Biography
about the cd and band :
Ruby Starr , the powerhouse vocalist remembered most for her 3 albums on Capitol Records in the 70's and for her work with BLACK OAK ARKANSAS had a longer career into the 80's with the band GREY STAR. This CD has all the songs that Ruby and Grey Star released on 2 albums in the early 80's. They contain some great music, and illustrate what a fantastic singer that Ruby was. After her last Capitol album in 1977, Ruby continued to sing and tour, including a tour with BLACKFOOT backing Ruby as her band. GREY STAR toured & rehearsed for 3 years before releasing their first album " GREY STAR " in 1981. The band had 2 lead vocalists - RUBY STARR and MIKE FINDLING, also known as MIKE GREY. On the first album, Ruby has 5 songs as the lead singer, and all of them are stellar performances. She only got better as a singer, and these songs prove it. They rock hard. It may be hard to believe that anyone would dare sing PIECE OF MY HEART, Janis Joplin's signature song, but Ruby pulls it off , making it sound all her own. Really a fantastic performance. YOU NEVER LEARN and DON'T GO AND LEAVE ME have more textures that illustrate the band's diversity and Ruby's as well. GUARANTEED TO PLEASE is the most full-out rocker , a real non-stop freight train that shows that Ruby was one of the best female rock & roll singers ever. The most astounding song is SILHOUETTE, a song that opens with some keyboards and Ruby's soothing vocals, and it just builds and builds. This song had " hit single " all over it. It's a perfect record with singer, band, arrangement and lyrics all converging to make it a magic moment.
Read full biography ↓
Mike Grey gets the lead on the 4 other songs, the best being the opener, the fittingly titled & sung, START UP A NEW DAY. He sounds a bit like Mickey Thomas of Starship. It's straight ahead American rock and roll. How Ruby and the band did not get signed to a major label is one of the biggest mistakes in rock and roll. The band released their own albums on the Emotion Records label, and how they didn't get a major label deal, is criminal. Ruby was a name artist herself, and with the advent of the 80's, women rockers were flooding the airwaves, getting airplay, hit singles , platinum albums and of course, videos. How Ruby Starr was not picked up by a big label was a crime to rock and roll, and the public.
2nd album, TELEPHONE SEX, released in 1983 , has a sexy photo of Ruby on the cover, and the music inside is strong as ever. On the 2nd album , there is more vocal harmony between the 2 lead vocalists, and has the use of a bit more of the 80's sound with more keyboards. MEET ME AT THE SAME TIME gets things off with a bang, with Ruby on the lead. BABY IT'S YOU follows, and Ruby of course whips up a powerhouse version of the 1969 hit by A Group Called Smith. This time there are 10 songs on the album, with more vocal interplay, and Ruby has her share of leads . The other cover song is a cool version of the IN CROWD, with that vocal interplay between male and female vocals. This song sounds what the band could have done with a song , like " OBSESSION " by Animotion, which would be a hit 3 years later. Of course, in her career, Ruby Starr was ahead of the pack. If she & Grey Starr had had a hit with that song, as their version of IN CROWD sounds like it's pointing the way to the sound of " OBSESSION ", Ruby would have finally got the hit she had so richly deserved. It's all original material that the band wrote & honed their musical chops on. Plus, the 3 well chosen covers that are on these 2 excellent albums.
As for the CD, the transfer is from vinyl albums. Some of the songs cut off a few seconds at the end , instead of the natural fade on the original albums. But given that the albums were in limited pressings, and sold only regionally and at their concerts, the justification to transfer them onto CD from vinyl is valid. Both albums are very hard to find and are collector's items. You get all the songs on one CD. You'd be hard pressed to find these recordings, so I won't gripe on that. The CD actually starts with the 2nd album first, possibly because Ruby is the lead vocalist on the first song, and she wasn't on the first album.
RUBY STARR lives on these two last albums that she did. If she were around today, she would be a superstar. With all the talent she had, she deserved more promotion, hits, and many more albums. To think, that back in the 70's, radio didn't play tough women rockers, especially if they were solo women rockers. It changed toward 1979-1980. Somehow, Ruby got neglected by the record companies, but not the fans. She broke down barriers for those that followed. The legend of Ruby Starr lives on . If you missed her when she was alive and rockin' , here's a chance to discover or re-discover her power and immense talent.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.