Ruth Cameron-First Songs EP and Roadhouse Album 320 kbps

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 (Chris Dawson, Alan Broadbent, Brad Mehldau) 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.

This file includes Ms. Cameron's debut EP 'First Songs' and her second release, the full length 'Roadhouse'.