If Edith Piaf (1915-1963), Lotte Lenya (1898-1981) and Leon Redbone (timeless) were Mormons (think polygamist, not evangelist), their first and foremost child would be Sol Ruiz (www.solishere.com). I can say this because she is both a vocal seductress and ingenue thrashing songwriter. Dressed in a Little Tramp, Charlie Chaplinesque outfit – summer-grass green trousers, a yellow t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan I Pee In Pools, black suspenders, and an honest-to-god Edgar G. Robinson bowler – Sol is a sight to see, a joy to hear, and her 2010 CD, titled OUTLANDER, is a wonder to behold. Opening with a Carlos Santana like samba-salsa-boss-nova back beat in PLAYING IT BY EAR, Sol sings a seductive web that would make Carmen Miranda do the shake-and-shimmy. Track two, HALF MOON BAY, cruises on a beautiful country/blues slide guitar and vocals clear and sharp enough to make Dolly Parton blush. Track three, BELONG TO YOU, is a wonderful depiction of the longing and heartache from unrequited girl-on-girl love (not sex, love), while track four gender-bends BACK MY WAY to the girl-next-door longing for her man. And it all ends with the slinky-sexy track six, FREE LOVE, where you can have it your way but don’t ask me any questions. But wait! What about track five? Here I must digress. The best spaghetti-western ever made did not star Clint Eastwood. Rather, it was the 1968 Sergio Leone epic Once Upon A Time In The West (Paramount Pictures). Not only was it the only film ever to co-star the greats Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson and Jason Robards, it also defined every aspect of what made spaghetti-westerns so wonderful, including the music. And track five on Sol’s CD titled SOLEDAD could have been the leitmotif for any of the characters in this film (especially Charles Bronson when his harmonica snake charms Jason Robards in a mythical Monument Valley saloon on their way to find the villainous Henry Fonda). So there you have it: Edith, Lotte, Leon, Charlie, Edgar, Carlos, Carmen, Dolly, Clint, Sergio, Henry, Charles and Jason. But most importantly, you have Sol Ruiz and OUTLANDER. Get in.
Dr. Bob