Monday, January 9, 2012

Runaway reviewed by Denny Barker

Runaway
Samantha Fish
RUF Records
www.rufrecords.de
10 tracks/47:00

Fresh off her success on "Girls With Guitars", Samantha Fish has released a very good solo album "Runaway". Produced by Mike Zito, this CD features 8 original tunes, one
co-written with Zito, and a cover of Tom Petty's "Louisiana Rain".

"Runaway" opens with "Down In The Swamp", a hard driving blues tune with an edgy riff that is one of the many highlights on this CD. Following is the up-tempo title cut,
featuring some great guitar work and impressive vocal by Fish. The mood changes on cut #3, "Today's My Day", a very nice blues song showcasing Fish on slide guitar. Next is "Money To Burn", a laid back low key tune that starts slow and easy and slowly builds toward the end.

"Otherside Of The Bottle", is one of my favorite cuts. The song is a simple, whimsical
tune that shows Samantha's writing prowess, impressive vocal range, and her expertise on guitar. It's a great example of less is more - the guitar work, the simple bass line and drum beat fit this song perfectly. Next Fish and Zito team up on an upbeat rocker, "Push Comes To Shove", a nice tune, well done, but somewhat generic compared to the rest of the CD. "Feelin Alright", the CD closer, has a late night, smokey, jazzy feel that is somewhat of a departure from the rest of the CD, but works well as the final cut on a great set of tunes.

Ms. Fish and Mike Zito have put together an excellent CD that just gets better everytime I listen to it. Ms Fish seems to have it all. She writes good and interesting songs, plays great guitar and sings with a strong, confident, and impressive voice. I expect her to be around for a long, long time. To quote Samantha, "You can't runaway from the blues, don't even try".

Reviewed by Denny Barker

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