Capsule Reviews: Ruthie Foster and Franz Ferdinand

Blue Corn Music

For The Truth, Ruthie Foster switched from Austin’s Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne, producer of 2007’s tremendous Phenomenal Ruthie Foster, to Chris Goldsmith, who just won yet another Grammy with Blind Boys of Alabama. The results are clean, rich, pristinely recorded session takes. Where Welbourne dressed the music up with swooning genre flourishes, Goldsmith stays out of the way. By removing the neo-soul vignetting, he puts more responsibility on Foster’s shoulders to hold the set together.

She responds by mirroring his production style. Like Goldsmith and her session players, Foster is masterful and musically fluent to the point that she doesn’t need to use any tricks to craft an affecting song. Her cover of Patty Griffin’s “When It Don’t Come Easy” exemplifies her work on The Truth. Another singer might opt to belt out such evocative lyrics. Foster choose instead to honor the nuance of Griffin’s words, and delivers a stirringly understated rendition. The set also includes works by great Foster contemporary Eric Bibb, yet the two most impressive tracks are originals: “Joy On The Other Side” is a roots-y gospel staple-to-be, while “Tears of Pain” is a slow blues tune that builds from three players to what seems like a big band. Both pieces are classic without being hackneyed, carrying forward only the form, simplicity and elegant execution of those who preceded Foster.