Ruth Brown – Rock & Roll (Mono)
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Vocal : Ruth Brown [click here to see more vinyl featuring Ruth Brown]
Backing vocals : The Delta Rhythm Boys, The Rhythmakers
Alto horn : Dick Cary
Trumpet : Bobby Hackett, Taft Jordan, Ed "Tiger" Lewis
Trombone : Will Bradley, Richard Harris
Clarinet, tenor saxophone : Peanuts Hucko
Tenor saxophone : Arnett Cobb, Willis Jackson, Sam Taylor (A2)
Baritone saxophone : Ernie Caceres, Haywood Henry, Sylvester Thomas, Paul Williams (B2)
Piano : Joe Bushkin, Ernie Hayes, John Lewis (A2), Bu Pleasant, Harry Van Walls
Guitar : Rector Bailey, Mickey Baker, John Collins, Eddie Condon
Bass : George Duvivier, Jack Lesberg, Benny Moten, Lloyd Trotman
Drums : Sidney Catlett, Connie Kay, Joe Marshall, Noruddin Zafer
Written by Jerry Leiber (A1), Mike Stoller (A1), Charles E. Calhoun (A2), A. Nugetre (A3), Rudolph Toombs (A4, A6, B2), Charles Singleton (A5), Rosemary McCoy (A5), Ruth Brown (A7), Herbert J. Lance (B1), Johnny Wallace (B1), Ted Jarrett (B3), Ben Homer (B4), Bud Green (B4), Les Brown (B4), Jerome Kern (B5), Oscar Hammerstein (B5), Irving Melsher (B6), Remus Harris (B6), Russ Morgan (B6), Chuck Willis (B7)
1 LP, standard sleeve
Limited to 2,000 Numbered Copies
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Mono
Studio
Record Press : Record Technology Incorporated
Label : Mofi
Original Label : Atlantic
Recorded in 1949-56
Mastered by Krieg Wunderlich at Mobile Sound Lab, Sepastopol
Originally released in 1957
Reissued in February 2024
Tracks :
Side A
- Lucky Lips
- As Long As I'm Moving
- It's Love Baby
- Daddy Daddy
- Mambo Baby
- Teardrops From My Eyes
- Hello Little Boy
Side B
- Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean
- 5 -10 -15 Hours
- It's Love Baby
- Sentimental Journey
- Old Man River
- So Long
- Oh What A Dream
Reviews :
Rock & Roll, indeed. Ruth Brown’s sizzling full-length debut — also known by its eponymous title — symbolizes what was exciting, fresh, invigorating, and raw about the burgeoning style in its halcyon days. Originally released in 1957, and reissued here in audiophile quality for the first time in partnership with Atlantic Records’ 75th anniversary, the set remains a testament to one of the most pioneering and talented vocalists to ever command a stage.
Mastered on Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's renowned mastering system in California, pressed at RTI, housed in a Stoughton jacket, and strictly limited to 2,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g mono LP of Rock & Roll plays with an immediacy, vibrancy, and fullness that showcase the reach, power, and emotionalism of Brown’s voice. The sound of her support musicians — brassy horns, swinging rhythm combos, echoing backing vocalists, rollicking pianists, jaunty guitarists — is made clear and vivid, helping the upbeat fare to jump, juke, and jive with newfound energy and exuberance. In a related manner, Brown’s slower, more understated material crackles with an intimacy and passion that let you know you're in the presence of a woman who has lived what she sings. The longtime Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member deserves nothing less.
In an era dominated by big-throated vocalists, few — if any — came grander than Brown. The singer, whose repeat million-selling ‘50s success with Atlantic Records led many to call the then-indie label “The House That Ruth Built,” charted two dozen R&B hits in the span of a decade for the fledgling imprint. Rightly coined “Miss Rhythm,” the extroverted Brown put Atlantic on the national map, became the best-selling female musician of the ‘50s, and established a precedent that would ultimately lead to Grammy and Tony Awards. Her early works have lost none of their fire or flair.
Akin to many full-length LPs of its era, Rock & Roll doubles as a collection. Its 14 tracks comprise some of the more famous sides Brown recorded for Atlantic, beginning in 1949 with the all-time-great rendition of the ballad “So Long,” and continuing through 1956. After the song caught the public’s ear, the Virginia native briefly became known for her smoldering style with lovelorn material and torch songs, approaching them (see “Oh What a Dream,” “Old Man River”) with a combination of pained sadness and hardened resilience that had no contemporary equal. Encouraged to pursue the style by Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmt Ertegun, her R&B-driven material soon made her a constant chart presence.
Demonstrating what fellow legend Bonnie Raitt deemed “sex with class and dignity,” Brown merges blues and jazz, swing and gospel in electrifying fashion. She dares you not to move, dance, and get on your feet. A majority of Rock & Roll explodes with uptempo runs and jaunty readings of hot-blooded R&B numbers. Sweaty and sultry, bawdy and bold, Brown eclipses the anthemic blare of the saxophones and joyful clatter of the 88s, singing with a slight catch in her voice and hurricane-gale force that threatens to blow the roof off whatever room her voice occupies.
Evidence abounds. Listen to her prod the band and encourage the band members to blow a fuse on a sizzling “Hello Little Boy,” complete with cries and wails; stretch her phrasing to the heavens on the swaying “Wild Wild Young Men,” laden with romp-and-stomp beats; plead and persuade on the snaking “5-10-15 Hours,” which flips the script on the age’s notions of dominance; use her raspy tones, high notes, and breath control to mesmerizing effect on the smash “Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean,” recorded with a group led by Ray Charles; survey the scene and take charge on the steaming “As Long as I’m Moving”; and tap a classy albeit flirtatious vein on “Lucky Lips,” which dented the pop charts as her first crossover hit.
Throughout Rock & Roll, Brown knows the lyrical connotations and spirited architecture of the songs inside-out. Her assertive voice — never harsh, strident, or false — is the epitome of the passionate desires and sonic strains that turned into nascent rock ’n’ roll. Brown played a pivotal role in helping the style develop, the record a timeless reminder of a lasting legacy that will never be forgotten.
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