands 3.
Mama’s Biscuits and Gravy 4. When All Your Dreams Come True (feat.
Danielle Poot) 5. Never Leaving Texas 6. Fifty and Counting (feat.
Ann Pascoe) 7. Boom Chicka Boom (feat. Daniel T. Coates) 8. Vfw and
the Maiden’s Prayer 9. Get This Crap Out of My Country (feat. Michael
Lonstar) 10. Heroes and Friends (feat. Michael Lonstar) 11. You Ain’t
No Country Singer 12. Time for the Blues (feat. Vivien Searcy) 13.
Crooked Road 14. Daddy’s Funeral
This
was a very difficult album to review. It wasn’t that it was lacking
in musical talent. It wasn’t that it was lacking in poetic lyrics.
It wasn’t that the various artists on the album didn’t correctly
complement one another. It wasn’t difficult to review because it
was missing that special sound battering empty beer bottles at
honkytonk bars one night, then raising thousands of hands in the air
the next. It wasn’t hard to review because the songs didn’t
perfectly place that hat on my head or put that bull between my legs;
not because I couldn’t feel that cold wind pushin’ as those
lonely railroad crossing bells stung my ears; not because I couldn’t
taste that Puerto Rican Rum burning through my sun drenched body
while swingin’ in my hammock; not because I couldn’t smell those
fresh pine needles meshing with the springtime breeze off the Blue
Ridge Mountains. Rather, this was a very difficult album to review
because it wasn’t lacking any of em’. It was a very difficult
album to review because I could smell, hear, taste, touch, and feel
each and every one of em. That was my empty beer bottle. Those
were my hands in the air. That was my pickup truck
stopping as the gates dropped and the crossing lights began to flash
on that winter night. That was my youth trekking those trails
on the Blue Ridge. That was my fifth of Puerto Rican Rum. That
was, and still is, my hat tilted forward resting on the bridge
of my nose. So that, I it, while swinging amongst the palm shadows
was a very difficult album to review. It wasn’t that it was lacking
in musical talent. It wasn’t that it was lacking in poetic lyrics.
It wasn’t that the various artists on the album didn’t correctly
complement one another. It wasn’t difficult to review because it
was missing that special sound battering empty beer bottles at
honkytonk bars one night, then raising thousands of hands in the air
the next. It wasn’t hard to review because the songs didn’t
perfectly place that hat on my head or put that bull between my legs;
not because I couldn’t feel that cold wind pushin’ as those
lonely railroad crossing bells stung my ears; not because I couldn’t
taste that Puerto Rican Rum burning through my sun drenched body
while swingin’ in my hammock; not because I couldn’t smell those
fresh pine needles meshing with the springtime breeze off the Blue
Ridge Mountains. Rather, this was a very difficult album to review
because it wasn’t lacking any of em’. It was a very difficult
album to review because I could smell, hear, taste, touch, and feel
each and every one of em. That was my empty beer bottle. Those
were my hands in the air. That was my pickup truck
stopping as the gates dropped and the crossing lights began to flash
on that winter night. That was my youth trekking those trails
on the Blue Ridge. That was my fifth of Puerto Rican Rum. That
was, and still is, my hat tilted forward resting on the bridge
of my nose. So that, I it, while swinging amongst the palm shadows
Expecting
some blaring guitar and screeching vocals, I prepped my teeth to
grind. I assumed the position that I’ve gotten accustomed to. .I
sat back, as comfortably as I could, strapped the headphones on,
cranked the volume as loud as it could go, and pressed play. Track
1 began and I braced myself. All of a sudden I felt warped into
another world. A world I know all too well. I was transported to the
islands; a very nice, mellow, acoustic vibe. The more I listened, the
further I became immersed in the story. I found myself meeting a
friend at Ruby’s Café.
some blaring guitar and screeching vocals, I prepped my teeth to
grind. I assumed the position that I’ve gotten accustomed to. .I
sat back, as comfortably as I could, strapped the headphones on,
cranked the volume as loud as it could go, and pressed play. Track
1 began and I braced myself. All of a sudden I felt warped into
another world. A world I know all too well. I was transported to the
islands; a very nice, mellow, acoustic vibe. The more I listened, the
further I became immersed in the story. I found myself meeting a
friend at Ruby’s Café.
