‘No theatrics, no gimmicks, and no nonsense… Turner dishes out raw emotion and powerful vocals’
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Yet again, British Jamaican soul artist Ruby Turner has managed to sell-out all her shows at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club this year. As Turner acknowledged: she may not be signed, she may not be topping the charts, and she may not have the image which commercial record labels crave. But audiences still love to watch and listen to her perform.
As they should. With no theatrics, no gimmicks, and no nonsense, Turner’s offering to audiences is very simple. Backed by a committed and talented band – Nick Marland (guitar), Simon Moore (drums), Mark Walker (keys), and Paul Pryor (bass, MD) – Turner dishes out raw emotion and powerful vocals. She is an artist who keeps getting better – her soulful instrument more mature and authoritative with age. She also improved upon her residency last year, with the inclusion of some different material.
The set-list spanned her forty year career, beginning with ‘On the Defence’ from her fifth studio album Restless Moods (1994). She followed with ‘In My Life (It’s Better To Be in Love)’ from her debut album Women Hold Up Half the Sky (1986). She also introduced a new self-written song into the set – a reflection on the current political climate – with the refrain of ‘there has got to be a better way’. With its mid-tempo soul groove, it evoked the politically-conscious material of The Staple Singers (a known influence of Turner’s).
She closed the first set with Lorraine Ellison’s ‘Stay With Me’, an epic of heartbreak and desperation akin in emotional resonance to Jennifer Holliday’s ‘And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going’ or Etta James’ ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ (which later closed the show). Whereas Ellison yelps and wails on the record, Turner opted for a rumbling growl. She amped up the band and tapped them in and out, giving jolts of intensity as she heaved the mic stand around.
The second set showed Turner’s skill as a vocal stylist with two sassy jazz numbers, recorded for Turner’s stint in the Bristol Old Vic’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire eighteen years ago. ‘Breath I Need’, from her Call Me By My Name (1998) album, had dynamic musicianship from the band with a rejoicing lyric from Turner – ‘I could never leave / You’re the breath I need‘.
Before returning to the stage for an encore, Turner delivered her interpretation of Etta James’ ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’. In the past, Turner has pointed to this song as a key turning point in her career. It is a masterful reading, with Turner again amping up the band only to reduce the song to her acapella whimpers and pleadings. Utterly spellbinding.
