Ruthie Foster’s new album Joy Comes Back receives praise from critics.
Austenite Ruthie Foster is back with a new record, and, true to the title, she’s brought the joy. Her 10th studio album, Joy Comes Back, is available March 24, and it’s her best album yet.
The critical praise just keeps coming for Foster, who grew up in a family of gospel singers in the small Texas town of Gause and poured the heartache of family breakup and the hope of new love into the 10-song record.
“Ruthie Foster’s voice and ability to interpret songs is a force of nature,” the music website Cashbox proclaimed. “Ruthie Foster’s roof-raising voice ... is an awesome force of beauty in its own right,” LA Weekly said. And the Austin Chronicle praised the album for its exploration of genres: “Weaving a tapestry of American roots music, Ruthie Foster threads gospel redemption, painful blues transparency, and vocal soul transfigurations on Joy Comes Back. From booming belts to double-stop blues, Foster can do it all.”
We agree with whole hearts and high volume. Joy Comes Back is a compilation of songs that will move you to the core. Each track is backed by Foster’s powerhouse of a voice, bringing emotion and soul to praiseworthy beats. The gospel blues track “Joy Comes Back,” is a soulful and contagious song that delves into relatable themes of moving past hard times, while the album’s opener, “What Are You Listening To,” is a blend of country, rock, and soul outlining love lost.
Other songs that stand out are “Abraham,” a slow jam rock gospel depicting the story of biblical Abraham; “Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever” (originally sung by the Four Tops and written by Ivy Jo Hunter and Stevie Wonder), an upbeat gospel song backed by a rousing chorus; and a bluesy take on the Black Sabbath song “War Pigs,” a tune that reminded Foster, a navy veteran, of nights spent servicing Naval helicopters with guys who liked their heavy metal.
“I wanted something unexpected that would be cool to do at festivals,” Foster says in a press release. “To get people out of their seats or tents to find out what the heck is that? Who is this little ol’ short black woman doing Black Sabbath on a resonator?”
The album is also aided by some special guests. Susan Tedeschi’s husband, Derek Trucks, drops slide guitar into “What Are You Listening To”; bassist Willie Weeks (Bowie, Clapton, George Harrison) plays on the Foster-penned “Open Sky”; and drumming legend Joe Vitale (Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Eagles) appears on several tracks. Grace Pettis adds guitar to “Working Woman” and vocals on “Good Sailor,” Pettis’ co-write with Haley Cole. Local hero Warren Hood (“Champ Hood’s boy,” as Foster calls him) lays fiddle and mandolin on Mississippi John Hurt’s bluegrass-tinted “Richland Woman Blues.” Producer and former neighbor Daniel Barrett (at whose studio she recorded) plays guitars, drums, and percussion; other contributors include Brian Standefer, Eric Holden, Frank LoCrasto, Nicholas Ryland, and Red Young, as well as the core members of Ruthie’s touring band, Samantha Banks and Larry Fulcher.
In a press release, the three-time Grammy nominee talked about her past albums and her transition into Joy Comes Back: “It was about being a professional singer, a hallelujah-chorus girl,” Foster says. “But I’m a real person, and relaying that through this music and the stories behind it is really important to me. I haven’t written much because it’s been rough for me to put pen to paper, but Dan, having spent at least a year and a half being a listener and witness to my life, found these songs that have a lot to do with where I was and where I am — and who I am.”
The extraordinary new album from Foster Joy Comes Back is available from Blue Corn Records March 24. Visit her website for tour dates and more details.
Joy Comes Back Track Listing
1 “What Are You Listening To”
2 “Working Woman”
3 “Joy Comes Back”
4 “Open Sky”
5 “Good Sailor”
6 “War Pigs”
7 “Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever”
8 “Richland Woman Blues”
9 “Abraham”
10 “Forgiven”
