"Looks like J-Lo, sings like Etta James, plays the sax like Candy Dulfer" Music Reviews by John the Rock Doctor
MAY 13th, 2020 - Looks like J-Lo, sings like Etta James, plays the sax like Candy Dulfer. On her new album Crossing Borders, Evelyn Rubio blends Mexico City with Mississippi into an exotic, soulful bluesy stew.
“Crossing Borders is an album in which I allowed myself to explore different sounds from what I had been doing” Evelyn says of her latest release. “Blues, rock, jazz and a little country weave love and heartbreak stories, not being able to understand pain and injustice and the pride of recognizing where I am going and where I come from.” She had lots of help in the studio to push her vision in a different direction, incredible players with a list of their own credits as long as your arm, too many to mention here but worth checking out when you pick up the album. On top of being a solid blues singer, she plays a pretty mean tenor sax as well- talk about being the whole package!
Crossing Borders is 12 songs, plus 3 of those recorded in Spanish as ‘bonus tracks’. The most surprising and delightful song in the whole bunch is a reinterpretation of the Mexican standard Besame Mucho. In the hands of Rubio and her musical conspirators it is re-cast here as hardcore Delta blues and it works like a hot-damn. Throughout the disc she acquits herself as a vocalist with muscle and grace, and the musicians backing her- the bands from the LA and Austin sessions- play with rugged elegance and style. Put them all together, and the results range between rock solid and rapturous.
As an average troll I tend to be immediately suspicious of impossibly good looking people being able to do anything artistically worthwhile, but with Evelyn Rubio’s Crossing BordersI’ll gladly admit that she has serious musical talent. Not sure what I expected from the woman in the glitzy picture on the cover, but putting her together with these particular musicians was a master stroke- this is one hell of a record.
Music Reviews by John the Rock Doctor https://gonzookanagan.com/39215-2/?fbclid=IwAR3ZOgE1480ZGoeyNeMCqm9-9vuEJVgDbi_nOG-jeoydC8f68QbMrRsTcZU