RUTH CAMERON — Roadhouse (2000) Two Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

On her first full-length album, following the previous year's seven-song EP First Songs, Ruth Cameron continues to take a considered, deliberate approach to standards, backed by a small band anchored by her husband, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Larance Marable, augmented by one of three pianists and usually a saxophone or violin. The title Roadhouse suggests a far more raucous style than the one actually employed here; maybe the album should have been called After-Hours Nightclub instead. The tempos are very slow, the keys minor, and Cameron's vocals are as much spoken as sung. These are calm, quiet performances, which can give the songs an air of restrained passion, especially when the lyric has the complexity and subtext of "Something Cool" and "One for My Baby," the album's first two songs. Not all of the material is well suited to the interpretations, however. In particular, Cameron's reading of "Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe" works against the lyric; she may sing that, when Joe kisses her "it's Christmas everywhere," but she doesn't sound like that's anything to celebrate. If her plain-spoken, hold back the emotions approach adds depth to a lightly wistful song like "Willow Weep for Me," it robs feeling from what should be a warmly affectionate one like "My Old Flame." And the album's unrelenting tone is ultimately enervating; if she really performed this material as a set in a roadhouse, she'd likely be performing only to overturned chairs and a dozing bartender by the end. William Ruhlmann
Tracklist :
1. Something Cool 5:23
 Billy Barnes 
2. One For My Baby 5:11
 Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer 
3. My Old Flame 5:02
 Sam Coslow / Arthur Johnston 
4. Body And Soul 5:59
 Frank Eyton / Johnny Green / Edward Heyman / Robert Sour 
5. Again 4:53
 Dorcas Cochran / Lionel Newman 
6. Willow Weep For Me 5:33
 Ann Ronell 
7. Happiness Is Just A Thing Called Joe 5:17
 Harold Arlen / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg 
8. Detour Ahead 5:50
 Lou Carter / Herb Ellis / John Freigo / Johnny Frigo 
9. A Sunday Kind Of Love 4:53
 Barbara Belle / Anita Leonard / Louis Prima / Stan Rhodes 
10. All About Ronnie 4:21
 Joe Greene 
11. Give Me Time 6:05
 Alec Wilder 
12. Waitin' For The Train To Come 3:10
 Martin Block / Sunny Skylar 
Credits :
Bass, Producer – Charlie Haden
Drums – Larance Marable
Piano – Alan Broadbent (tracks: 1 to 3, 5, 6, 8, 10), Brad Mehldau (tracks: 4, 11), Chris Dawson (tracks: 12), Mike Melvoin (tracks: 7, 9) 
Tenor Saxophone – Gary Foster (tracks: 7), Ralph Moore (tracks: 1 to 3, 6, 8) 
Violin – Federico Britos Ruiz (tracks: 5, 9, 12) 
Vocals, Producer – Ruth Cameron