Track
2 kept me at the islands with a nice piano, a little calypso, a
few shots of tequila, and the bitter understanding that it was just a
dream. That cold blizzard of reality painted the streets white with
snow. Track 3 brought the aroma of breakfast cooking on a wood
stove and momma flashing her cap as captain of the hearth. The fiddle
played and began to really bring out the biscuits and gravy, or the
deep country of the album. But, this is where the album transforms
into a difficult album to review. On Track 4 you believe that
you’ve got it figured out. Just as you think you know what to
write, you’ve found yourself in Texas with a duet. An amazing voice
comes in to ask, “What do you do when all your dreams come true?”
This just adds much more depth to it all. You realize that these are
real tried and true musicians. They’ve got the blues to prove it
2 kept me at the islands with a nice piano, a little calypso, a
few shots of tequila, and the bitter understanding that it was just a
dream. That cold blizzard of reality painted the streets white with
snow. Track 3 brought the aroma of breakfast cooking on a wood
stove and momma flashing her cap as captain of the hearth. The fiddle
played and began to really bring out the biscuits and gravy, or the
deep country of the album. But, this is where the album transforms
into a difficult album to review. On Track 4 you believe that
you’ve got it figured out. Just as you think you know what to
write, you’ve found yourself in Texas with a duet. An amazing voice
comes in to ask, “What do you do when all your dreams come true?”
This just adds much more depth to it all. You realize that these are
real tried and true musicians. They’ve got the blues to prove it
Track
5 keeps that big Texas country sound. And, like I said just when
you think you’ve got it figured out there is another amazing duet
on Track 6. Track 7 is a great tribute to Johnny Cash. The way
the bass lays it down you can hear that train running down the
tracks. The most incredible tracks on the album are Track 8 and
Track 14. Though, Track 12 is another beautiful duet.
5 keeps that big Texas country sound. And, like I said just when
you think you’ve got it figured out there is another amazing duet
on Track 6. Track 7 is a great tribute to Johnny Cash. The way
the bass lays it down you can hear that train running down the
tracks. The most incredible tracks on the album are Track 8 and
Track 14. Though, Track 12 is another beautiful duet.
The
album and the creative artists behind it have incredible skills
that’d fit any musical genre. I can’t say that I’d suggest it
completely because I found myself enjoying the first two tracks
better than the rest. Others may listen and thoroughly enjoy the
deeper country tracks, and even others may enjoy the duets more. This
is simply a difficult album to review because it spans a lifetime or
two (maybe three or four) of stories witnessed along the way. I found
it to be put together in segments, and a few of the tracks discredit
other singers for just being “record label shows.” It almost
saddens me to say that those tracks may have been placed there by the
same record labels they seem to stand against. I personally wish they
had been left off. But, who knows, maybe even still others would
enjoy those tracks. Maybe, and this is just a maybe, they would
rather listen to those tracks more than any of the rest.
album and the creative artists behind it have incredible skills
that’d fit any musical genre. I can’t say that I’d suggest it
completely because I found myself enjoying the first two tracks
better than the rest. Others may listen and thoroughly enjoy the
deeper country tracks, and even others may enjoy the duets more. This
is simply a difficult album to review because it spans a lifetime or
two (maybe three or four) of stories witnessed along the way. I found
it to be put together in segments, and a few of the tracks discredit
other singers for just being “record label shows.” It almost
saddens me to say that those tracks may have been placed there by the
same record labels they seem to stand against. I personally wish they
had been left off. But, who knows, maybe even still others would
enjoy those tracks. Maybe, and this is just a maybe, they would
rather listen to those tracks more than any of the rest.
Jeremy
Frost
Frost
.