VA - Ruf Records 20 Year Anniversary (2014) mp3@320 {1337x}-kawli

A lot has changed in rock ‘n’ roll since 1994. We’ve seen a thousand bands rise and fall. We’ve watched a hundred rock scenes blow up and burn out. All the while, Ruf has steadily evolved, from its roots as one man’s vision, to the most respected blues/rock label around, with a roll-call of talent to top any independent on the planet. And if that sounds like a bold statement, you’re holding the proof in your hands…

Of course, Thomas Ruf didn’t expect any of those accolades back in 1994. Back then, Ruf’s charismatic founder and leader created the label simply to give the legendary Chicago bandleader Luther Allison a platform to release some of the best albums of his career. Tragically, Luther himself was lost to cancer in 1997, but Ruf Records never missed a beat, continuing to develop some of the brightest talent in America, Britain, Europe and beyond, while always retaining its fearsomely independent spirit.

Walter Trout. Royal Southern Brotherhood. Joanne Shaw Taylor. Spin Doctors. Jeff Healey. Savoy Brown. Dana Fuchs. Laurence Jones. Samantha Fish. To anyone with even a passing interest in quality blues, the Ruf roster since 1994 reads like a hall of fame, taking in legends, supergroups and bright young talents. As such, when it came to compiling this special 20th anniversary release, the songs selected by Thomas across these two CDs are all killer, no filler.

Tracklist:

CD 1: Girls With Guitars
01. Fish, Taylor, Wilde: Bitch – 03:38
02. Dana Fuchs: Bliss Avenue – 02:58
03. Joanne Shaw Taylor: Can’t Keep Living Like This – 05:12
04. Samantha Fish: Down In The Swamp – 04:13
05. Dani Wilde: Shine – 04:44
06. Meena: Try Me – 04:59
07. Ana Popovic: Love Fever – 04:27
08. Eliana Cargnelutti: Stranded in Memphis – 03:29
09. Joanna Connor: Never Been Rocked Enough – 03:26
10. Erja Lyytinen: Skinny Girl – 03:05
11. Sue Foley: Show Me – 03:31
12. Candye Kane and Laura Chavez: Toughest Girl Alive – 02:40
13. Foley, Coleman, Potvin: In The Basement – 03:26

CD 2: Guys With Guitars
01. Thorbjørn Risager: If You Wanna Leave – 04:12
02. Royal Southern Brotherhood : Rock And Roll – 04:56
03. Walter Trout: Livin’ Every Day – 04:41
04. Oli Brown: Speechless – 04:27
05. Laurence Jones: Temptation –04:15
06. Mike Zito: Voices In Dallas – 04:30
07. Bart Walker: Waitin On Daylight – 04:33
08. Spin Doctors: Some Other Man Instead – 04:33
09. Lister, Lyytinen, Parker: Blues Caravan – 02:43
10. Jeff Healey: I’m Torn Down – 05:03
11. Cyril Neville: Swamp Funk – 04:32
12. Devon Allman: Homesick – 03:32
13. Kim Simmonds and Savoy Brown: Nuthin‘ Like The Blues – 04:55
14. Albert Castiglia: Bad Avenue – 07:00
15. Luther Allison: You Can’t Always Get What You Want – 04:38

Bitrate: 320 kbps
Channels: stereo
Samplerate: 44100
Encoder: LAME 3.82
MPEG-1 layer 3



*many thanks and much respect to my friend mrjj and to all those who care enough to share