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PRESS QUOTES:

What They’re Saying About Ruthie Foster

"Foster's deeply soulful vocals dip into gospel and swing toward contemporary folk with R&B panache. When she sings a cappella, the heavens part."
- Margaret Moser, Austin Chronicle (TX)

"Considering the Aretha Franklin comparisons getting tossed her way, it's safe to assume the A&R folks at Atlantic are kicking themselves right about now. 'Phenomenal' is no idle boast."
- Christopher Blagg, Boston Herald (MA)

"Her new CD...gutsily named 'The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster,' will convert those hungry for some real, hot soul."
- Ann Powers, Los Angeles Times (CA)

"The album takes its name from ''Phenomenal Woman,' a Maya Angelou poem set to music by Amy Sky and David Pickell, but Foster's voice would earn the superlative anyway."
- Shay Quillen, The Mercury News (CA)

“She’s got a right to brag. Foster is a natural-born singer with a voice that is potent, unfussy, and, at times, deeply moving.”
- Renee Graham, Boston Globe (MA)

“Braggadocio titles were big back in the day. (Remember "The Genius of Ray Charles" and "The Fabulous Johnny Cash"?) And "The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster" is pretty fabulous. ... The arrangements are spare, but this is about Foster's rich, robust voice...”
- Jon Bream, Minneapolis Star Tribune (MN)

“The spiritual indestructibility is conveyed through the power of Foster's voice --a clear, sterling instrument sparkling with elements of a young Tina Turner and Joan Armatrading. ... a knockout album.”
- Rashod Ollison, Baltimore Sun (MD)

“her talent is universal with no pretense. ...she is a holy Anita Baker ... as bold as Nina Simone... The evocations go on and on...”
- Roberta Penn, Seattle Post Intelligencer (WA)

“a songwriter and singer as good as Foster doesn't’t fit in genres- She creates her own.”
- James Porter, Time Out Chicago (IL)

“The disc serves up 57 varieties of soul... In Ms. Foster's wailing voice, "Fruits of My Labor" is the greatest tune Sam Cooke never recorded.”
- Thor Christensen, Dallas Morning News (TX)

“The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster is a fitting title.”
- Dave Gil de Rubio, Barnes and Noble.com

"Foster has a deep gritty voice with a little Janis and some Aretha that will please discerning soul and rock fans. Her cover of Lucinda Williams' 'Fruits of My Labor' tops the original."
- Dan Aquilante, NY Post "New Faces For '07"

"Like the old spoonful-of-sugar-helps-the-medicine-go-down trick, Ruthie Foster's voice is so full of hallelujah, you sometimes have to listen to her songs two or three times before you realize she's singing the blues. 'I believe my soul's found a happy home,' she declares on the title track to her third album, quickly following it with the kicker, 'and left me waiting here to suffer on my own.' That's Runaway Soul in a nutshell: not so much a happy union of gospel and blues as a riveting tug-of-war between the two, with Foster's powerhouse voice caught in the middle as the prize. Self-penned tunes prove that Foster, a Gause native who's been working the folk circuit for more than a decade, can hold her own as a songwriter, but it's as a singer that she truly dazzles..."
-Richard Skanse, Texas Music Magazine

"If music that sounds as if it were naturally fermented from the bayous, cricks and back porches of rural America is what you seek, then look no further than Ruthie Foster's Runaway Soul. Save a spot for this disc by the Bryan-College Station resident on the year-end list of stellar local recordings. As the opening line of the title track suggests, Foster's soul has found a happy home, and the listener is invited to come on over and try out Grampa's wooden rocker. Foster is equally comfortable singing gutsy gospel, folk or don't mess-with-Mama R&B."
-Greg Barr, Houston Press

"Whether singing blues or gospel, Ruthie Foster is a singer with a powerful, soul-stirring delivery that is easy to give yourself over to."
-Mike Regenstreif, Montreal Gazette

"On the last of four sleep-deprived, music-crammed days at Folk Alliance, somebody insists, you just gotta make time for one more showcase. At 2 a.m., no less. You go, and surprise, Ruthie Foster carries the second wind with her. The energy she brings with just voice and guitar (and percussion assistance from partner Cyd Cassone) is stunning. Ruthie's drawn comparisons to Ella and Aretha, but musically neither is really close. What she does have in common with Fitzgerald and Franklin is the irresistible blaze -- it's impossible to look away, even close the eyes, for one second."
-Mary Armstrong, Philadelphia City Paper

‘"Gospel and blues, two sides of the human coin, cling to hope and despair, and all that those two words involve. Both musical forms seek relief, and both celebrate hope, which add up to perseverance. Sometimes the line between the two is nearly invisible. With Runaway Soul, Ruthie Foster delivers both in a full-gospel down-and-gritty voice sharing joy and sorrow, sometimes in the same breath."
-Tom Geddie, Buddy