Description
The Dynamite Sound of “Miss Rhythm” and the Singer That Helped Build an Iconic Label: Ruth Brown’s Rock & Roll Bristles with Electrifying Emotion, Vocal Power, and R&B-Fueled Energy
Reissued in Audiophile Quality in Partnership with Atlantic Records’ 75th Anniversary: Mobile Fidelity 180g LP Is Sourced from the Original Analog Tapes, Strictly Limited to 2,000 Numbered Copies
1/4" / 15 IPS to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe
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.
Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed at RTI, strictly limited to 2,000 numbered copies, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g LP of Rock & Roll plays with an immediacy, vibrancy, and fullness that showcases 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 yours 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 Ruth 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 one of 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.
