Flo Morrissey & Matthew E. White – “Gentlewoman, Ruby Man” (2017)

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Label: Glassnote Records

Review by Warren Mayocchi

Flo Morrissey and Matthew E. White have collaborated on “Gentlewoman, Ruby Man” to bring us an album of folk leaning cover songs. It is an eclectic collection, though performed with a consistent style so it all works together rather well. The song selection is of interest, with a majority of the album sourced from pre-1980 material, the rest was originally released post-2000. No songs from between 1980 and 2000 are featured. Not certain there is any story behind this selection other than it is simply a set of songs which found favour with the artists. Most people will know of “Grease” – from the 1978 musical movie – and “Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen. Generally the songs stick to a laidback folk-ish 70’s groove which works particularly well on “Grease”. This lighter mood of “Grease” contrasts with “Suzanne” which is delivered with an emotionless drawl. In the other songs on the album there are sure to be a few which will be new to various listeners. It gives the album an element of freshness which would be missing in a set full of well-known music. Most of the vocals are handled by Flo Morrissey, with Matthew E. White providing backing and occasionally taking the lead on a few songs. While they do make the album a consistent stylistic experience, none of the songs deviate significantly from the source material. Overall it is a charming celebration of the 70’s, I found it most alike the music of America (the band) – in particular listen to “Looking For You” to hear the similarity. Though there are also qualities to compare with the music of Linda Ronstadt and The Carpenters, the vocals here are not as powerful – the delivery is closer to ethereal folk. For those who are interested (and it really is worth a listen), there is an animated music video for “Grease”. There are also audio only “videos” for all the songs. As well as the groovy cover art, there is a lot to love about “Gentlewoman, Ruby Man”.

Rating –  79/100

 

Tracklist

  1. Look At What the Light Did Now
  2. Grease
  3. Looking For You
  4. Thinking Bout You
  5. The Colour in Anything
  6. Everybody Loves the Sunshine
  7. Suzanne
  8. Sunday Morning
  9. Heaven Can Wait
  10. Govindam

 

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